Done with GMAT - 730 Q49 V42

Question

I know number of wrong answers can't be correlated to score, but I just feel that sometimes the breakdowns are so confusing, I can't be sure if the test results are accurate or something is screwy. Can someone advise?

Done 3 actual mock CATs so far.

First was Kaplan CD, not online (from Premier 2011)
Score: 730
Q50 V40
Quant: 7 out of 37 questions wrong (first qtn wrong...)
Verbal: 10 out of 41 questions wrong

2nd was GMATPrep1
Score: 770
Q50 V45
Quant: 6 out of 37 questions wrong (2 of the wrong answers were consecutive)
Verbal: 4 out of 41 questions wrong

3rd was GMATPrep2
Score: 750
Q49 V44
Quant: 11 out of 37 questions wrong (2 sets of 2 consecutive wrong answers with qtns 1,8,and 11 being among the list of wrong answers)
Verbal: 4 out of 41 questions wrong

GMATPrep2 Quant felt much much more difficult, with 5-6 consecutive difficult DS questions coming at high 20s low 30s and the last 2-3 questions being stupidly simple PS qtns (I kid you not, one of the qtns was a list of 6 numbers and asked me if median was bigger than a given....). I thought I was in for a horrific score and the test had adjusted the math to a kiddy level to account for all my "wrong" DS answers. Yet the Quant was still respectable at 49. WHY?

Honestly, the GMAT grading algo confuses me as to how prepared I am especially with Quant. Can anyone advise? I'm taking the test on the 10th which is in 2 days. Honestly if I had just taken Prep2 for the actual GMAT, I would have clicked on the "do not score my GMAT option" at the end of the test. How do you guys gauge how well you did?

nphelan · Answer

My best guess is that this is the case only due to the fact that your 2 sets of 2 consecutive meant that you were getting plenty RIGHT consecutively as well, this lead to more point for higher level questions and by the time you got a couple wrong in a row you were already at a certain level and never dropped significantly.

In these cases its often better not to as yourself WHY but just accept the facts, you've got three great scores here, and just keep that momentum going! best of luck on Wednesday!

In these cases its often better not to as yourself WHY but just accept the facts, you've got three great scores here, and just keep that momentum going! best of luck on Wednesday!

nphelan · Answer

Oh an don't forget to keep us posted on how you do!

openbox1 · Answer

Thanks! So hoping for a 730 or above.

akhileshgupta05 · Answer

Just see your scores!! What makes you so insecure??

Just relax for the last day. You prepared to destroy the GMAT. Expect 750 and work towards it.

Make sure you always have a PLAN B ready, just in case things don't go as you want them to. Eg: Guess questions you can't do, follow proper timing - neither too fast nor too slow. Do not try to guess the difficulty of the problem. Take the breaks ,etc.

Kick some GMAT A$$

openbox1 · Answer

ok, did one last full Kaplan test CAT 2 (with AWA) before I take the exam tomorrow.

worst score so far:
Score: 700 (Q50/V39) 
Math - 5/37 wrong (3 careless, 2 I guessed wrong after spending too much time)
Verbal - 8/41 wrong (with 5 SC errors, 2 CR and 1 RC qtn wrong)

CRAP, first time to score below 40 on verbal. This sucks as the SC was quite tricky and none of them had 2/3 splits so I could only eliminate 1 or 2 before I had to guess. Q50 is meaningless for the Kaplan tests as the quant is so so much easier than GMATprep. And I heard that some people got Q55...

Wanted to end on a high note before i take the test tomorrow... Anyway, no way I'm gonna do a practice exam tomorrow. Just gonna work on a few quant qtns during the day to keep my brain limber before taking the exam at 6pm. Damn it, I want my 730!!

akhileshgupta05 · Answer

Dont fret. I would say V39 is really good on Kaplan so dont worry.

Anyway, all the best and I am sure you will do great. Will for your Debrief!!!

openbox1 · Answer

weird though, I guess I'm a reliable test subject. My scores have very little variation between tests from the same company even though the number of qtns I get wrong differs significantly.

GMATprep 1: Q50 / V45 (770)
6 Quant Wrong / 4 Verbal Wrong
GMATprep 2: Q49 / V44 (750)
11 Quant Wrong / 4 Verbal Wrong

Kaplan Premier 2011 CAT 1: Q50 / V40 (730)
7 Quant Wrong / 10 Verbal Wrong
Kaplan Premier 2011 CAT 2: Q50 / V39 (700)
5 Quant Wrong / 8 Verbal Wrong

openbox1 · Answer

Thanks bro, just feels like a long long 3 weeks and I absolutely positively don't want to take this bastard again after tomorrow. Taking 3 1/2 hr tests every day is not exactly my idea of a good time.

openbox1 · Answer

Well, just came back from my exam and got a 730 which is inline with my practice CAT (lower than gmatprep, higher than Kaplan CD not online) scores. One thing though, I got cocky when I had 1 qtn left in Quant and 9 minutes left on the clock. I got super engrossed double checking my answer and didn't realized time had run out and actually left the last qtn unanswered because the screen closed when counter hit 0. Incompletes are penalized heavily so possibly that killed my quant score. I just feel it could so easily have been a 750 if I just didn't fool around so much.

