What do actors, airline pilots, tank commanders and Kaplan GMAT Prep students have in common? They all run a dead accurate simulation of their respective challenges before all the chips are on the table. When stress is high and the outcome is important, you want to be prepared in every way possible. In this respect, my students - actually all Kaplan GMAT Prep students - have a unique advantage - the Ultimate Practice Test.

The arc of test prep begins with a diagnostic exam and includes attending classes, reviewing content, practicing new strategies and methods in online assignments, developing timing skills with targeted Quiz Bank quizzes, working through actual GMAT questions in the OG and integrating it all in 8 adaptive practice tests. This all culminates, ideally, a week before Test Day, on the same day of the week, at the same hour of the day, when students go to the Pearson Vue testing center and take yet one more Kaplan practice CAT, the UPT.

The Ultimate Practice Test brings together all the elements of prep in the actual testing environment. Test takers experience all the shock and awe of Test Day, but the score doesn’t count.

Lot’s of seemingly minor concerns have the potential to throw a test taker off his or her game. How long will it take me to get to the testing center? What can I expect the temperature to be like? Palm scanning!? Where’s the rest room? Thanks to the UPT, test takers have "been there, done that" when it comes time for the real thing. It’s a level of familiarity that reduces stress and adds points.

Here are some observations from my students regarding the value of the UPT:

I went in for my UPT and could not believe how distracting it was with people typing while I was on other sections of my exam. I had someone next to me who I swear was pounding on the keys like he was going to get a better score if he made the most noise.

A nerve-wracking distraction if you’re not expecting it, but for this test taker, a combination of "ear-muff" noise blockers and foam ear-plugs neatly circumvented the issue the following week.

In contrast, Ali decided she didn’t need the UPT. Here are some of her post-test comments:

The only thing that caught me off-guard was how much was going on in the actual testing room. I assumed I would be sitting with other students, but didn’t realize that most of the students there were taking different exams at different times. I was extremely distracted by the constant sound of the door opening and closing, and the earplugs they offered were basically useless. I don’t know if every testing center is like this, but it was the one thing I was not expecting.

While Ali scored a 710, she probably left 10 – 20 points, and maybe more, on the table; points that could have been hers if only she had anticipated the distractions and used the supplemental sonic isolation.

Unlike Ali, Lee G. did take the UPT and credits it for averting disaster. At his test center, the "GMAT" computers were right next to the door to the reception area. During the practice test, the receptionist chatted - loudly - on her phone, her conversations clearly audible through the surprisingly insubstantial door. The following week, before starting the real thing, Lee asked the receptionist to speak more quietly. She was happy to comply and Lee hit his target score. How important was this preparation? Lee said that had he not attended a single class, done any of the online workshops, used Smart Reports to target his prep or any of the other Kaplan tools and materials, the Ultimate Practice Test alone would have been worth the price of the entire course. "Be prepared" is the Boy Scout motto. For the GMAT, be completely prepared.