The 3 Biggest Practice CAT Problems for GMAT Takers

The GMAT is a predictable, standardized test. As such, you can train to score at a high level. Full-length practice CAT exams (computer-adaptive tests) should be an essential part of your training strategy, but it never ceases to amaze me how often test takers get their practice CAT exams wrong. Choosing to do any of the following will likely lead to CAT scores that are unrealistic and an official score that is far lower than you want it to be.

1)  Not taking the FULL CAT exam

The GMAT is a specific ‘event’ that you can train for, but you have to train for the FULL event. Skipping the essay and IR sections during GMAT practice means that you’re turning a four-hour exam into a two and a half-hour exam. With that shorter exam, you don’t end up facing ANY of the endurance or fatigue issues that you WILL face on test day. If you’ve ever heard a story about someone whose verbal score dropped significantly on the official GMAT, a poor training strategy is likely one of the big reasons for that drop.

2)  Inconsistency with the day/time of your CAT exams  

If your official GMAT is scheduled for 9am on a Monday morning, then guess when you should be taking your practice CATs?..... At 9am on Monday mornings, if possible. The human brain can be trained to perform well under any number of circumstances, but if you’re consistently taking your CATs at a day/time that doesn’t match up with test day (or if your training strategy is inconsistent with the day/time overall), then there is a greater likelihood that your scores on test day will be ‘off’ (and by ‘off’, I mean lower than you want them to be).

3)  Practicing in an unrealistic setting

Your GMAT will be administered at a testing center, where you will work on a desktop computer workstation in a roomful of other test takers. Thinking about taking your practice CATs at your kitchen table on a laptop computer? Take a moment to think; EVERYTHING in that scenario that is unrealistic. If you train yourself to score at a high level in your kitchen, then don’t be surprised when you DON’T score nearly that well on test day.

Thankfully, all of these factors can be dealt with, but YOU have to choose to deal with them correctly. Scoring at a high level on the GMAT isn’t supposed to be easy. A 700+ score represents the 90th percentile – meaning that 90% of Test Takers either CAN’T or WON’T do what it takes to hit that score. If a 700+ score is your goal, then you have to decide what you are willing to do to make that score happen, and commit to a training strategy that builds the variety of critical, yet more advanced skills that the GMAT tests.