MGMAT Cat #1, #2, and #3

[Guest]

Hi,
I have so far given 3 MGMAT exams and my scores are as follows:

CAT Exam #1 7/15/2008
SCORE & OVERVIEW OF RESULTS
TYPE SCORE ESTIMATED PERCENTILE RANK
Quantitative 43 70 %
Verbal 36 81 %
Total 650 84 %

CAT Exam #2 7/26/2008
SCORE & OVERVIEW OF RESULTS
TYPE SCORE ESTIMATED PERCENTILE RANK
Quantitative 47 81 %
Verbal 34 72 %
Total 670 89 %

CAT Exam #3 7/29/2008
SCORE & OVERVIEW OF RESULTS
TYPE SCORE ESTIMATED PERCENTILE RANK
Quantitative 45 77 %
Verbal 33 69 %
Total 640 80 %

When I checked the detailed breakdown, I found out that most of my questions from CAT #3 were from the 700-800 bin whereas in the previous tests, I had the majority of questions from 600-700.
I am confused that if that is the case, should I not have receievd a higher score in the 3rd one? as you can see, this is my lowest score so far.

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another thing i wanted to find out is whether the exam that I download from mba.com changes with time. I believe I had last attempted from mba.com in March and was wondering whether it is still the same.

thanks a lot!

[mdinerstein]

Hi Guest,

It would appear that whereas on the previous tests, you were getting slightly easier questions relative to your ability level, on this other test, you were receiving slightly harder questions relative to your ability level, perhaps due to timing issues or some even due to greater familiarity with one type of question over another. If you can provide me with your Username and Password (e-mail me at the address below), I can log into your account and more accurately assess your performance.

Unless otherwise specified by mba.com, the tests they offer in the GMATPrep software draw from the same question pool. Hence, there is a good chance you will see some of the same questions from the test you took in March.

Best,

Michael Dinerstein
Marketing & Student Services Associate
michael@manhattangmat.com
800-576-4628
212-721-7400

[Guest]

HI Michael,
I have emailed you my login information.
I would tend to agree that I got a lot of questions from the 700-800 range. But in that case, should my score not been higher even if my percentage of right questions might have been same as before or maybe slightly lower. My understanding is that the ultimate goal in GMAT is to get majority of questions from the 700-800 pool, which maximizes your chance of scoring 700+.

thanks and appreciate your help in looking into this.

[StaceyKoprince]

Not necessarily - it depends on the spread of questions. You could have a majority of questions from the 700+ range but take too long on those, run out of time towards the end and have to guess a lot, and have to do that enough that your score tanks. Your result is not simply an average of your difficulty levels across your test, so it is perfectly possible to raise your score above a 700 (equivalent) level and then lose that ground and lower your score before you're through with the section. Take a look at the list of test questions - were you getting more wrong toward the end, and did the difficulty levels start to drop toward the end?

[Guest]

I believe I did much better in quant that previous tests.
I sent Mike my login details, any chance you could login and do some analysis.

thanks a lot

[StaceyKoprince]

okay - Mike will log in when he gets a chance and let you know what he thinks!