Practice GRE scores vs. real GRE scores

[awells27]

wait, does Powerprep actually provide 4 tests? I thought they only give 2?

 

2 written in the book, non adaptive, and two computerized, supposedly adaptive but I seriously doubt it, as I thought the 2 computerized tests were way easier than test day.  

[qualthian]

When I used power prep, it was averagely 165 Q, 142 V

 

In real test, i got 170Q, 146 V

[khoda]

ETS Book 1: 164V/164Q

ETS Book 2: 163V/164Q

PowerPrep 1: 165V/169Q

PowerPrep 2: 165V/170Q

 

Actual: 161V/169Q

 

Quant studying: all the quant problems in the Manhattan GRE 5lb book

Verbal studying: 500 essential words from Manhattan GRE

[ZZZZZ]

Scarf in the wind, thank you very much for your invaluable suggestions.

 

Based on your recommendations, I tried out Manhattan GRE, and my scores improved dramatically today. 

 

Dear all, I would highly recommend Manhattan's 5 lb book of problems. What was good about the book was the number of questions, and explanations for each question. Its almost like you don't need to be tutored for this exam !

 

After a 3-week gap between the two exams, my second score came up to 164/170 (verbal) and 156/170 (math). My first score was really shite (152 Math and 156 Verbal) - and I was using Princeton Review !! Their practice tests are too easy !

 

 

Actual Scores:

 

Verbal: 159

Quant: 153

AWA: Unknown.

 

Very happy with my scores. If I get at least a 4 for AWA I can finally move on with my life, and end this dreadful relationship with a test.

 

 

 

Those aren't bad scores. I think they're great, as you can see above I got similar scores and I'm ecstatic. Then again, I'm not applying to schools like Georgetown or Fletcher. But if you feel they are low then you can check out Magoosh whose questions are quite difficult and will provide  a challenge along with a thorough teaching of all the aspects of the test, and Manhattan's prep books which will do the same. I highly recommend both. Princeton Review is highly inadequate, and they're tests are easy. Their material was decent for the old test from a few years ago (my opinion), but not for the current test where the questions are more difficult and require a different type of thinking.

 

There's also the inclusion of 6 tests when purchasing a Manhattan book. A Manhattan book. You only need 1 book to gain access to the 6 tests, but the entire set is great as well, though I don't quite care for the Text Completion/Sentence Equivalence book. For that, Magoosh is better. Also check out Manhattan's 5 pound book of practice problems.

 

Also, see whether you need to change your study habits. I had been studying (come on at least a 4 for AWA so I can end the misery) since March. Yes, I know long time. You probably don't need that if those were your scores after a month. Just focus and work hard, that's all I can say.

 

Good luck.

[Char123]

Scarf in the wind, thank you very much for your invaluable suggestions.

 

Based on your recommendations, I tried out Manhattan GRE, and my scores improved dramatically today. 

 

Dear all, I would highly recommend Manhattan's 5 lb book of problems. What was good about the book was the number of questions, and explanations for each question. Its almost like you don't need to be tutored for this exam !

 

After a 3-week gap between the two exams, my second score came up to 164/170 (verbal) and 156/170 (math). My first score was really shite (152 Math and 156 Verbal) - and I was using Princeton Review !! Their practice tests are too easy !

I heard the verbal section sucks and is not at all representative of the real test due to the obscure words. What is your take on that?

[ZZZZZ]

Hello!

 

I actually found Manhattan prep to be pretty good in the verbal aspect because of the number/range of difficulty of questions they have. For each section, the 5 lb book has 100+ questions so you get tons of practice. Lots of obscure words also come up in the text completions/sentence equivalence, so you can make note of them for test day. On my first attempt, I saw lots of words that I have never come across before (and I am a lawyer!), rest assured that Manhattan's book helped me sail through the second round. 

 

Rest of it is luck, and what comes up on test day ! Wish you all the best ! 

 

 

I heard the verbal section sucks and is not at all representative of the real test due to the obscure words. What is your take on that?

Edited October 11, 2013 by V1988

[awells27]

The verbal section is much better in the 5lb book than in the individual TC/SE book.  THey probably realized how much the first one sucked.  

[antigone56]

So I took the GRE today and got the following:

 

157 Verbal / 152 Quantitative

 

I'm really stupid when it comes to the GRE. Seriously!

