420, 490, 510 (...) DESPERATE!! Help needed

Question

Hi people

I've been using this forum for a while now, however, this is my first post ever. My goal is to score at least 550, but I am aiming for 600 or higher.
Today I did my GMAT exam for the third time, and I failed for the third time.. The first score I had was back in November 2014, it was a miserable 420, but I knew I hadn't been practicing enough for it. Then, on 15 April 2015 I had my second try which resulted in a score of 490 (Q36/V21) after 3 months of studying. This was very dissapointing because I conducted 5 practice exams of KAPLAN which resulted in scores ranging from 570 - 600. So I was really losing the believe in myself of sufficiently managing the GMAT.

After that terrible drawback on April the 15th, I decided to start over again and purchase a premium package of the Magoosh software. I did a ''one-month'' strategy that included both lessons and practice questions including video explanations. In this month I performed three practice tests, one GMAC official test that resulted in a 600 score, and two Magoosh tests that resulted in a 590(Q45/V26) and 600(Q45/V28) score. Thus, I was very confident about achieving a minimal score of 550 on May 18 (Today).

Then, the big day arrived, everything went very smooth until I got there. First, the GMAT guides told me that the GMAT will not take place due to server issues at Pearson. This made me very upset because I went all the way from Amsterdam, since I come from Maastricht (Southern of Netherlands). Then after 25 minutes of the official start time, these guides told me the problem was solved and I could actually start the exam. I was sitting there, pretty frustrated but still confident. The AWA section went really smooth, and I had a very good feeling about it. The same for IR which resulted in IR6(67percentile). Then I had an eight minute brake and I was mentally preparing for the quant section of the exam. The first question was unknown for me, I had never seen any of this kind of question ever, on the GMAT club forum, Magoosh questions or the OG questions. I spent 5 minutes thinking and I was really frustrating and upset I made a guess. Then I lost track, the quant section did not go well at all and I knew this in the brake afterwards.

In the second brake I knew that I had to do my best to get a good verbal score otherwise I would not achieve 550. I was thinking about this at several moments through the verbal section and I knew this wasn't a good sign. At the end of the verbal section I clicked next next next, and the was calculating the score. And  510 (Q39/V21)  popped up. I was again really disappointed because this was my last chance before the deadline.

Now I need to retake it again, and the next test could show up around the 25th of June so thats about 5 weeks. I defintely need a good strategy to increase my verbal skills. My question is if any one of you experienced the same story as I did. And if someone can please help me in order to achieve a score of 600. I really need good help because I'm desperate at the moment!

I really hope someone can help me out! All tips are welcome!!

Thanks for reading!

Maxim

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mlemeer,

You mentioned something interesting in this post that i'm hoping that you can explain further: how long does it take you to travel to the Pearson Testing Center from your home? Have you taken all of your GMATs at this same location?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mlemeer · Answer

Hi Rich,

First, thank you for replying! I travelled around 3 hours, but I went to the location one day before and slept at my friend's place. So on the test day itself I travelled only around 20minutes. No, the first location was Düsseldorf, but this location was really uncomfortable. The second location was Utrecht and the third Amsterdam.

By the way, I just had a phone call with the University I want to apply for. I asked them whether it's still possible for me to take the GMAT before the start date of the Masters in September. The guy on the phone told me that it's possible, but that I have to do it ASAP. One problem is, that my first GMAT test could take place around 25 June 2015, so that's around 5 weeks from now. And then still the possibility exists whether I will be denied for the program or not because the deadline is 1 June. What should I do? Just try to manage the GMAT at the end of June, and hopefully get accepted to the program? Or do the GMAT later and start in February? At the moment I'm  really  motivated to study and get accepted for the program.

Maxim

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Maxim,

Since the immediate issue is whether you can still make the application deadline with a "late" GMAT score or not, we should focus on that first. Relying on information that you received over the phone can be problematic, so if it's possible to "get it in writing", then you should. I suggest that you email whoever the contact person is in the admissions office, explain your situation again and politely ask if you can still apply even though your Official GMAT score will not be available until later on. The email response that you receive should help you to better plan out the next couple of months.

On Test Day, there are many different factors that can influence your performance. Sleeping in a strange bed or taking a long car/train ride can both be potentially damaging since they can both 'wear you out' before you have even gotten to the Testing Center. In your situation, you might not be able to avoid this problem, but you should consider how best to "counter" these effects - for most people, the answer is caffeine. For you, it might be something else....but you have to take this seriously - it is a threat to how you perform and you were not training to deal with this threat during your studies, so you are essentially "surprised" by it every time you take the GMAT.

The good news is that you're not far from your score goals, so you just have to make some minor adjustments and you should be set.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mlemeer · Answer

Hi Rich

Thanks again for replying so quickly! Well, this is my current situation, the admission office of the University told me I should apply anyway, because the earlier they receive my information, the easier I get accepted. However, about the GMAT score they told me that they cannot promise me anything, it all depends on the moment when I hand in my positive GMAT score (end of June). So this means that whenever the classes are full by then, I can still get rejected for the September class. But on the other hand, if there is still space left, they will admit me to the program. Therefore, I am now uploading all my admission documents (CV, Motivation letter, Reference letter etc.), and I will send my GMAT score later. Thus, today I will plan my next GMAT exam for the end of June (Week 26).

