700-800 question pool

[ofirbie]

Hello,

I bought the MGMAT practice tests.
I would like to know if there are enough 700-800 questions for all the 6 tests.
If I continue to succeed most of these questions, Will I not run out of 700-800 Qs?

I am asking that because I saw in my first test I got always 700-800 Qs after succeeding 700-800 Qs, while in the second test, in which I succseed much better, I got less of these Qs after succeesding 700-800 Qs(It happened more than once) and got 600-700 Qs instead.

Please let me know, because it is very important for me , in order to schedule the rest of the tests before the real GMAT next week.

Thanks,

Ofir

[RonPurewal]

if you consistently score 750+ on the tests, then you will indeed, at some point, run out of 700-800 questions. however, this should absolutely not happen in the first 3-4 out of 6 tests; even if you are performing essentially perfectly, you should still have enough 700-800 questions to last you into the fifth or sixth test.

how high are you scoring?

[ofirbie]

Hi again, and thanks for the fast response.

I didn't mention it before, but I am interesting in the quantitative part only.

I am not performing essentially perfect but yet I exposed mostly to the 700-800 questions:

Quantitative:
First test: score 46, 33 questions of 700-800 level.
Second test: score 50, 26 questions of 700-800 level.
(the level of the questions in the second test droped form 700-800 to 600-700 despite the fact that I succeeded in the previous 700-800 Qs. It happened several times)

Thanks.

[ofirbie]

Hi,

An update -
Quantitative:
First test: score 46, 33 questions of 700-800 level.
Second test: score 50, 26 questions of 700-800 level.
third test: score 50, 17 questions of 700-800 level.
and again the QS level droped without a reason(after I succeeded in the previous 700-800 Qs)

Are there not enough 700-800 Qs in the Qs pool?

[StaceyKoprince]

The algorithm does have to factor in other things besides difficulty level (question type, topic, sub-topic), so it isn't literally the case that the difficulty level only goes up if you get it right and only goes down if you get it wrong.

At the same time, I'm surprised that you had only 17 on the third test. I'd like to have our algorithm folks take a look at your record. Can you please send an email to techsupport@manhattangmat.com and reference our discussion (put a link to this thread in the email). Tell them to forward it to me and I'll get it to the right person. I'll also ask our head of curriculum to take a look at your post; maybe there's something he knows that I don't know.

[StaceyKoprince]

Just wanted to add - in the meantime, if you are looking for additional practice on hard questions in an adaptive format, try www.gmatfocus.com (if you haven't already). These are shorter sections of 24 questions, but these are official, released GMAT questions and they are also adaptive.

[StaceyKoprince]

I know Chris already emailed you about this issue but I wanted to post his reply here for others to read. The short answer: it was actually the 4th test, not the 3rd, because the free CAT does pull questions from the same overall CAT pool. And if you are doing so well right from test 1 that you get 700+ questions for the entire section, then yes, you will run out before the 6 tests are used up. (Though we are writing more hard questions right now - a new pool should go live in a couple of months.)

"Since you’d already taken the free CAT, your 3rd non-free CAT would have been #4 drawing from the same pool (the free CAT draws from a restricted portion of the larger CAT pool). At this stage, since you’re taking your test this week, I would suggest that if you’re set on seeing lots of new 700-800 level questions, you should reset the GMAT Prep exams, do GMAT Focus, or use another source. That said, in these final days, don’t underestimate the value of reviewing OLD math questions to ensure that you have the knowledge at your fingertips. Speed and comfort/confidence are the two variables to optimize at this stage on questions that you’ve already seen. I hope this is helpful - I’m sorry that our CAT pool is not yet as full of 700-800 level math questions as we’d like (although we’re working on it) - and good luck with your GMAT!"

Also, wow - if you're doing that well on practice tests, it's time to get in there and take the real thing! Good luck! :)

[shadangi]

I know Chris already emailed you about this issue but I wanted to post his reply here for others to read. The short answer: it was actually the 4th test, not the 3rd, because the free CAT does pull questions from the same overall CAT pool. And if you are doing so well right from test 1 that you get 700+ questions for the entire section, then yes, you will run out before the 6 tests are used up. (Though we are writing more hard questions right now - a new pool should go live in a couple of months.)

So has this pool increased? I am at the same state in terms of Quant. In last 3 tests I have gotten 51-51-50 in quant. In my analysis for the last tests most of these questions were from 600-700; however, in the previous ones most were from 700-800 range. Btw, I have given all 6 tests - although the 1st 3 tests were fluke and I gave them just for fun last year to get sense of what is GMAT is all about and I was not at all serious then. I am planning to reset just those 3 tests, so that I can give them again seriously this time - I have not even reviewed them and I was not even timing.

[StaceyKoprince]

We have added questions to the pool, yes, but it is still the case that you could run out before the 6 test are out if you are scoring at the highest range right from the beginning. Basically, the tests are designed with the idea that those who need all 6 are starting at a lower level and working their way up. If you are scoring at that high a level from the start... well, you're ready for the real test. :)

Most people only need 3 to 4 full-length tests (if you're using them appropriately - which is to say, if you aren't just taking a bunch of tests constantly, which isn't an effective way to prepare).

In your case, it sounds like the first three were a while ago and you have probably forgotten most of those Qs, so now that you've taken the first set of 6, you'll see the hardest questions again - but that's fine, because it was a while ago so you won't remember!