Practice exams

Question

Hi all! Happy new year

I am taking GMAT for the second time and I am wondering what practice exams providers to choose. First time, I bought a pack of practice exams from Kaplan and a pack from official GMAT. I was planning to repurchase Kaplan this time, but I don't know whether the questions will be different from the last time / or whether their exams are always standard. Can anyone help to answer this? Many thanks! Hanna

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Probably fair to say it's the same product - same as the Official Mocks. Some of the questions, for example, may be repeated.

sivatx2 · Answer

It depends on what your target score. If 700+ is your target, there are several prep companies who offer practice mocks with a package( not a golden standard like Official mocks though). I would probably invest on more official questions and tests closer to the computer adaptive algorithm( not just easy, medium, hard types). Good luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Hannanik,

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. While the most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC, retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills - since you will likely see some 'repeat' questions that you have already faced. Unfortunately, seeing even a couple of repeats can 'throw off' the Scoring Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. (meaning that they would likely all appear to be better than they actually are). Thankfully, the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you correctly take the CAT in a realistic fashion that matches the parameters that you will face when you take the Official GMAT) - so you can use any NEW CATs from any of those sources next.

It's also worth noting that a CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. In addition, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically should not take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. Going forward, you really should not take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) When did you take your 1st Official GMAT and how did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
2) How long have you studied? How many hours did you typically study each week?
3) What study materials have you used so far?
4) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
5) What is your overall goal score?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

If you took your 1st Official GMAT at a Test Center, then you might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  Hannanik ,

Here's  a list . If you bought only 2 of the 4 (paid) official practice tests, it'd be a very good idea to get the other two. You could also try taking one of the free official practice tests to check whether you remember the questions presented to you. If you don't, you could even use all 6.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Hannanik,

Have you already taken all of the official practice exams?

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