Should I cancel my appointment?

Question

Well, I have read a lot of posts about the GMATprep score and Kaplan scores on this site. Seems like everyone scores lower on Kaplan and higher on GMATprep. I am just the opposite. I don't know what to do anymore. I have already registered for 8/28/2007 to take the exam. Should I cancel it then? My score from Kaplan CAT is 730 (53Q 39V). My score from princeton review is 610 (47Q 28V) and my score from GMATprep is also 610 (49Q 24V). My score from Manhattan Cat is 630 (47Q 30V) What's going on? Is it because Kaplan's verbal is way easier?

trahul4 · Answer

I believe if you can get 48+ on quant , then mid to higher 30's in verbal is enought to get 700. Going by your scores on GMATPrep and MGMAT (these are the best two) i think you should not have problem in getting 48+ on quant. Your weak area seems to be verbal and i think you should work on this and get somewhere at least in mid to higher 30's. This should be enough for a 700 ( i believe this is your target after seeing your profile)
As you have another month to go, going from low 30's to higher 30's should not be an issue as such if you prepare properly.

mba2010 · Answer

You have over a month to raise your verbal score--sounds like plenty of time to me, otherwise you risk burnout.

bsd_lover · Answer

Hi Eileen,

This is fantastic. the Kaplan CAT is supposed to be extremely difficult, I know of people who scored under 600 in Kaplan and managed 700+ scores in the real thing, so if you are scoring 730 in Kaplan, you are well on your way.

Now to improve your verbal score, you should narrow your weakness down to further subsections. Try and determine what causes the most grief ? sentence correction ? critical reasoning ? reading comprehension ?

Then just focus on that aspect. Get the gmatter software as well, I found it invaluable while trying to improve my own score on verbals.

cheers.

RycherX · Answer

Obviously, you are taking Kaplan's online CAT through their course.
I believe these Kaplan scores are inflated. They are still great practice though.

mba2010 · Answer

If you're getting 730s on the Kaplan CAT, you're ready. The highest score I ever got on a Kaplan CAT (I took their course) was 670. I ended up scoring above 700 on the real thing.

Kaplan's CAT scores are far from inflated.

pelihu · Answer

I got 590 on Kaplan and 780 on the real thing. The problem, however, is that the Kaplan exam bears no resemblence to the real thing. It's not that the Kaplan exam is more difficult, the Kaplan questions employ different (often flawed) logic and test for things not found on the real exam, while missing out on key elements. I will note that my Kaplan result was skewed because it was clear to me right away that the questions were flawed so I finished but didn't give it my full attention.

Also, keep in mind that the 53Q assigned by the Kaplan CAT is an illusion. The current maximum for either section on the real thing is 51.

The result you should pay attention to is the GMATprep score. The vast majority of people reporting here have achieved scores on the real thing in line with their GMATprep results.

nevergiveup · Answer

So do you think I am ready then? I mean I have three more weeks now. The last GMATprep score I had was 610. I did took a Manhattan CAT few days ago and scored 680 (47Q 36V). I am planning to take a PowerPrep CAT this Saturday and see what happens. I am targeting 700+ score.

pelihu · Answer

Evidence suggests that you will in all liklihood score within 30 points of your GMATprep score. If you want to know if you are ready, you should take GMATprep again, and if it is a repeat discount your result for any repeated questions that might help your score or timing. GMATprep should give you a very good idea of where you are at right now.

kryzak · Answer

I second GMATPrep as the best indicator. Even PR and Manhattan were a bit off.

nevergiveup · Answer

I took the PowerPrep today and scored 720 (50Q 36V). I will try to take a GMATPrep tomorrow to see if my score will match PowerPrep score since the math is easier in PowerPrep. But I am better in math. I did score a 50Q in GMATprep before as well. Will see what happens to verbal though. 
I missed 9 in 30 of the counted questions in PowerPrep1. 4SC and 5RC. Well those 4SCs are because of my careless mistake and miss reading. Usually, SC is my strongest part in verbal. RC is still my weakest part. I ran out of ideas of how to improve it.

nevergiveup · Answer

New updates: I did take a GMATprep today and scored 690 (50Q 34V). Now I think I am glad that I didn't cancel my appointment. I am very close to my target score 700 of course + will be better. Since I still have three weeks left, I will focus more on verbal and hope to pull it up to higher 30s. I missed 9 questions in math. I actually ran out of time in math and have to guess the last two without even read the question and of course I got those two wrong. I missed 13 verbal questions, with 7RC, 2CR, and 4SC. Some SC questions I missed are really stupid mistakes and miss reading. I will need to really be careful next time especially on test day.

kryzak · Answer

I think you will be fine eileen! Focus on verbal the next 3 weeks and really try to see HOW they trick you into picking the wrong answer in RC and CR. That's what I focused on so I wouldn't make stupid mistakes in those two sections. Don't let down your guard with Quant though, and throw in a few quant questions (or do a GMAT Club Challenge) every few days. If you only focus on verbal without doing any Quant, you'll suffer during test day. 

Then just scale down a few days before the test, relax the day before, and kick some GMAT Butt!

RycherX · Answer

I took the GMAT last May and got a 610 and immediately enrolled in Kaplan's course.
Good to hear from someone who has taken the course. I'm freaking out a little because my scores on Kaplan has ranged from a 570-660. 
I have T, Wed, Thurs left to study and I'm aiming for a 650+

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