MGMAT CAT - Math Question

[SummerCourse]

Hi Stacey,

I wanted to ask you a general question about the difficulty level of the Math section on the Manhattan GMAT CAT Exams. I have been working through the exams throughout the summer and have noticed the math problems are significantly more difficult than the problems in the Office Guide (as well as in other review books and online CAT exams with other companies). This is just how I personally feel based on my results from all the exams (I do significantly better on other preps and OG problems than on MGMAT CAT Math) and review of the problems and their explanations.

Just for my sanity, is this something that was done on purpose? (ie. math problems designed to be more difficult than OG)?

I look forward to your reply.

Thank You

[givemeanid]

I agree the problems in MGMAT CATs are significantly harder than in OG11. However, its not the percentage of problems you get correct that determines your score but the level of difficulty of the correct/incorrect combined in some algorithmic way. I consider myself to be better than average in Math (4 years of BS and 2 years of MS and working with Mortgage Backs will drill the Math in you) and the best I have done in 3 MGMAT tests till date is 27 correct.

However, after having said the above, I believe OG PS/DS questions are not really to the level of difficulty needed to get a consistent 700+ score. Even if you look at GMATPrep questions, some of those, especially when you are scoring above 700+, are really tough and you have to guess and move on if you want to finish the section within the specified time limit. MGMAT CATs help you prepare at a high altitude level and while they may be harder, they are a good practice in my opinion.

[SummerCourse]

givemeanid,

Thanks for the response. I just sometimes feel that the Manhattan CAT exams do not accurately represent your score. For example, I have been averaging around 42-44 on the quant using Manhattan CAT and around 48-51 using another companies CAT. I have such tough time finishing the math section within the time allocated with Manhattan but do not wiht any other source. I will be taking the GMATPREP tomorrow so I suppose I will get a better feel for which is the most accurate.

Just out of curiousity, what are your thoughts on the Verbal CAT from Manhattan?

[givemeanid]

I think MGMAT Verbal resembles GMATPrep Verbal more than MGMAT Quant resembles GMATPrep Quant. My verbal scores range from 38 to 45 on MGMAT and the 2 GMATPreps I took, the Verbal scores were 40 and 45. This range bothers me a bit since I would like to be more consistent with the D-Day approaching (I am taking the plunge 8 days from today).

[GMAT2007]

I totally agree with you guys. My average in quant is in mid 40s in few MGMAT CATs I have taken so far but in GMAT prep & other companies CATs my average is 48-50.

Good luck for the D-day givemeanid. Also - any tips for verbal? I am having trouble with my verbal score I am averaging in mid 30s.

GMAT 2007

[givemeanid]

GMAT2007, I don't know what Verbal tips to give you since I feel I am in the same boat. My GMATPrep Verbal scores have been 40 and above but I think they are skewed up since I have seen some questions on the forum before I took the test. The only good thing is that I do not remember any answers and so I am actually solving the questions while taking the test. But I still feel that having seen the question before gives you that sense of familiarity which might (just a little bit, but still) help you.

I have been using OG11 and OG Verbal Review along with the forum to tackle the Verbal section. (This forum is such a great resource especially the instructors who spend so much time and effort, not to mention patience, in explaining things.) My only mantra has been practice, practice and more practice and crossing my fingers such that on the D-Day, I perform towards the higher end of my abilities.

[SummerCourse]

So I just took the first GMATPREP CAT...and got a 48 Quant.....on Sunday I took the Manhattan CAT and got a 44 Quant....enough of a difference to alter the score significantly I suppose....

I feel like I am in the same boat as you guys on the Verbal....I am taking the exam actual exam in about 12 days...and want to get my verbal score up from upper 30s to low/mid 40s....The way I have seen it is the only way to improve your score on verbal (once you understand core concepts) is to do ALOT of practice.....The thing is I have already done most of the the problems in the OG and Verbal Guide....I do not feel if doing the problems again will help me significantly. Do you either of you guys have a recommendation of another source to continue to practice verbal questions?

Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

Hey, guys, I've been on vacation, sorry. Let's see, lots of stuff

- My students do generally feel that our quant is harder than the official test quant - you don't get little "mental breaks" on our test due to experimental questions, and also some of our questions are a bit more computation intensive than they should be (we're weeding these out as our algorithm data identifies problems).

- Having said that, we still do a pretty good job of predicting official test scores. Our standard deviation is 50 points, compared to a 30 point standard deviation for the official test. GMATPrep's SD hasn't been published, but I think of it as 40 points (worse than the official test, of course, but probably better than ours, or any other commercial company's, SD).

- Both OG and GMATPrep have a dearth of questions at the highest level. While the GMATPrep algorithm is the same as the official test's, GMATPrep's question pool is much more shallow - there just literally aren't as many very high level questions for the test to give you. My students who score at the highest math levels generally tell me that GMATPrep was easier than the real thing.

- For verbal, if you're not at the score you want, then you're not done studying OG, even if you've already done the questions. Your improvement doesn't come so much from doing the questions - it comes from analyzing the questions after you've done them. Start with understanding why the wrong answers are wrong - ALL 4 wrong answers on every verbal question. Don't stop until you feel like you could articulate to someone else why the wrong answers are wrong, well enough to convince the other person. Verbal is all about POE (process of elimination); most of the time, you get to the right answer by finding the four wrong answers first.

Also ask yourself why you got the question wrong - whether a technical error (that is, a grammar rule you didn't know or spot), a comprehension error (which might result from the passage / argument), or a "trap" error (you fell into a trap by picking a tempting but wrong answer - why were you tempted? and why is it really wrong?). Then figure out what you can do to avoid such errors in the future.

[jaidev.nitc]

Wow Stacey, that's fantastic advice!

I have written 5 MGMAT CATs till date and have been scoring Q51 in the last 2 tests but my Verbal scores have decreased (42 and 46 in GMATPrep to 36-38 in MGMAT CATs). I have 4 days till my GMAT, I think I will go through the OG Verbal review and use the strategy you mentioned above. Thank you very much for the advice!!!

[mschwrtz]

good luck on your exam!