 

Writing unknown for now, but I usually get a 5 on it (got a 5 in 2008 and again in 2012)

 

My practice tests (nine of them) ranged between 153 and 162 (Verbal, that is; I didn't do Math practice tests at all because I'm an English person).  I felt, though, even as I took the practice tests, that "the real me" was 157/158/159.  So the score I got today is, I guess, pretty reflective of the real me.  

 

I guess I can't complain.

 

But suffice it to say that a 160 would have been much better for me.  Suffice it to say that 157 isn't that great for what I'm applying for, but I'm going to apply anyway and hope that my other application materials are strong enough to overcome the miserable mediocrity that is my GRE Verbal score.  I refuse to take the test again.  For one, I really don't think I can score higher.  Sure, on a practice test on a good day, I can score higher.  But it seems to be the case that any time I pay $185 and have a test on a set day that counts, I am doomed not to do as well as I did on my highest practice test.  Secondly, I just can't give any more money.  And I won't.  

 

On the upside, my total score on the old scale is 1220.  And I've heard the following (quoted from another message board): "Additionally, GRE scores are pretty much the last thing most adcoms look at. The general sense is as long as you're at/over 1200 on the old scale, it doesn't matter."

 

In that sense, I feel like I at least cracked 1200.  Yet I wonder:  Do adcoms really think that way, and do they actually calculate in their minds which scores are over 1200 on the old scale or not?

 

I hate the GRE.  The people who are good at it, I envy you.  

Edited October 12, 2013 by antigone56

[awells27]

I wouldn't get all worked up about the test, since not all people are wired for standardized tests.  I know I cannot do any better on the GRE, because I simply cannot get math questions correct over 80 percentile within the restricted time, and I'll never understand what they're looking for in the RC.  As far as what people look for, every department is different.  Some profs know the test is flawed, while others find it a convenient way to reduce the number of applications.   

[Scarf in the wind]

Scarf in the wind, thank you very much for your invaluable suggestions.

 

Based on your recommendations, I tried out Manhattan GRE, and my scores improved dramatically today. 

 

Dear all, I would highly recommend Manhattan's 5 lb book of problems. What was good about the book was the number of questions, and explanations for each question. Its almost like you don't need to be tutored for this exam !

 

After a 3-week gap between the two exams, my second score came up to 164/170 (verbal) and 156/170 (math). My first score was really shite (152 Math and 156 Verbal) - and I was using Princeton Review !! Their practice tests are too easy !

Congrats. Glad I could help.

[Scarf in the wind]

I heard the verbal section sucks and is not at all representative of the real test due to the obscure words. What is your take on that?

 

In my opinion, Manhattan's Text Completion/Sentence Equivalence book pales in comparison to the rigorous workout you'll receieve from both Magoosh and Manhattan's 5 pound book. Manhattan's textbook on TC and SE lacks any breadth with a small amount of questions for both sections. The best part of the book is the Vocab lists in the back of the book. I found Magoosh's verbal workout more thorough and akin to the actual tests. Note that Reading Comprehension is packaged in another book alongside Essays, and will not appear in the TC/SE book. Furthermore, Manhattan's 5 pound book has abundant questions for Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, Reading Comprehension and Logic-based Reading Comprehension, though no lessons. It is, through and through, a workout book. For lessons, I again recommend Magoosh. However, were you to purchase the books off Amazon they will be significantly cheaper than if they were purchased one by one from Manhattan's site, so for a lesser price you could obtain the TC/SE book and get access to the Vocab lists. Furthermore, I recommend Barron's 1,000 word list or something to that effect. I forgot the complete title name but it is similar to that.

 

Good luck.

[socioholic]

ETS practice test: 155V, 156Q

Real test: 160V, 161Q

[TheOttomanist]

So these are my stats: Diag 1 (ETS): V163 Q153 (Day 1) Diag 2 (ETS): V162 Q152 (Day 5) Diag 3 (MGRE): V160 Q153 (Day 35) Diag 4 (ETS) V162 Q (Did not do) (Day 42) Diag 5 (ETS) v160 Q (Did not do) (Day 45---2 days before the test) REAL GRE V165 Q156 (19th October) Real Verbal was easier than the questions both ETS and MGRE provide, while Math was about the same as MGRE. Happy with the scores though. Applying for History (Middle East) so my quant should not matter much. Cheers!

[Sizzle]

I just finished retaking the GRE, and I can post some scores here. I took the first test blind, just to see what the GRE was like. Then, I completed the following practice exams, all in the week preceding the retake, and I did no other prep work.

