750 on GMAT - How it compares to practice test scores

Question

GMAT 750 
Aiming for HBS, not sure if it's good enough... 
V42 Q49

So here are all of my scores from practice exams:

Kaplan 1: 700
Kaplan 2: 740
Kaplan 3: 700
Kaplan 4: 740
Kaplan 5: 700 
Princeton Review 1: 710
Princeton Review 2: 690
Manhattan GMAT: 700
GMAT Prep1 : 720
GMAT Prep 2: 740

I read that a lot of people are struggling to get good stores on Kaplan. Strangely I did not have any problems there. In terms of the types of questions / level of difficulty, I felt that by far the GMAC GMATPrep software was the most accurate followed by Manhattan GMAT.

mnazari · Answer

Great score! Any words of wisdom for the rest of us?

sheepykiyomi · Answer

mnazari, Someone gave me this piece of advice when I was studying, and through months of studying, I realized that this single piece of advice probably has helped me the most Studying at regular intervals (weekly, biweekly) for a month, three months, or a year is great, but when it comes close to the test date, try to get some focused studying time when you don’t have to worry about anything else. My test was Friday morning and I took off work Monday-Thursday. Did practice tests on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, rested on Thursday (spend time with friends/family), took exam Friday. In that week you have to block off your schedule – no checking work email, tell your friend that you are busy, deal with any family / relationship problems before hand – so that you have an entire week of undisturbed, focused studying time. The focused studying time helps you tremendously because it will bring together everything you’ve learned in your months of studying. By waking up at the same time everyday and starting off your day with a practice exam, you simulate what will happen on test day. In the last few days you literally just live and breathe the GMAT. (sounds a bit scary but you will really see yourself become an expert at it). Now – this won’t work if you haven’t done regular studying at all and just plan to cram in the last week. The last week is just to bring together all you have seen in the time you spent studying. I know that it might be hard for people to take off for a week, so try for 2-3 days if possible. Or schedule your test on a Monday, (take off work the Friday before if possible) and study over the weekend. Make sure the DAY before your exam you are not doing practice exams or studying intensively (1-2 hours of light review is okay). I know using your vacation days on studying for the GMAT sounds like a miserable idea, but trust me it will pay off in the end when you 30 points higher than you expected, and that difference in the score may end up changing your career… Best of luck~~ :-D

You can do it!! sheepykiyomi

Gian · Answer

Thumbs up for the score

You can get your profile reviewed from the experts in this forum to know more about your chances at HBS. https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admission-consultants-124/ One quick question, How do you rate Kaplan's verbal section against GMAT's in terms of difficulty level ? I busted the GMAT Prep/MGMAT CAT last year so thinking of buying Kaplan as an alternative. Else would be more helpful if you can compare both Kaplan Cats and GMAT in general?

sheepykiyomi · Answer

THANKS!! with just cramming for GMAT before, I haven't gotten a chance to explore the other parts of this forum yet!

Sorry for the late response ... My personal experience (after doing 5 Kaplan practice tests) is that the Kaplan verbal is more difficult than the actual GMAT. I don't think it's such a far stretch that it's not worth you doing it. I remember that some of the long passages for Kaplan were quite difficult, and I didn't encounter anything that hard on the real exam or on the GMAT Prep exams.

On the other hand, Princeton review is probably right on the dot of real GMAT verbal difficulty - or maybe a tiny tiny bit easier.

I think to be safe, buy the Kaplan and practice with it. However, don't be discouraged if your score looks really low. Your real score will be higher!

Gian · Answer

Hope your application process is going as per your plan. Best Wishes and may you kiss HBS

I would need your guidance/opinion as I have purchased Kaplan CAT's to be on the safer side. Below is my analysis: 1) CAT 1 -> 710 Quant: Seems a little easier/less tricky than the GMAT Quant. I'll practice more 700+ questions. Verbal: I'm facing problem primarily with RC. The test had 4 Passages which were more dense/convoluted than real GMAT passages. They consumed both energy and time and had to rush through and/or guess through some Q's. RC - Got 8 wrong out of 13 (have to bring down this number by 50%) CR - Looks good but answer choices could have been more clear - Got 6 wrong out of 14 (guessed/rushed) SC - Got 4 wrong out of 13 - may be some what easier than actual GMAT SC Total Wrong: 18 Doubts: => What do you recommend for improving time & accuracy in Kaplan RC passages. => Do Kaplan CR Q's somehow mimic actual GMAT CR's. => Could you share the number of Q's you got wrong in Verbal in each of your Kaplan CATs respectively. I'll use it for reference purposes & tracking my progress. I know your schedule must be hectic to answer long replies but would be helpful for a struggler like me. Thanks!

