Huge drop in score 690 -> 600

Those are very good scores. I would expect you to get 700 or more on the actual test.

I had a similar experience to yours today. I've focused more on gmat prep tests rather than mgmat because I know they are more accurate. My last four practice tests were 690, 710, 650 and 670. The first and third were mgmat. I got a 600 today and have no idea how. Feeling very discouraged. ESP since I felt great during the test today. I've been stuying for 5 months and it feels like a waste...

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Hey, I cant give you any solid advice, but I can tell what happened to me after I wrote the original post.

First, I took the class right at the begining of my vacations, because I wanted to relax after I took them. And even though my score was depressing, that`s what I did. I took the rest of my vacation (about one week) to rest and relax. Took the GMAT almost entirely from my head. The only thought I gave to it on that week, was a little planning on what I would do after my vacation.

Second, according to my timeline, I didn`t have much time to retake the test, so I scheduled my second GMAT for one month after my vacation ended (so one month and one week after my first take). I used this one month to focus my study on verbal, and that`s for 2 reasons, it`s much easier to improve your score with verbal and it was where my score really dropped on the actual test compared to my preparations. I also tried not to loose the edge on quant, doing some work on it at least once a day. Another thing was that I tried to be more practical, and focused my study more on exercises and on flash cards, instead of studying the principles.

So after that month I got a 710, and just last week I was accepted from the waitlist to Darden. Don`t lose hope, these things happen, take the test again, and try not to be desperate so you can concentrate on your next take.

I am sure it is a little depressing to get a low score but it shouldn't discourage you. In fact, it is way better to get a low score in practice and be cautious in the actual test than hit high scores in practice and topple in the actual. After all, practice tests are not black boxes. You can analyze the test as much as you want to figure out why your score dropped. When you do that, you will have some great leads on where to put in more effort. A low score brings to the fore the avenues in which improvement is required and that is the most useful thing about practice tests.

So find out the reason for the low score and get back to study.

Congrats on getting into Darden! That's great! I honestly feel like this has to be a fluke and will probably plan on taking the test again because I know I can do way better than 600. Did you take more practice tests during the month of study for your re-take? I'm in the opposite position as my Quant score dropped but still need to increase my Verbal as well. Also, when you say "I took the class" what class are you referring to? Thanks and congrats again!

Hi Karishma. So this actually happened to me ON test day, not on practice tests, so I'm not really sure what went wrong. Obviously I didn't do well on quant but it's so hard to tell where and why I messed up. Do you have any advice on understanding errors on test day? Timing wasn't an issue, I'm guessing I just made way too many careless mistakes?

It is hard to say what happened in the actual test since you never get to see it again. Also, soon enough you will forget the questions you got so if you remember some right now, you should write them down (but you cannot share them with anyone including us) for future reference.

Your best bet now would be to take some section tests of Quant and some practice tests. If you perform consistently in them, you should be fine next time. Just keep your cool.

Hi All,

Just wanted to post a quick update. After a week of depression and anti-GMAT, I decided to pick up my studies again and tried to just be less stressed about everything. After two weeks of studying I took another practice test today from the GMAT Prep Exam Pack 1 and scored a 700 (Q44 V41). I definitely think I just choked on my actual test day.

I hope to keep my verbal score strong and improve my quant. If anyone has suggestions on getting out of the 44 range in a few weeks, please share! My major problems with quant are careless mistakes and taking too long to figure out what the question is asking.

Thanks!