Best GMAT Practice Tests

weeds499:

thanks guys

are there any brands of tests that are a good reflection of the real thing?

The old tests from mba.com are about as real as it gets.

Hi guys, Just thought I'd give you the link for the free GMAT PIll Practice tests: www.gmatpill.com/GMAT-practice-test/practice-test/

mba.com

You should def check out gmatclub.com during your GMAT preparation

You can get a free one from kaplan and two from teh mba.com site

Try these tests: GMAT Pill GMAT Club Kaplan MGMT

You only get the correct answers; no explanations. The MBA.com tests are the most accurate predictor of the actual exam as far as content, format and generally scoring (at least relative to tests from Pton Review, Manh GMAT, etc.).

Generally, they reco that you save those two exams for last but i found it helpful to take the tests, reset the software, and then take again. A bunch of repeated information but helps with practice and confidence.

• Use the search function at beatthegmat.com and gmatclub.com... they're great for finding extra explanations for OG and GMAT Prep questions.

• Search for a thread on gmatclub.com that tells you how to reinstall GMAT Prep properly so that you have a new FRESH set of questions every time you retake it, as the question bank consists of 1000+ questions... i've actually retaken it around 3 times.

• PowerPrep is the old GMAT Prep and has overlap with the OG 10, 11, 12 material, but they have step-by-step explanations

From my experience,

the MBA.com practice tests are EXACTLY like the actual GMAT, both in terms of question mix/difficulty and scoring. The scoring is 100% accurate. For example, I took 2 MBA.com tests, got a 740 and a 760. I got a 740 on the real thing.

Also, while there are only two practice tests, I have heard that each test has a question bank of 250+ questions, so you can take each test 2-3 times before getting too many familiar questions. So really, there are 5-6 practice tests on there.

AA,

Do you just not save your responses and reset the test? I didn't realize you could do this.

Are these worth taking even if you've JUST started studying for the GMAT?

^^^its good to gauge...im downloading mine right now... not sure ill spend three hours taking the practice test tonight though...

^^ hmm I see... I just have a bitch of a schedule and wasn't sure if I should bother taking it for another month or not.

I found it to be the most accurate as well. After taking a few of the MGMAT practice tests, I took an "official" mba.com test the night before the real thing and got a 710, which was my actual score, and higher than I had scored on manhattan GMAT practices. The verbal on the real thing and the mba.com test was a joke compared to manhattan, but that was my strongest section.

^^^ are you saying manhattan GMAT verbal was more difficult than the actual test?

In my opinion, it was. I scored 99th% on mba.com practice and the next day on the real thing. I was closer to 90-93rd in manhattan AND cheating on the time.

MBA.com (GMAT PREP) = easier than real thing - particularly the quant section.

MGMAT Quant = harder than real thing MGMAT Verbal = easier than real thing

Real GMAT Verbal has longer passages than GMAT PREP.

These are very important. I would say don't waste these tests until you feel good prepping. These tests are benchmarkers - not really for review.

I took the 2 practice tests the day before my GMAT and I scored in the mid 500's each time and I was freaking out. When i took the real thing the next day, I scored 690. Not the best of course but good enough to get be in to Ross. The biggest value that I took from taking the practice test is it's just like the real thing so you get a really good feel for how the real things going to go.

For me they were very accurate. My real score was the average of GMATPrep 1 and GMATPrep 2, and the difference between the two was 20 points.

If you need explanations for the answers, check out gmatclub.com, they are very helpful.

not a great start, but given alot of quant is data sufficiency which is very difficult to do without practice with some serious training you can get it to a decent level.

On a side note theres a guy at wharton last year with 540.

It would be better if you bombed the verbal section--you can really train yourself to beat the verbal.

I'm not sure how much of your math score was due to rust, but surely you'll be able to bring it up substantially if you feel it belies your true aptitude.

thanks. sat math was 700. I honestly think I guessed on all the data sufficiency questions, had no clue how I was supposed to answer the questions.

You should buy some ManhattanGMAT books. They are really good. I wouldn't take the class until you finish the books and run through some practice exams.

also if youve forgotten all basic maths the GMAT maths pill might be quite useful, fairly price, but worth it imho if you learn better through videos than book.

It depends on your diligence and ability to study. While thats below average, its not horrible, especially since you haven't studied. Get the Manhattan GMAT books, all 3 official guides, and dedicate yourself.

Bought MGMAT 8 strategy guides and the 3 official guides. Have the option to sign up for 9-session class as well. Do you all recommend I study before I enroll into the class? If so, how long should I study before I start taking the in-person classes? I can sign up for one starting the 10th.

Dude i took it with no prep at all and scored a 480

What I did after that:

Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT Book & CD Kaplan GMAT 800 Official Guide 7 CATs from Manhattan GMAT + 2 free ones from the GMAT exam company

Score: 640

Waited 30 days, took it again with a clear head, and got a 720 with very little prep.

How much do people typically spend on GMAT prep? Some of the prep guides and classes seem ridiculously overpriced to me.

I wouldn't really worry about it. If you've never seen data sufficiency questions before, you can't really expect to cruise through them. I took the GMAT Prep practice test cold before I started prepping. Took a practice test again after about a month and a half and got 30 points higher. After another month and a half I was up 80 points from my first practice test. It's all about familiarizing yourself with the types of questions, getting the pacing down for the math section, and learning shortcuts from the Manhattan GMAT strategy guides. Put in the time and you'll get there. You can't get discouraged before you even start studying.

