Starting out: Veritas Prep and The Economist GMAT Score differences

Question

Hi,

I've only just started to study for GMAT and have about one month for preparation. I decided to take one of the free CATs to try to determine where I stood right now, and what amount of effort was required.

Please note, I took the test after familiarizing myself with the test structure and practising a little bit.

I took the Economist's test, where I scored 670 (Q46, V37). 
After three days of studying intensively, I decided to take Veritas Prep's free CAT, where I scored 620 (Q44, V32).

I'm really disappointed and cannot figure out how my score has managed to dip. I'm not really planning to take GMATPrep till 2 weeks before the exam, so I don't really know what to do. I especially scored poorly in RCs, and so I took the RC practice test in the GMATPrep software and got 4/5 ( 80% accuracy) consistently on the three RCs I tried.

Could someone explain this huge dip in scores?

Oh, and for studying right now, I'm just using OG 15. I haven't completed it yet, and once I do, I'll do the Manhattan material. Could someone suggest other material too?

IanStewart · Answer

You shouldn't read much into company test scores, and you really cannot compare tests from two different companies. For many test takers, company tests produce scores very different from what the real GMAT produces - and company tests normally produce scores that are too low, so it looks like you're doing very well right now. You can only use the GMATPrep tests to get an accurate assessment of your level, and it's a good idea to take one of those tests early on, so you know what the GMAT is really like (company tests, depending on the company, don't always give a fair impression), and so you can better determine how to divide your time between Quant and Verbal study. You can retake the GMATPrep tests, and if you take one at the start of your prep, you likely won't remember the questions well if you retake near the end of your prep, so you aren't wasting a test by doing one early.

You can buy two additional GMATPrep tests, and they're so much more useful than company tests that I'd definitely recommend getting them. Official questions will give you the most realistic practice, so if you need more questions after working through the official books (you might want to get the Quant Review and/or Verbal Review books as well as the OG), you might want to get the official Question Pack 1 that works within the GMATPrep software.

Official books are great sources of questions, but are not very good at explaining things, so you'll also want books that teach the content. I can't comment about specific companies, but if you need advice, I'd recommend reading what other test takers in your situation think about the various books available. Quality is far more important than quantity, so if you find a set of books suitable for a test taker at your level (so books that teach test content, and not gimmicky 'tricks' that don't help test takers in your score range), and which explain content in a way you understand, that's probably all you'll need. Good luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi hoodprincess,

Before we talk about these CAT scores, I'd like to know a bit more about your plans/goals - and I'm hoping that you can clarify some of the details in your original post.

1) What is your goal score?
2) Why are you trying to study in such a short time-frame?
3) When you took these CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

hoodprincess · Answer

Hey!

I'm a final year undergraduate student, and I want to apply to Harvard 2+2, Yale Silver Scholars, and other deferred MBA programs. I'm also considering applying to MSF programmes in Europe and USA.

My summer vacations are on right now, and once college commences in August, companies will be coming to college for placement and I would not really be able to concentrate as much on GMAT. I wanted to apply in first round, since I hear it gives you a better chance. I've got a 90% in college, which is a a top 1% score in the University i go to, and have good and well-rounded extra curricular activities. I'm looking to score around 750+. I know it sounds quite ambitious, but I've always done well on tests my entire life, and I have realized that I'm inherently good at Verbal. A lot of questions I would get right even before I'd started studying - and to be very honest, my accuracy ever since I started properly studying for GMAT hasn't really improved much. I've completed OG 15's SC, RC and CR practice questions, and had approximately 80% accuracy.

I've always been decent at quant, but somehow my score isn't really in the 49-51 range.

And yes, Veritas prep I took the entire CAT. Economist only had Quant and Verbal sections.

hoodprincess · Answer

I think I will take GMATPrep because I'm starting to get really worried. I think I'm also being a little hard on myself because my target score is like a 750+ and all the low 600s are making me anxious. Anyway, thanks a lot!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi hoodprincess,

Based on how you've described your studies so far, it sounds like you're essentially just doing practice problems and trying to 'self-teach' your way through the process. Is that a fair assessment?

