Kaplan CAT vs ETS CAT

[will415]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on how the Kaplan CAT stands up to the actual ETS CAT. I've taken 2 Kaplan CAT's and overall have been more or less happy with my scores. I'm just wondering in advance if anyone had an opinion on whether Kaplan's CATs were easier/harder/same. Also I plan to take a Powerprep CAT soon with the hopes that it will be closer to what ETS offers, or at very least will diversify my test taking experience.

Thanks,

Will

[The Man Who Is Thursday]

I took several Kaplan CAT tests (signed up for their online course), and the difficulty seemed the same to me as when I actually took the test. However, I scored over 100 points lower on the verbal for the real test than on four Kaplan practice tests.

That's not necessarily to say that Kaplan's are easier or a bad indication of how you'll do (I could've easily been a victim of bad luck), but I guess the scores don't lie.

I would guess that Kaplan is a pretty good indicator of the real test, though. They wouldn't stay in business if they weren't. However, it might be good to take a variety of tests and see what your strengths/weaknesses tend to be, then study accordingly.

[Palatial]

I felt as though the kaplan cat's were closer to the real thing than either princeton review or any other cat I took (barrons etc.) But nothing beats powerprep. The scores I got on my kaplan cats were closest to my actual gre score, but the powerprep questions and style were, at least for me, dramatically more similar to the actual gre i took. If you're happy with your kaplan scores, I'd take that as a plus. Good luck on your exam!

[schoolpsych_hopeful]

All of the test prep company CATs (Kaplan, Princeton Review, Barron's) are going to be harder than the real thing. They have a very strong incentive to make you think you are worse than you really are (so you will buy more books). The Powerprep software will give you the most accurate score/level of difficulty.

[FrenchMess]

Recently used the Kaplan internet courses and books. I found the CAT way harder than the real GRE!!! I got around 600V, 700Q at CAT3 or 4 and scored about 70 and 50 more points on the real GRE in each section. So I'm pretty happy with their practice tests but I found them pretty different from the real GRE. Nothing beats Powerprep, it really really based on the real exam and is the best prediction of your scores.

My opinion at least

Best of luck (I'm traumatised with this exam, I HATED it)

[goomba25]

I used the Kaplan in-person course, took 6(?) CATs and the 2 PowerPrep ETS tests, and scored much higher than I had ever done on a practice test.

Here's the trick: if you get the first 10-15 questions right, the test is over, the score is high and you can relax. Kind of.