Starting GRE: 164Q/159V

Kaplan MST 1: 167Q/160V

Kaplan MST 2: 162Q/158V

Kaplan MST 3: 170Q/167V

Kaplan MST 4: 167Q/160V

Kaplan MST 5: 170Q/152V

PowerPrep 1: 170Q/162V

Actual GRE: 168Q/166V

Since I'm applying to Economics PhD programs, I wasn't really concerned about my low verbal score. Sure, that one low Kaplan score startled me, but verbal has never been my specialty. Now, since this puts me in the 96th percentile in each category, I'll just leave it as it stands and not bother reaching for the perfect quantitative score.

[Eco PlantGirl]

I took a few practice tests through Magoosh and Powerprep, and studied with the Magoosh quant lessons.

Powerprep 1: 154Q/161V (315) - before I did any studying

Magoosh 1:  158Q/154V (312)

Magoosh 2:  157Q/160V (317)

Magoosh 3: 159Q/162V (321)

Powerprep 2: 162Q/163V (325)

 

Magoosh score predictor: Q: 158-163, V: 157-162

 

Real GRE: 161Q/166V (327)

Overall, I think Magoosh did a great job of preparing me - their lessons are great for someone who hasn't done high school math in a while... I do wish I had scored a wee bit higher in quant, though. 

[zzzboy]

I urge everyone to save the 4 real ETS practice tests (2 in book, 2 in Powerprep) until your last month or few weeks of studying.

 

Those tests are simply invaluable.  They exactly simulate the difficulty of the real test and give you a perfect picture of the types of questions asked, the level of inferring you have to make in verbal, etc etc.

 

You should only take them when you are confident in your vocab + know all the math concepts.  You should not use one of those tests for an initial diagnostic score, but rather as an accurate assessment of how you might actually perform on the real test.

 

This strategy of saving real practice tests has allowed me to score near perfect SAT and GRE scores.

 

Another super strategy is to somehow mark your wrong answers on your test without actually knowing what the correct answer is.  On Powerprep it's really easy because you have the option of revealing of the correct answer.

 

It's really important that you discover the correct answer to a question YOURSELF.  You learn a LOT more when you figure out why something is wrong vs. when a book simply tells you that your answer is wrong and gives you the right answer.

 

This is my last post on the forum.  Please do not waste those ETS tests!

Edited November 2, 2013 by zzzboy

[C_Chattra]

I purchased the 6 practice tests from Manhattan and did one last week and today. The score from last week for Q was 152 and today was 163. That's HUGE difference! I wonder how reliable these tests are...

[C_Chattra]

I purchased the 6 practice tests from Manhattan and did one last week and today. The score from last week for Q was 152 and today was 163. That's HUGE difference! I wonder how reliable these tests are...

 Oh, I forgot to mention that on the first section of Q, I got 13/20 correct, and 12/20 correct on the second section. How in the world did that come up to a 163?!

[zzzboy]

^ that is utter bullshit.  that fact alone should tell you that manhattan prep is garbage.

 

kaplan is the always the best independent prep company.  princeton review is always garbage.

Edited November 3, 2013 by zzzboy

[C_Chattra]

It seems like you haven't used Manhattan before. How do you know it's 'garbage'? I'd like to get others' thoughts on Manhattan too (preferably ones who actually used it). Thanks.

[varun401]

See for yourself which practice test specifies the closest actual score.
 
ACTUAL GRE SCORE : 316 (V:152 , Q: 164, AWA: 3.5)
 
 
My practice test scores :

                                                                          V     Q   TOTAL

KAPLAN ONLINE PRACTICE TEST1               149 156   305
KAPLAN ONLINE PRACTICE TEST2               149 158   307
KAPLAN ONLINE PRACTICE TEST3               149 160   309
KAPLAN ONLINE PRACTICE TEST4               150 162   312

BARON CD1                                                    152 163   315
BARON CD2                                                    152 163   315

BARON BOOK PRAC TEST1                           149 161  310
BARON BOOK PRAC TEST2                           144 164  308
BARON BOOK PRAC TEST3                           148 163  311
BARON BOOK PRAC TEST4                           150 166  316
BARON BOOK PRAC TEST5                           150 165  315
BARON BOOK PRAC TEST6                           153 164  317

PRINCETON ONLINE PRAC TEST1                 149 162  311   3.5 AWA
PRINCETON ONLINE PRAC TEST2                 151 164  315   3.5 AWA
PRINCETON ONLINE PRAC TEST3                 153 163  316   3.5 AWA
PRINCETON ONLINE PRAC TEST4                 154 169  323   3.5 AWA
PRINCETON ONLINE PRAC TEST5                 160 165  325   3.5 AWA

