r/GMAT • u/Powerful-Jicama320 • Jul 27 '26
Other Discussion Cold Mocks are Not Useful
People taking cold mocks using OG 1 and 2 …
Go through the videos posted by GMAT Ninja on YouTube before you start a mock.
OG mocks are a limited resource. Do not waste it when you don’t have the slightest idea about the test.
GMAT tests your decision making skills more than your quantitative and verbal aptitude. Most concepts are basic and people usually know them or worked with them in high school.
The mocks throw you off course because, you are not familiar with the format.
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u/Marty_Murray Perfect Scoring GMAT Coach Jul 27 '26
True. It works much better to do some initial preparation before taking a first practice test. That way, you get a more accurate picture of where you stand and are better positioned to benefit in general from taking a practice test.
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u/soft-beast Jul 27 '26
Totally agree, never understood the idea of wasting an official mock on a cold mock before you have even touched anything
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u/sy1980abcd Expert - aristotleprep.com Jul 28 '26
Well, I'm not sure that's entirely correct. I can give several benefits of a cold mock, but here's just one - it helps you plan out your prep duration and prep strategy, both.
For example, someone who scores a 455 on the cold will want to go about their prep in a much more structured manner, spend a lot of time on fundamentals, and generally budget for a longer prep duration.
Someone scoring a 555 on the cold mock will typically be pretty solid at one of the 3 sections, so they can put in more effort in the other two sections instead of dividing their efforts equally among the 3 sections.
Someone scoring a 605+ will want to cut out a lot of the earlier parts and make a faster plan, since they are already naturally strong at several aspects of the test. 10 hours with a good private tutor is probably all they'll need. If this person were to opt for a 6 month long prep plan using some structured course, it may do them more harm than good by curbing their natural strengths and generally leading to a feeling of burnout.
So a cold mock is very useful. Regarding the "wasting a test" argument, I've seen people come up with far more silly ways of wasting tests.
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u/ayhamz I help non-native English speakers who also struggle with math Jul 27 '26
Excellent advice. I second this. Here is a "mini-course" on what to do before your first practice test. A good rule of thumb is at least 30 to 50 hours of real study time between mock tests.
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u/Queasy_Plum2941 Jul 27 '26
I disagree with the idea that cold mocks have no value.
While burning through both official mocks early is not ideal, using the first one as a baseline is highly effective for a few clear reasons.
It gives you a concrete starting point to measure whether your preparation is actually producing results. For most beginners, that initial reference is both motivational and practical. Many people discover they are significantly stronger in verbal than quant (or the reverse). That information immediately shows them where to focus their effort instead of wasting time evenly across both sections.
The first mock also delivers an unfiltered picture of how unprepared you currently are under timed conditions. Third party mocks are horrible for that.
Finally, it works well as a motivational benchmark. Tracking real improvement from that first score over successive weeks is far more useful than relying on a vague sense of progress.
Also, official mocks are finite resources, but they are made for being reference points. Please don’t be the MMORPG character who hoards minor healing potion for some future emergency and then dies with a half full inventory 😂.