sheepykiyomi · Answer

Hello Gian,

I got 59%, 61%, 53%, 65%, and 60% of the Verbal questions right in the Kaplan CATs. They don't display the number of questions wrong and sorry I'm so busy doing my applications now for Round 1 I didn't have the time to count them all up. But you can calculate based on the percentages (they are not percentiles, they are like the actual percentage of question right).

I agree with you, the Kaplan CR is definitely more difficult than actual GMAT. Some of the long passages on Kaplan were so difficult to understand! No worries if you are struggling a bit. But it is definitely good preparation because once you get through the Kaplan, then the real GMAT CR is more a breeze.

Hope this helps!! Sorry I wasn't able to provide too much info.

jangama14 · Answer

Congratulations on the score sheepykiyomi :!:

What is your opinion on balancing time commitment with regards to studying? I'm currently considering taking a few weeks off but I'm worried that I'll burn out from studying too much or wasting time with non-GMAT related commitments (ex. clubs, girlfriend, sports). You seemed to have a similar experience. Help please! :lol:

sheepykiyomi · Answer

Jangama14, My opinion is that you shouldn't take more than 1 week off for concentrated studying. If you plan on studying full-time for 2 or 3 weeks, you might end up losing your mind. By the end of 1 week of studying full time (10 hours a day), I was SO ready to take the real test and be done with it. I would study for a month (better two months) with a regular schedule and then do then focused 1 week after. Schedule your 1 week right before the exam, and the fact that you only have a few days before your exam will help you focus. I was also tempted to slack off during the week but I just kept thinking "holy crap, in exactly 3 days this time I will be sitting in the exam room," and that thought helped me stay on track. However, if you are going to be studying full time for a week, you have to reserve at least 1-2 hours a day for fun activities so you don't burn out. I would start studying at 8am and then take a 1 hour break for lunch around noon. Study until dinner time, and reward myself by going out to dinner to get something delicious. You should try this schedule and do dinner with the girlfriend as a reward (only if studied well that day!) As for clubs and sports, I would say drop it for the week. Tell your friends that you will be MIA and you need the one week to focus. However, you could do sports like for one hour if you need the exercise to keep healthy and focused. Do this at the end of the day as your reward, and it will also give you something to look forward to while you're studying all day. Hope this helps

Gian · Answer

Hi sheepykiyomi, Thanks for the inputs. Btw, are you only applying to HBS ? Kaplan CATs -> Yeah, the percentage you gave is more than sufficient. I feel a bit relaxed on CR after reading your interpretation that they are difficult. A couple of more twisters :- => How do you find the Kaplan RC's. They look quite weird, tough and have convoluted questions

. They are eating my accuracy in Verbal. => Lastly, I believe Kaplan Quant is Ok and not very easy but everyone on the forumn says otherwise. Your thoughts ? Your short replies are certainly helpful and praiseworthy.

newton111 · Answer

guys,

requesting some help here..started with studies about 6-7 weeks back..due to current work schedule, have been able to do only weekend studies..4-6 hours each day of the weekend..

have done the below:

- covered almost full OG, Kaplan premier, manhattan for SC
- about 50-60% of questions in each topic in kaplan 800..

am stuck and unable to cross 700 ! test scores are as below:

Kaplan

test 1: 700
test 2: 670
test 3: 690

Manhattan

test 1: 690 (the free one available online)

can someone pls guide on how good/bad this trendline is.. :roll:

?

cheers,

? cheers,

LazyBoy8 · Answer

Were those tests done in order? What was the timeline involved. I am almost spot on with you as far as Kaplan scores 710 740 720 my test is the 28th I have 700 GMAT Prep and 680 MGMAT. I a gunning for at least 740. Please let me know more detail as far as how you found both Kaplan verbal and quant when compared to the actual test. Thanks and congrats!!!! :-D

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750 on GMAT - How it compares to practice test scores

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