Kaplan CAT Accuracy?

Question

Hey guys, I sat for the GMAT about 1.5 years ago and scored. 610. I started back with studying in October. I’ve been working through empower for the last month and a half and also taking the Kaplan CATS. I scored a 630 on my diagnostic CAT, which was an MGMAT. I have since scored a 610 and 590 on my first two Kaplan CATs. The verbal is extremely challenging - I’m usually in the 39-41 range on verbal and have not scored above 34 on Kaplan. Meanwhile the Quant is enraging. I don’t know if it’s how the questions or written, but I get done with the quant I feel like I’ve just been put through the wash. It’s horrible. I’m improving with my OG quizzes and practice problems but these cats are very discouraging. It’s almost hard to even see them as a useful measurement device. Has anyone else had similar issue with the Kaplan CATS?

Answer 1

Hello. To answer your question, in my experience helping students prepare for the test, nothing beats official practice material for diagnostic purposes. I have heard from many clients that Kaplan questions seem "off," and even Manhattan Prep should be used as a secondary source for practice questions. Why? Because GMAC™, the governing body behind the GMAT™, does not license its questions. I have actually communicated with its legal counsel while writing a prep book to figure out just what is allowed and what is considered copyright infringement. All third-party questions, no matter how well they mimic the language of the test, can only come so close to official questions, and that understandably gives them a different feel.

In short, it is not worth getting discouraged over Kaplan results, since such questions do not reflect official questions accurately. Although some test prep companies provide high-quality questions, these still pale in comparison to those released by GMAC™ that you can find in the Official Guide, Verbal and Quantitative Review, and, more recently, the Advanced Guide, as well as other online products. You can find a list of these on mba.com.

Good luck with your practice.

Andrew