I will choose Utrecht as the next test center, this means that I will travel around 2 hours to get there. But I will plan the test in the afternoon so that I have plenty of time to get there and get relaxed. The problem is that I need to find out what the problem is, so that I cannot concentrate well enough like on the practice exams and therefore score less. It is a very weird situation that I scored all five Kaplan practice tests between 580 and 600. And the GMAC official practice tests (560 & 600). And at the end the score of the real GMAT 510.... I know verbal is my weakest point with a score of 21 (26 percentile) on the latest exam...

Do you have any tips in order to improve my verbal skills on 4/5 weeks time, with an average of 2 hours of study a day?

Thank you very much!

Maxim

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Maxim,

Since both your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores were lower on Test Day (and not just your Verbal Score), this lends further evidence to the idea that you were mentally 'fatigued' before you even began the Test. You can actually 'train' to face this issue though - while it might sound like a strange thing to do (and it might be inconvenient), you should physically travel for 2 hours before taking each of your CATs. This will simulate what you'll face on Test Day and you can experiment a bit with how best to combat the fatigue that you'll be feeling.

In that same way, you should try to make each of your CATs 'match up' with Test Day in as many ways as you can. There is NO substitute for this - Test Day is a specific 'event' that you already know about, so choosing to practice in a way that doesn't match what you'll face on the Official GMAT could lead to another lower score.

If you're looking for new Verbal practice materials, I think that you'll find the EMPOWERgmat Verbal Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients can complete that Study Plan in under a month, so it should fit nicely with your current timeline. We have some free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com) that you can use to 'test out' the Course.

If you have any additional questions, then just let me know.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

minseven · Answer

Hello you guys,

this is also my first post here and I'm willing to share my exact same situation. Today, I scored a pathetic 530(Q36,V27) and this was for me a huge disappointment. I mean, I was not expected to have a 650 or more but I was aiming a score of 650 - This was my objective and I knew I would do less; but the more I got closer to it, the better it was.

So, I was quite confident to have the same minimum score required - I supposed we are applying for the same Uni in Maastricht? -. I did practice on GMATPrep and resulted of a 590(Q43/V28) after 2 month of study on a daily basis.

The D-day has come (today) and I was focused. I read all the interesting advice regarding "Before & during test" tips. I therefore tried to apply all those useful posts in order to get the best of my exam.
The Beginning of the QUANTITATIVE section was quite hard as I was applying myself to be certain of my answer and surely lost valuable time. In fact, I understood at the end of this section - 12 lasts questions with only 15 minutes to go - that I was screwed up. 
I therefore had no choice to guess the lasts questions.

The VERBAL section was a big fight with myself in order to focus on this section and try to "forget" what just happened before. I somehow managed to do it as I got V27 - Similar to my practice results.

So, thank you for your valuable comment as this, even the small advice provided, would make me reconsider my actual situation and grant me the needed motivation

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi minseven,

Most Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) on their studies, so it's possible that you just haven't put in enough practice yet.

While your Official GMAT score is lower than your last practice CAT score, it isn't that much lower and can probably be explained if you can answer a few questions:

1) When you took this CAT, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take this CAT at home?
3) Did you take this CAT at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you do ANYTHING during this CAT that you couldn't do on Test Day (e.g. pause the Test, listen to music, take longer than 8-minute breaks, etc.)?
5) When did you take this CAT (relative to your Test Date)?

Thankfully, Business Schools don't care if you take the GMAT more than once. Since the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test, you CAN train to score at a higher level.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mlemeer · Answer

Hi all,

Today I will start studying again for the GMAT, I will again start watching the video's from Magoosh (verbal & quant) and start practicing questions. However, I still don't really know which strategy I should use for the upcoming month. The next exam will be on 25 June.

If anyone has a well defined strategy for the coming month. Please let me know!

I already followed the Magoosh monthly strategy (on daily basis) so I should probably use a new strategy.

Regards,

Maxim

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Maxim,

If you've already used a particular set of resources, and they didn't help you to achieve your goals, then it might be time to use a different set of resources.

Using your Official GMAT score as a gauge, the Q39/V21 means that you have opportunities to pick up points in BOTH sections (and to hit your score goals, you'll likely need to make improvements in both sections).

When you mention wanting a "well defined strategy", do you mean a study plan?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mlemeer · Answer

Hi Rich,

Exactly, I followed the Magoosh study plan of one-month on a daily basis. But right now, I want to try something else, so I am looking for a person who can provide me with another study plan of one month mainly focusing on the Verbal section.

Maxim

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Maxim,

If you're looking for new Verbal practice materials, I think that you'll find the EMPOWERgmat Verbal Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients can complete that Study Plan in under a month, so it should fit nicely with your current timeline. We have some free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com) that you can use to 'test out' the Course.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mlemeer · Answer

Hi Rich,

Then I will defintely look into EMPOWERgmat verbal score booster tomorrow! Thanks for all your replies Rich, it has been very useful!

