640 in first attempt. Strategies for Retake.

Question

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hi dn20,

From your post I understand that you always had issues when you were solving problems under time constraints. But that is one of the most important part of which you need to train yourself for the GMAT. You were unable to focus on the questions, because your body was not trained to handle the pressure that was posed by the time constraints.

Were you able to finish all the questions in the Verbal section?

Frankly speaking, under unlimited time, most of the people will be able to do most of the problems that come on the GMAT. It is the art of performing under the pressure of time that you have to master.

1. What were your scores in the mock CATs?
2. Did you take the mock CATs including the AWA and the IR sections?
3. Did you solve the OG and the Verbal review?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi dn20,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day.

If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?

There is another BIG factor in your performance - the 6 hour travel and sleeping in a strange location the night before your Exam almost certainly impacted your mindset and performance on Test Day. In standardized testing situations, any type of big "last minute" changes in your routine can throw off your entire performance. From what you describe, there is no way to get around these parameters, so you'll have to make some adjustments to how you take your CATs going forward (to try to 'mirror' the effects of taking the GMAT so far from your home).

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

Simran145 · Answer

Thank you for writing back. I am terribly sorry for I did not reply earlier. This should not happen again. I took a break from the studies. And I decided that after the break I would give my 200% this time. Yes, you're absolutely right. Solving under timed constraints is an issue for me. But only in the Verbal section. I generally finish the quant section in time. ALthough my concepts in Verbal are pretty clear, I dont know why when I use a timer I tend to concentrate less on the question and more on the timer.

But when I am not timing myself, I usually solve the SC questions in 1.5 mins/ques, but take 2.5 mins for CR questions, and a hell lot of time in the RC ones. And yes, I did finish all the questions in the Verbal Section, but I am pretty sure that I messed up big time during the last 20 minutes. I must have answered a number of questions incorrectly there. 1. Now about my mock CATs. The first test I gave was weird. Veritas Prep 530 V19 Q41. This was my baseline score. No preparation at all. After that I started studying for the Verbal Section. Then I scored 640 consistently in 2 Manhattanprep CATs. 650+ after that. Then after studying for the quant section, I started scoring 700+ in the final 3 MPREP tests. MPREP 4 : 740 MPREP 5 : 690 MPREP 6 : 720 Every test untimed. In the GMATPrep Mocks : GMATPREP 1 : 610 Q44 V30 (untimed) This was after preparing for SC and CR. GMATPREP 2 : 650 GMAPPREP 3 : 720 GMATPREP 4 : 740 I lost data for the GMATPREPs mocks. I think that my Verbal score was V38 in GMATPREP 3 and V41 in GMATPREP 4. 2. I always skipped the AWA section while giving the mocks since I had absolutely no idea what to do there. I prepared for the AWA 7 days before the exam. I gave just one full length mock test one week prior to my exam. GMATPREP 4. And I gave 3 GMATPREP mocks IR section included. Perhaps this was the reason why I couldnt concentrate much during the last 20-30 mins in the exam. 3. Yes, I have solved both the Official Guide books. Everything untimed. Well, the answer to many of these questions is on the negative side. 1. I did just one full length mock test. one week prior to my exam. Above, I have given some information about my mocks. 2. I took them all at home. 3. Not a single test I took was at the same time of the day as my exam. 4. In the 11 CATs that I took, I skipped the AWA section in 10 of them. Included the IR section in 3 of them. And I did many CATS untimed. In fact I took just one CAT under timed conditons. Even in that one I had to pause the CAT 2 times ( For 5 minutes or so). 5. I did take the default GMATPrep tests many times. I havent included those scores here. Because I gave them just to check how I am doing with my timing. I would give just one section(timed) and skip everything else to check where I stand in that section. And I always scored well in those CATs. I would score V38+ every time. In the quant section again, a consistent Q49 in all the repeats. I guess this is what gave me the false sense that my timing after all is not that messed up. I have made a list of things that I didnt do when I prepared for my first attempt. But I dont know where to start. Some guidance from your side will be much appreciated. Thanks and regards.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi dn20,

The extra information that you've provided is quite useful, as it helps to define what went wrong on Test Day. In real basic terms, you took your CATs in such a way that you were NOT properly training to face the Official GMAT - so you were not ready to face it on Test Day (not either time).

