hello,
Im am currently enrolled in the complete gmat prep course. I just completed week 3 and decided to take a practice test this weekend. I bombed and got only 570. I got 9 wrong on the math and 18 wrong on the verbal

My goal for the actual test is 720.
Is it even possible to climb 150 points?

recommendations/suggestions on how to proceed?
Also, does the veritas prep cat score exactly like the actual gmat cat would?
thanks.

Hey TJ,

It's certainly possible to increase by 150+ points from a week 3 practice test, so rest assured that you can get there. Practice test scores that early in the course are often held back by:

1) You're early enough in the program that you probably overthink questions that you would ordinarily get right quicker (you know there's a strategy but haven't really gotten comfortable with it through homework.

2) You haven't done much with pacing, so you're likely making rushed mistakes and/or not finishing sections completely.

3) It's hard to be entirely focused on a practice test while you're balancing work, class, homework, etc.

4) The practice test scoring algorithms are pretty good approximations of the official scoring system, but not exact (GMAC has its own proprietary scoring system), so typically the scores skew a few points lower than what an actual score would be (the theory is that, if they're not perfect, we might as well encourage people to study harder than to get complacent)

Given all of that, it's quite a bit more important that you learn from the practice tests you take during class than it is what the score shows. Go back and determine why you made the mistakes that you did - do you need to focus on those content areas? Do you make the same careless errors repetitively when you're under timed pressure? Did you simply not have enough time to finish the section?

Use the practice tests to help you determine where to spend your study time, and you can certainly make up a lot of ground.

Hey Brian,

I am little confused whether to go with the GmatPrep Scores or the Veritas Prep CAT 1 scores? I took the Practise Test 1 on GmatPrep yesterday and got 710..today i took the Veritas Prep CAT1 and got 650..do you think today was a bad day or is there such a big difference between scores normally? What would I want to get on the Veritas Prep CATs to get 720+ on the actual GMAT? Also..any last minute suggestions for the test? I am taking it on the 23rd of December!

Thanks.

Hey Modi,

GMATPrep scores are usually going to be more accurate...those are created by GMAC itself so they use the official scoring algorithm and question difficulty levels. Honestly, it's pretty common for test-prep-created tests to score a little harder, if only because then the margin for error encourages people to study a little harder (and not to rest on any laurels).

Ultimately, though, the only score that matters is the official score, so both tests should provide you with ways to better your score through:

-Look at the mistakes you made and see if you can find reasons for them. If you see common mistakes, be aware of them so that you can fix them on test day.

-See where you spent your time, and if any questions took well longer than average (say, 3+ minutes), look at those to see how you can either improve time or recognize early in a question that you're not going to answer it correctly-and-quickly so that you can levy your educated guess early enough to save time for later. Similarly, if you see questions on which you know you rushed and fell victim to a silly mistake, use that as a reminder to slow down to ensure correct answers.