MANHATTAN ONLINE FIRST FREE TEST        152 158  310
MANHATTAN ONLINE PRAC TEST2                 154 157  311
MANHATTAN ONLINE PRAC TEST3                 154 160  314
MANHATTAN ONLINE PRAC TEST4                 154 166  320
MANHATTAN ONLINE PRAC TEST5                 151 166  317
MANHATTAN ONLINE PRAC TEST6                 153 166  319


ETS POEWER PREP1 150 157 307
ETS POEWER PREP2 151 161 312


According to me Manhattan test prep is the best. Princeton is only good for AWA, since they rate AWA scores. Barron book for 6 practice test was also good, especially the verbal section. Kaplan was difficult for me since i took it during d initial preparation so I would say it was difficult and good.
 
Best of luck guys. !

[makingmoves]

Over the past 2 months I have prepared hard for my 11/15 GRE using Magoosh and Manhattan prep.

 

I took a final practice PowerPrep Practice Exam 2 after steady improvement shown from Manhattan Tests over 2 months, I received a lower score than I did on the first PowerPrep practice exam I took first…

 

Steady improvement:

ETS power prep 1    156V, 154Q

Manhattan Test 1    161V, 148Q

Manhattan Test 2    163V, 152Q

Manhattan Test 3   157V, 153Q

Manhattan Test 4   158V, 155Q

Manhattan Test 5   158V, 157Q

Manhattan Test 6   158V, 164Q

ETS power prep 2    156V, 150Q <--- what happened here?? 2 months of studying and I got the lowest?

 

So I took a deeper look...

This is what is confusing me. Looking strictly at Quant:

 

For the last test I took, ETS Power Prep 2, I got 14/20 correct in section 1, and 11/20 correct in section 2: 25/40 correct

Yet, for ETS 1, I got the same 14/20 correct in section 1, and only 10/20 correct in section 2. 24/40 correct

 

BUT, I got a 154 on ETS 1, and a 150 on ETS 2...

 

Moreover, For Manhattan 5, I got 10/20 correct in section 1, and 10/10 correct in section 2... Only 20/40 correct!

Yet I got a 157...

 

How is it that I got more correct in the first and second section on ETS Power Prep 2, yet got a Quant score of 150... 4 points below the Power Prep 1, and 7 points below the Manhattan 5.

 

Since I was told the revised GRE weighs each question the same, it should only matter that I get more correct in the first section to move on to the harder section, correct? Then how is this happening?

 

Here are strictly my Quant scores:

Manhattan Test 6: 164

Section 1: 13/20 correct

Section 2: 15/20 correct

 

Manhattan Test 5: 157

Section 1: 10/20 correct

Section 2: 10/20 correct

 

PowerPrep 1: 154

Section 1: 14/20 correct

Section 2: 10/20 correct

 

PowerPrep 2: 150 (Latest Test)

Section 1: 14/20 correct

Section 2: 11/20 correct

 

If all questions are weighted equally... how is this outcome possible? 

Edited November 13, 2013 by DTurcotte2013

[spottedzebra]

My actual score was slightly higher than the scores on my practice exams (but then again I had the TV on in the background and eating during most of my practice exams... short attention span lol) 

 

Manhattan 
160 V/158 Q

 

Kaplan
163 V/160 Q

PP1/PP2
158 V/155 Q (lawlz Castle marathon with some friends...) 
160 V/160 Q

Actual 
167 V/165 Q
5.5 AWA 

 

EDIT: All of these practice exams were taken within 72 hours of test day... yeah, I'm just full of procrastination this year 

Edited December 9, 2013 by spottedzebra

[EgQ54]

ETS (Official Guide) PT 1: 170 V 170 Q

ETS PT 2: 168 V 170 Q

PowerPrep 1: 166 V 170 Q

PowerPrep 2: 166 V 170 Q

Actual: 169 V 170 Q 6.0 AWA

Edited December 9, 2013 by EgQ54

[medullate]

I had a horrible experience at the testing center; our test was delayed 4 hours. So I wasn't in the greatest mood by the time I took my test. I also have an anxiety disorder that did not help.

1st practice test: I was dinking around, drinking tea, brushing my hair, etc: 154Q and 156V

2nd practice test: I actually tried: 157Q and 158V

Real exam: 154Q and 157V

Time studied: I studied probably 4 hours for Q and 2 for V. I'm a busy person. This will probably come back to haunt me, Oh well.