I'd say with the MGMAT prep material, you'd be able to get at least 150 point improvement, or at least that would be manageable. With a score that low(I know you didn't know anything), it just means you need to learn the foundations. MGMAT will help you with that. I'm up anywhere from 100-140 points after 2 months prep

I studied for a month and scored a 720 with the MGMAT books and 3 Official Guides. I would say it was a total of about 45 hours, mostly doing practice problems. The books helped a great deal and there was only one question on the actual test that I had not seen in some form before. I think you should at least skim the material before you take the actual classes, it will help you identify your weak areas ahead of time. I think my initial prep test score was in the mid 500's and I am pretty sure I could have scored higher on the actual test with a couple weeks of extra study time. That being said, if you put it the time to study, take timed practice tests, and relax on test day you should be fine.

It's normal that you missed that many. Was this the test/s from MBA.com?

yeah... it just doesn't make sense that with a 46 on quant you could still get a 750 though.... because 46 q is like 78%th percentile by most marks... granted the 48 v is above 99th... anyways... and 78 and 99.5 don't average to 98-97 (which would be implied by the 750)

anyways... the bottom line is that I should study some math. I REALLY don't remember anything about geometry...

and yeah it's the first of the mba.com ones.

Honestly, you should just go take the test with very minimal studying. If you put in a solid month you should easily score 770+. Congrats man, I'm struggling to break 700. Good luck as well.

i guess i could have missread it and it could have been 46 / 48 in the other direction and that would make more sense... cause 46 in v is still 99ish and 48 in math would make a big difference over 46... moves from like 78 to 85 or something i think

You have to remember that the GMAT is a computer adaptive test so it is going to keep giving you more difficult questions until it gets to the point that you consistently miss questions at a certain difficulty. For that reason, you could miss 15 questions, but if all the misses were "800" level questions than you could end up with a 760. At the same time, you could only miss 10 questions, but if they were all at an easier difficulty, you could end up with a 650. You shouldn't worry about HOW MANY questions you are missing - you should worry about HOW HARD are the questions you are missing. This isn't a traditional test where your score is based on the percentage you got right.

right, I understand that the different difficulties have different values in scoring... but it just seemed wild that one could get a 750 having missed so many questions and being barely into the top quartile on Q...

Verbal is where you get into the 740+range.

Also, you shouldn't think about 75th percentile quant and 99th verbal as 87 percentile total. It doesn't work that way. Most people who get 99th on quant totally suck at verbal (and vice versa). If you can get 99th percentile in one section, as long as you get above 50th on the other you will likely get 720+. For example, I got 99th percentile verbal and 85th quant and I was in the 99th percentile total.

And on the live test, I only missed 1 question in verbal and ended up with a 48. I missed 10-12 (can't remember) on quant and got 46. I think the quant section is much more competitive because of the large number of non-native english speakers (asians) who rock quantitative but bring down averages on verbal.

agree with GenericUserName

also, the interplay between your verbal %, quant %, and overall % is complex and often surprising. what it comes down to, as i understand it (having taken the test last summer), is that even though you may have been 80% on math and 99% on verbal, there are still less than 1% of people that get both of those simultaneously.

to illustrate, if i recall correcly, i got 98% quant, ~94% verbal, but still got 99% overall.

in terms of accuracy of the official practice tests, i found them to be spot-on - i took both practice tests and the real test within the same 2 week period, and my scores were 760 (practice 1), 780 (practice 2), 770 (real).

practice tests from other companies are pretty much a crapshoot though, i took one from knewton in that same short time period and got something like a 680

^that makes a lot of sense... I also got like 800w and 780v or something on sat and only 700 on m.. .so I'm just weaker on quant.

thanks dublin, that's encouraging...

just a quick question--how different is the GMAT from the SAT?

meaning how strong is the correlation between performing well on one vs. the other

i got 760 on both practice tests and 760 on the real one

but no significant prep

Solidarity,

The general rule of thumb is that you should score around half your SAT score (or a 3rd for all you young kids). So if you scored a 1400 on the old SAT you should expect to score a 700 on the GMAT. Obviously, this is a generalization and can be largely influenced by how much you prepare and how much weed you smoked in college.

^a generalization, but pretty much correct from what I'm seeing so far... from roughly 1500 to roughly 750 (if I can actually achieve that score on the live test).

A 750 is no doubt a fantastic score, but you still have some studying to do. I know a 48M = 82%, so I'm guessing a 46M is something in the 70-73% range. Given that the top schools expect to see at least 80% in both categories, I'd encourage you to increase your math before you go for the real thing. Your ridiculously high verbal compensates by increasing your overall score, but you still want 80+% on the math. When you go to fill out your MBA apps, you'll notice that they ask for a M/V numerical and % split.

^thanks for the advice compbanker - that's what I was thinking too. The good news is that I should be able to improve math substantially... there were tons of easy questions where I just needed to review (forgot the formula for volume of a cone, forgot some basic properties of polygons, etc.)... the bad news is I think you're right that in order to be competitive at the top schools I better get 85th-90th on quant. I've read a number of things that say that.

Another interesting thing now that I looked back at all the questions I missed is that almost all of them were problem solving, rather than data sufficiency. It's really just that one question type that's been an issue.... anyways.

thanks for all the comments people

yeah, for me, and probably for you and many others, things like geometry sort of wear off in the ~5-6 years between learning them in high school and graduating college - i spent the first couple days of my gmat prep reading through the math review chapter in the official guide (chapter 3, perhaps?) and it made all the difference in the world. comes back to you pretty quick if you put in some hours.

Yeah, I skipped those initially (of course), but now I'm going to do that on my fight tomorrow. I may use the manhattan GMAT books too if there's time... I'm taking the exam in 4 weeks, so should be okay.

The verbal score is what can really boost you past the 700 mark. Many of those who take the test aren't from the U.S. or Great Britain (e.g. they are from India, China, South America, etc.) and so they have trouble with the verbal section, which brings the average scores down for the verbal section on the GMAT. We (native English speakers) have quite an advantage IMO, if you don't suck at math.