I took my GMAT on 6th of Sep and I’ve scored a paltry 590. Q49 V21. I am still unable to fathom why this has happened, for my least
MGMAT was 650 and I scored 700 and 710 in my GMATPrep tests. My
MGMAT scores were consistent too. 630, 650, 670, 670, 730 and 700. I scored a 720 in the Economist Free test. I scored 770 and 760 when I reset the GMATPrep tests and took again. I should say I’ve seen a number of questions repeating. This boosted confidence but I wasn’t expecting such high scores but 680-700 was something I thought I’d score even on a bad day.
Exam Day: I’ve been following the same diet for weeks prior to the exam and even programmed myself to take loo breaks as per the exam time. Mine was at 2 PM. Also I never felt exhausted. I always kept telling myself, all through the exam, that I’ll be doing well.
My Verbal scores were always falling in 34-38 bracket. So I thought I had a hang of my abilities and I did not try to force myself into doing more. I was sure that if I can get a Q50, I’d touch 720 and banked on the same hope. All I did was regularly take mocks and analyze the mistakes.
In the exam, everything felt perfect and seemed like going according to plan. After I completed the Quant section, I took a quick break, in which I had an energy bar and I said to myself that I’d be nailing this exam. Verbal started off well, but then I came across a tough RC, I knew it was a 700+ level Inference based question, so I just guessed and moved on. When I was at the 20th question, I realized I used up exactly half of the time. Then the idiot inside me yelled I should rush, for I might get tougher questions next and I’d need more time. This, I think, did all the damage. From 21-41, I was just fighting my conscience – should I rush? Should I take it slow? Can I afford to rush through the last few questions? OMG, what would be my final score? Will I go past 700?
Bang, I knew something wasn’t right when I completed the test and I was anticipating a 650-680 score. But when I screen flashed 590, I just hoped the earth could swallow me. I accepted the score and I walked out of the test center as soon as I can. V21 is something I did not even dream I'd get on the real GMAT.
One suggestion – Please don’t think about the final score. Stick to the strategy which you religiously followed. Improvisations in the last moment won’t work in this test. I cannot focus on how important having a cool head is. See me. Please do not commit the sins I have. Good luck to everyone. I’m still trying to figure out how to overcome my shortcomings and when to re-take the test. God help me