A 750+ score is the 99th percentile, and since it's such a 'relatively rare' feat, you might want to consider expanding your resources to include a bit more 'training' to go along with the practice problems that you're working through. You're going to have to make some improvements to BOTH your Quant and Verbal scores to hit that level.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

GMATPILLBILL · Answer

Hey hoodprincess, We can't comment for other tests but do note that no test prep company's algorithm will exactly match the real thing. The best we can do is get close. You can always take a free GMAT PILL practice test here complete with detailed performance and timing analytics: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... ctice-test In terms of our scoring, many of our students report scores that are +/- 30 points from their actual GMAT test and so are a relatively good indicator of their performance. That said, no practice test can perfectly replicate the actual score algorithm, but this is quite close. With a month of preparation, here is a customized one month study plan that can help boost your score: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... study-plan https://gmatpill.com/images/practice-test-sample.jpg

scottshrum · Answer

Hi hoodprincess, One word of caution re: counting rights and wrongs... With adaptive tests, no two questions have the same impact on your score. If you get 5 out of 5 easy questions correct, that will not be the same as getting 5 out 5 difficult questions right. Performing with 80% accuracy on the GMATPrep RC practice section doesn't necessarily equate to a certain score on test day; it depends a lot on which exact questions you get (and how you do on them) on an adaptive test. This blog post describes it in even more detail. I know this may seem like an academic point, but every day we see smart students fool themselves into thinking they're doing better or worse than they really are, because they analyzed their performance by counting how many questions they got right or wrong: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2013/07 ... ice-tests/ Also, earlier this month we quietly launched a new program to collect hundreds of Official GMAT test scores and GMATPrep practice test scores, to help us further refine our own tests. If you want ti participate (and get 7 free Veritas Prep tests!), you can learn more here: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#-tes ... -score.php Scott

saharmohamedali · Answer

Before we talk about these CAT scores, I'd like to know a bit more about your plans/goals - and I'm hoping that you can clarify some of the details in your original post.

hoodprincess · Answer

Hi! Thanks for the link, sounds like a great bargain! :D

Also, I took the Free Manhattan CAT and scored a 680 (Q45, V37). And I took the GMATPill Free CAT and scored 540 (Q33, V31), so I'm not really sure what I should take away from these tests. My scores are fluctuating way too much. Just trying to analyze the mistakes for now.

IanStewart · Answer

Your scores probably aren't fluctuating at all - your level certainly didn't drop 140 points from one day to the next. What's far more likely is that your level has remained constant (or has improved), and you're getting very different scores because you're taking very different tests. Each company test has its own style, its own scoring algorithm, its own biases, and so on. Some company test scores will be very inaccurate. Real GMAT scores do not fluctuate much at all - they're very stable - so unless you performed dramatically differently from one test to another, it's the tests and not you that are producing the score variation. If you want to get a good idea of your current level, the only way to do that (besides taking the real thing) is to take a GMATPrep test.

hoodprincess · Answer

Yeah. Just concentrating on prep right now, and trying to get more questions right. I'm curious although - I missed the last question on the Quant section and got a 45. Is the penalty for missing a question huge? I'm looking to bring my score up to 50-51, since I'm looking to apply to some quant-focussed courses too. Any advice on how to go about it? I have plenty of material, but dont know how to make use of it. Any strategies I can make use of?
Thanks a ton :D

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi hoodprincess,

If you do not physically answer any questions at the end of a section, then those questions are marked as 'incorrect' and are then penalized. By not getting to just the last question in the section, the penalty would not have been that severe; it would take a sizable 'string' of unanswered questions to incur a huge penalty.

Have you gotten a chance to review both of these CATs? Doing so is an essential part of the study process. Here are some general things to look for:

1) How many questions did you get wrong because of a silly/little mistake? Too many mistakes can add up to some serious lost points.
2) How many questions did you get wrong because you just didn't know a math/grammar rule? That's essentially just a knowledge 'gap' that can be fixed.
3) How many times did you 'narrow it down to 2 choices and then "guess" wrong" in the Verbal section? If you were that close to the correct answer, but still got the question wrong, then you have to figure out what you 'missed' so that you don't make that same mistake again.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the GMAT will give you the score that you EARN. Scoring 680 on a CAT does not mean that you'll score 700+ on your next CAT....unless you do the work to EARN that score.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

IanStewart · Answer

Unanswered questions are not marked 'incorrect'. There is a proportional penalty for unanswered questions. If you actually answer a string of questions intentionally incorrectly at the end of a test, your score will often be different than what you'd get if you simply left those questions unanswered. GMAC issued a research report specifically about whether it is to a test taker's advantage to guess randomly just in order to finish, or whether it might be better to leave questions blank. For higher level test takers, it is usually advantageous to guess randomly in order to finish (because the penalty is proportional to your score, it is more severe for higher level test takers), while for low level test takers, leaving questions blank may be preferable.

hoodprincess · Answer

Hey guys!

So I finally took the GMAT Prep 1 test and scored 710 (Q49, V38) on it. I'm really struggling at this point to push up my Verbal score. I really want to get around a V44 and it seems like even after a month's prep, I'm stuck at the same level. What can I do to counter this? Also, I'm applying to quant-focussed programs and as such, need a good Quant score. Any tips to push it up to 50-51?

My GMAT is on the 10th of August so I hardly have any time. Please tell me what I can do to push my score up to 750.

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