Regards,

Maxim

mlemeer · Answer

UPDATE

I have just completed my first GMAC CAT of my newly purchased GMAC Exam pack 1. Result: 620, (Q48/V27).

During my test I knew I was rocking quant, however, again with verbal I thought I was messing up everything. How is this possible, that I scored 510 two weeks ago on my real exam, and now I scored 620. One thing could be that I have failure anxiety, does anyone have experience with this? And did you every took any medication for this before a test? Would it be a good idea for me too see a docter and ask for these pills?

I enclosed a picture with my score. I was also really surprised about the IR section since I scored 7 (81 percentile).

Regards,

Max

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Max,

Relative to your Official GMAT scores, you improved in both the Quant and Verbal on this CAT, so it might be that the work that you've put in over the last couple of weeks has lead to these improvements. There ARE some other potential factors though that you should consider:

1) As you noted, there might be a 'nerves'-related response that occurs on Test Day. You knew that this was just a practice CAT, so you weren't as anxious about taking it. There's a real benefit in that type of mindset and you really need to latch onto it. Test Takers tend to perform best when they're calm. Since you can always taken the GMAT again if you need to, that realization is something that you could use to not get so 'wound up' on Test Day - and (theoretically) perform better.

2) Did you take this CAT with the same 'restrictions' that you would have to face on Test Day? Did you skip the Essay? Did you take it at home? Was there ANY aspect to how you took this CAT that does not 'line up' with what you'll face on Test Day and at the Testing Center? The more that you deviate from Test Day during practice, the more likely your scores are to be "off."

Have you schedule a new Official Test Date yet?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mlemeer · Answer

Hi Rich,

Yes, that could be true that I gained these skills over the past couple weeks. However, a score increase of 110 over 2 weeks seems a bit overrated. I think I have enough GMAT knowledge to score at least 580 or 600, but because of my anxiety it just doesn't come out, which results in a lower than 550 score...

Yesterday, I took the CAT at home, so I was very calm and had no stress at all. I made the whole CAT, thus including AWA, IR, Quant and Verbal section and it went pretty smootly. I think I figured out what the exact problem is of my failures.... it must be the stress and thinking of what could go wrong during the actual test.....

I have planned my next GMAT on 25 June, so I have a little more than three weeks remaining. The next test will bring a lot less stress because my next application deadline is 1 December, so that means I can do it several times again if I would fail again. And last time, the test was on 18 May, and the deadline is 1 June so it was all or nothing.

Regards

Maxim

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Maxim,

Another factor worth noting is that you didn't have to deal with the long travel time to the Testing Center (or sleeping in a strange location the night before the Test). In your geographic location, there is no way around this particular "problem", so you have to do your best to train for it. With this next CAT, I suggest that you "up" the realism of the experience. Plan to take it at a location OTHER than your home and think about what you might do to simulate some of the fatigue that you'll face on Test Day (maybe sleep in a different bed). I'd be interested to see how you perform after factoring in those details.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mlemeer · Answer

Hey Rich,

Next time, I will do the CAT at the Uni's library which is around 45minutes travel from my house. This is a little bit more realistic since I have to travel around 30minutes before the actual GMAT. (If I stay in Amsterdam). I will defintely take these factors into consideration and let you know the result. My next CAT will be on June 13th.

To be continued....

Maxim

mlemeer · Answer

Hi Guys, I just wanted to give a little update on my progress.

Today I made my last GMAC official exam of GMAT Prep exam pack 1. I thought I was not able to make it properly because I have been operated in the hospital 8 days ago on my shoulder and I was using morfine for 6 days. Even though I was ''high'' on medication I wanted to study, but I couldn't concentrate at all.

So my study schedule mentioned that I had to do my last practice test before the real GMAT (25 June). I was not really optimistic, however, I scored 640 (Q47/V31)!! I was really surprised, happy and motivated again. I just can't understand why ALL my practice test are going well, 580/600/620/640, and all my real GMATs are so horrible, 420/490/510/

Below you can see the actual results of my GMAC practice test today:

Does anyone has tips for me for the upcoming two weeks? I believe that I have all the knowledge I need in order to get a sufficient score. But maybe I should focus on the harder quant questions since I can score many points with answering the hardest questions correctly.

Let me know if anyone has tips! All help is welcome

Thanks again!

Attachments

GMAT score.jpg [ 163.87 KiB | Viewed 3798 times ]

Thanks again!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Maxim,

A full review of this CAT is in order - beyond identifying the questions that you got wrong, you should also try to define WHY you got them wrong. If there were silly/little mistakes, then you have to work to fix those mistakes (and keep them from re-occurring). If there were knowledge "gaps", then you have to make sure you learn the necessary information. If in a Verbal question, you narrowed it down to 2 choices and then "guessed wrong", then you have to figure out what logic/nformation you 'missed', so that you don't have to guess next time.

As odd as this may sound, with a 640, you're actually not that far away from a 700+ score, but you have to find (and fix) the little things to get there. In these last 2 weeks, you have to focus on the 'precision' in your work.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

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