Anyway I'm done with this crap, and this marks the end of 3 weeks of grinding. My first and only GMAT test. I can't justify wasting the time and energy to retake it when I'm already above 95 percentile. GMAC can forget about getting a penny more from me (beyond sending additional score reports).

Here are my practice CAT scores for your reference in case you have a score distribution like me. I only took Kaplan and GMATprep tests.

GMAT FINAL 
Q49 / V42 730

All preps were taken within the last week. No other CATs were taken prior.

GMATprep 1: Q50 / V45 (770)
6 Quant Wrong / 4 Verbal Wrong
GMATprep 2: Q49 / V44 (750)
11 Quant Wrong / 4 Verbal Wrong

Kaplan Premier 2011 CAT 1: Q50 / V40 (730)
7 Quant Wrong / 10 Verbal Wrong
Kaplan Premier 2011 CAT 2: Q50 / V39 (700)
5 Quant Wrong / 8 Verbal Wrong

Good luck guys, especially Akhil. Hope you definitely do better than me.

akhileshgupta05 · Answer

Well I can't really understand whether you're truly satisfied or not. But nevertheless, CONGRATULATIONS! 730 is as awesome score!!

And I think you lost that %tile because of missing that question, not that it matters now. If I am not wrong, the GMAT deducts 1%tile for every question that you miss!! And usually I have seen that Q50 and V42 comes to a 760!
Anyway, it happens. Doesn't matter GREAT JOB!

openbox1 · Answer

oh I'm not complaining. Just pissed that a stupid error may have cost me points. But like I figure, if a school dings me a 730, they're going to ding me at 750. That 20 pt difference is highly unlikely to matter.

Now just need to work on how best to prostitute myself to the schools.

Now just need to work on how best to prostitute myself to the schools.

nphelan · Answer

You have the right mindset, 730 vs 750 is going to be minimal, at that point it's going to come down the the application you put together with that 730. Best of luck!

Sovjet · Answer

So then it seems like GMATPreps are still the best gauge (no kidding, eh?), given that you probably could have achieved 750/760, in line with your GMATPreps. Seems that Kaplan still skews their tests significantly, as your 700/730 weren't representative.

Of course, there's no guarantee you would have been correct in that last question, but I assume after 9 minutes, there was a good chance of that.

Grats anyway, that's an awesome score!

openbox1 · Answer

I HAD THE FREAKING ANSWER!!! BUT IT WAS AN INEQUALITY DS QTN SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE!#@$!!%#!#%!#! so was plugging in numbers. Now even if it was an experimental qtn I still get penalized for not completing the stupid Quant section. And then V42 Q49 translates to 740 on the score chart but I get marked down there too. TT

Oh well, but enough bitching. Its not that bad that I'm upset, just annoyed.

BearBelly · Answer

Dude, Congrats \m/ How did you find the verbal part ?? Was it comparable to that in GMAT PREP ?? Were the RCs too long? Prostitute :lol:

Cheers man !! Take a chill-pill and start on the essays ..

openbox1 · Answer

No the RCs were amazingly easy this time round. I think that's why I scored relatively lower than the GMAT preps for verbal because people were in general scoring higher. I'd like to think I'm good at RCs but this time, I could answer all the questions after reading the passages just once because they were so straightforward. The Verbal I felt was way easier than the GMATprep 1 and 2 verbals and the quant was a little simpler. Overall an easier exam. I got unlucky with a whole string of DS qtns (counted 8 in a row - what the hell is with me and getting consecutive DS questions???) in the beginning. I usually prefer them to be towards the end when I've built up a time buffer so I can spend more time on each one. Well, Q49s not the end of the world.

Bear in mind that being easier does not mean you'll score better as the curve becomes more crowded at the top.

bschool2014 · Answer

I don't mean to rub it in, but not completing the section drops your score by around 3% percentile. You could have scored well over 750 if you had completed.

openbox1 · Answer

Yeah, but oh well, can't do jack about it and not going to obsess about it. My goal was always to get at least 730 and while I just scraped by that requirement, its still a respectable score that shouldn't harm my chances anywhere. Its not going to cannon me past my competitors, but hey, that just means I need to slap on a thicker coat of lipstick and wear more slutty clothes to attract the John that is the business school. And you're rubbing it in... With sandpaper

I kid. I find apps are like a woman putting on makeup. With the right application, you can turn the ugliest duckling into the most beautiful swan. Too much and you look like a clown, too little and you look just plain. You just have to hit that fine line. Sigh, its been what, 10 years since my college-suck days back in high school? Hope I still haven't lost the touch.

akhileshgupta05 · Answer

are you sure its 3%tile I remember reading somewhere that its 1.5% or something. If its 3%tile, then its a lot. You miss 3-4 questions in the entire test and you're screwed!!!

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Done with GMAT - 730 Q49 V42

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