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, pausing the Tests, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

Thankfully, this is a relatively easy set of problems to fix. The big question now is "how long will it take you to properly get 'used to' taking the full GMAT in a realistic way?" You'll certainly need a new set of practice CATs to work with and you have to put in the necessary time to train your brain (and body) for the FULL GMAT. You might also need to invest in some new GMAT training materials.

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

Simran145 · Answer

Thanks for writing back. This is very helpful. So I basically wasted all those CATS that I gave. How do I train myself for the FULL GMAT 'experience'? And how do I determine when I will get used to taking the exam in a realistic way? How many more practice CATs am I going to need? Also, can you please suggest what practice tests should I go for this time. I can still use GMATPREP 3 and 4 as I dont remember anything from those CATs. Then there's exam pack 2 now. I can purchase that. And how much time should I put in for this retake? I have my university exams in May. So I can take the exam in May first week or in June third week. But how do I decide that now I am ready to give the GMAT exam. Again, what new GMAT training materials should I go for? There are so many questions in my mind right now. :shock:

I wonder whether I am going to burn myself out this time.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi dn20,

When taking a CAT, if one of your goals is to receive a realistic score result, then you have to make sure to take the CAT in as realistic and test-like a way as possible. This means that you have to take the FULL CAT (with the Essay and IR sections), at the same time of day as your Official GMAT, take it away from your home, follow the official timing, etc. Since you have to travel and sleep in a strange bed the night before taking the GMAT, you also have to try to factor that into how you take your CATs. While you can't simulate those exact parameters every time you take a CAT, you could try sleeping in a different bed (or on a couch, etc.) to mirror the idea that you won't be in a familiar sleeping situation.

Taking all of the above into consideration, you also have to take NEW CATs - retaking a CAT that you've already used will likely lead to seeing questions that you've already faced. Whether you remember the answers to those questions or not, it's still not a realistic experience. Your stress levels, pacing, work-time, etc. will all be 'off' and you'll likely end up with an unrealistic, 'inflated' score. Since you've already used 4 GMAC CATs and the MGMAT CATs, you could try the two new GMAC CATs (that come with Exam Pack 2) and/or the Veritas CATs.

Before you rush into taking any of those CATs though, you'll have to put in some serious practice (and make some big improvements) in the Verbal section. Given your score goal, you'll likely need the better part of 2 months of consistent, guided study.

1) Considering that you're still in School, how many hours do you think you can study for the GMAT during a typical week?

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

Simran145 · Answer

Thank you Rich. I will try to mirror the test conditions as much as I can. These recommendations are wonderful.

Regarding the CATs. I do have access to all the Veritas CATs, but after giving 2 tests, I found that the Verbal questions are not exactly GMATlike. Some of them are not at all GMATlike. For example, in one of the tests, I received a 3 paragraph RC passage in the last question. In yet another test, I received an RC passage with just one question.

But I'll give these tests another try. There may have been some discrepancies when I gave those tests.

And for the coming 5 weeks, I can give 3-4 hours for the GMAT. Well, I may have to take breaks in parts for 6-7 days when I have my class tests. And in weekends I can definitely give 6+ hours.

I cannot give a single second to the GMAT in the last 3 weeks of May.

On the basis of this, can you give any suggestions as to when I should give the GMAT.

Awaiting your response.
Thanks

AjiteshArun · Answer

Have you got exam pack 2?

Simran145 · Answer

I don't have it now. But I m going to purchase it.

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi dn20,

Based on everything that you've described and your score goal, I think that you're going to need 2 months of consistent, guided study to score 730+. Based on what you've stated about April and May, you're not going to have the necessary time to put towards the GMAT, so you might need to think about picking your studies back up in June.

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

Simran145 · Answer

June 3rd week then.
Thank you for your help. I m grateful.

Posted from my mobile device

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