MGMAT Free tests a little too hard?

Question

I started this thread just to get people's opinions really...

I've done a couple of MGMAT math tests, in the Free test area of Gmat Club's, it's got 700+ questions. Although, I've found most of them ridiculously hard, or to put it better, impossible to solve in 2mins... I don't understand, is it me or these questions are indeed too hard and they're merely for practice and not so much to gauge your skills?

moonisahmed · Answer

I guess I'm not the only one then. I too am finding them hard. If I try to work on them extensively, I definitely run out of time and if I try to do all of them in the timeframe, my accuracy is way low. But I guess it does gives a taste of the real hard questions and prepare you better.

Skag55 · Answer

You also got Q49 mate, and you find them hard?! That makes me feel good!

abhi931 · Answer

Yes they are hard ...but scoring algorithm of mgmat is fairly accurate...so u can rely on mgmat cats ...

mistablair · Answer

I find them hard. But they are hard by design.

My question is, what % or quant score are 700 level questions? Not just on teh gmat tests but the forum questions too.
Does 700 level quant mean 89th% like the regular 200-800 ranking would be?

I ask because my undestanding of a CAT is that whatever difficulty you end on is your final score. If you are getting 50% of level 700 questions right, your final score should end up roughly around 700. Would your score not be 89th% (or Q50)?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mistablair,

There are a couple of different "ideas" here, so I'll give you some information/perspective on what I think will help you get a better understanding about what you're asking.

First off, a "700" currently represents about the 90th percentile overall. You can actually earn a 700 on Test Day in a variety of ways, so you should NOT think of this as "earning a 700 in Quant and earning a 700 in Verbal."

Second, percentiles vary, but Scaled Scores do not. For most Test Takers, a Q49 is the highest that they'll ever score in the Quant (even though some will score higher) - it's a fantastic performance, but as a percentile it's been slowly dropping over the years (these days, it's right around the 81st percentile - which makes it "look" like it's not amazing, but it REALLY is). This is meant to remind you that percentiles change based on how everyone else is performing, so you shouldn't worry too much about that. Look at your Scaled Scores and any silly/little mistakes that you're making - the GMAT will give you the score that you EARN - the percentiles are just to show you where you are "in line."

Third, the scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complex than you realize. There are a number of factors that will impact your score, so focusing on "700-level" questions is a rather limited way of trying to improve. At that scoring level, the GMAT becomes really "sensitive" to silly/little mistakes, so you might find it more worthwhile to take a good look at every question you're getting wrong, figure out WHY you're getting those questions wrong and then focus on fixing all of the little things first.

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

Asemonick · Answer

Hello All,

I have a question about MGMAT's quant section. I have taken 4 CAT's my quant scores have steadily improved from Q40 to Q47. I feel like i have a much better grasp of quant then when i started, i have put a lot of study time in. My question is how reflective is the MGMAT quant score to the actual GMAT quant section. I know MGMAT is "harder" just trying to get peoples opinion on how much harder. The last CAT i took i got Q47, the test had 25 - 700-800 level questions, from what i understand this is not indicative of the actual test.

I understand there isn't a concrete answer to the question. Just looking for some insight.

Thank You.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Asemonick,

Have you taken any of the GMAC CATs yet? If you have, then how did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Since the Official Scoring 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. That having been said, the MGMAT CATs will provide a reasonable assessment of your abilities IF you use the CATs correctly.

1) Are you still finishing sections early when you take your CATs?
2) Have you set an Official Test Date yet?

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

Asemonick · Answer

Rich,

thank you for yet another quick response. Gmat club is such a great resource. Ive gotten much better with time management, but still room to improve, this has helped to eliminated some of the "dumb" mistakes. Just trying to see how this score stacks up, seemed like an abundance of tough questions during mgmat quant tests. Plan on taking a gmat prep CAT tomorrow to compare. I still haven't scheduled a test, it is something i really need to do. My work schedule has been a bit crazy lately. I have a few business trips coming up which is making it difficult to commit to a date.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Asemonick,

Many Test Takers would agree that the Quant section of the MGMAT CATs is a bit tougher than what you'll see on the Official GMAT, but you shouldn't become too obsessed with how a GMAT company "ranks" its own questions. Your ultimate goal on Test Day is to maximize your performance (and that requires that you minimize the silly/little mistakes) - when reviewing ANY CAT result, one of the things to focus on are the questions that you COULD/SHOULD have gotten correct, but didn't. Those missed questions could represent some serious points IF you make too many little mistakes on the Official GMAT.

Given what you've described about your work schedule, it's possible that you'll 'find reasons' to push back your planned Test Date again and again. By selecting a future Test Date, and locking in that Exam, you'll add a level of responsibility to this process that might currently be lacking.

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

Asemonick · Answer

A quick update from yesterday. I took Gmat prep CAT and got Q49. Still some silly mistakes to clean up but Q50 or 51 doesn't seem impossible anymore. The biggest difference between GMAT Prep and MGMAT is the amount of difficult questions. GMAT prep has just as difficult of questions just not the same amount. Officially time to focus on Verbal.

MGMAT Free tests a little too hard?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards