wizzard wrote:
Hi there,
I came from my last GMAT appointment and I was really surprised with the score, since I thought I was performing much better. I really thought that this time I could hit the 700+ barrier. I really can´t explain my low score this time. Moreover, what really strikes me is how volatile my section scores in official tests are. Please consider these 3 times I wrote the test:
- November 2015: Overall 680 (Q48 V35 IR5)
- December 2015: Overall 670 (Q42 V40 IR6)
- January 2016: Overall 640 (Q45 V33 IR4)
As you can see there is really no pattern or predictability in my scores. They are all over the map!
Some caveats for you to consider:
- I´ve been studying hard for 2+ years: I read Manhattan guides, did Verbal
e-GMAT course, used all official material there is out there (
OG, OGQR, OGVR, Gmat Prep free and paid questions and tests)
- I never stopped studying, meaning that my score should go up (or at least not go down)
- My scores on Gmat Prep have been around 700 – 720 (with some 730 and even 750), although the later ones might be inflated since I got many repeats.
- I bought the ESRs after each attempt and analyzed the metrics. These reports help but to a certain point.
I am aware that taking the test so many times is not so common (however, it is not that weird), but I cannot explain why my scores vary so much. Would you guys let me know your thoughts?
Thanks!
1) This might come as hard to you but I prefer to be honest rather than just being nice and not speak what other must know
GMAT is not a test that requires two years of hardwork and you having done that have wasted about 20 moths more than needed.
even for an unprepared student, 4 months is more than sufficient time for GREAT preparation to achieve the highest level of performance.
2) Your total score has been dropping gradually (which could be due to excess preparation which tends to lower the score once you have finished all good content and start losing learning from anything new relevant for prep that you come across).
The variation in scores has made it so hard to find out whether your getting good score sometimes happened by chance or getting bad score some other time happened by chance. But even if you take almost average of the scores, Your Verbal seems to be strong enough (around 35 score avg) wherein your quant (aroung 45 score avg) which you can see in the percentiles that you have got.
3) GMAT Prep tests tend to show an optimistic score so no wonder that you were getting above 700 in those tests and less in real GMAT.
The best way forward for you that I see is
I) Do proper analysis of what is going wrong and where are you going wrong. I hope you have tried enough to do it yourself then take help of some expert who can suggest you best on it. For a free trial class to assess your level you may get in touch with us.
II) After assessment just do a focussed study on building your concepts wherever they are flawed. And the fundamentals are definitely flawed somewhere due to which there is lack of consistency in your scores.
III) Don't take more than 2 months to give a final try to GMAT and I am sure you will be able to deliver your best if the steps are followed with disciplined approach.
I hope this helps!!!