A little Disappointed

Question

To the GMAT gurus,

After 2 weeks of doing completing kaplan 2005 and kaplan 800
( CR). I wrote a diagnostic test PP1 yesterday to see where I was.

I was really disapointed to say the least. 

My essays were good. But i was really tensed during the Quant session. Quant is my strong point. Completed quant with 3 minutes remaining.I could not even complete the verbal section. When I was doing question 25 and I saw the timer show 2:00 minutes remaing. 

I scored a horrible 590 (Q 44, V 26). I was really disapointed with this performance. I am targetting a score of 700+ and I am writing my GMAT in APRIL. 

Has this happened to any one of you guys before. Reading form all the experince post it looks like your real GMAT score is a close representation of your PP scores .. This really scares me.. 

Please advice. ...

tkkoh · Answer

Don't be discouraged. This is just your first prep test. 

Seems like your main problem is meeting the timing for the Verbal. I believe you will be able to improve on that once you do more full-scale prep test. It is really important to build up the mental stamina for the test.

I think the PP score is representative to your actual GMAT test's score when you take both tests very closely... like 1 week apart. Yours is few months apart... so don't be too affected by it.

Bhai · Answer

You need to pace up. Also a proper, balance and non-anxious mind is the key to getting GMAT straight. Make sure you start the quant with absolute courage and confidence. I have seen the 75-41, 50-29, 25-14, 0-0 work well in verbal. You can do the same for Quant.

There is a lot of time till April. Just do it with  discipline . That is the key.

sperumba · Answer

tkkoh and Bhai thanks for the encouragement.

Bhai, I duont understand what you mean by this.

" I have seen the 75-41, 50-29, 25-14, 0-0 work well in verbal"

can you please explain.
Thanks,

Bhai · Answer

When the time starts

 Clock Reads----No of questions left 
75----41
50----29
25----14
00----0

sperumba · Answer

Got it .. 

thanks ,...will try to stick to it.. althought based on my first expreince 
in need to put in a lot of effort.

giddi77 · Answer

Supermba,

I can understand how frustrating it would be to get a score less than what you think you deserve (even during practice tests!).

But, I have a problem with what I call "drawing wrong conclusions" from parctice tests. 

Here is what one should conclude from a practice test:
1. Time management issues. - What type of questions end up eating much of your time. Is it RCs, CRs or DS ...? Where should I focus my study on?
2. Accuracy/Tendency to make mistakes on certain type of questions. - Was my logic incorrect or did I screw up in the simplification steps (esp for PS)
3. Issues with reading questions under pressure. - Did I read the question accurately? Did I misread the stem as "ONE of the..." while the question really said "NONE of the"...
4. Composure - Was I in the right frame of mind when I took the practice test?

And there are many more in this category..

Here is what one should NOT conclude from a practice test:
1. My so called "level" is only 5XX/6XX/7XX.
2. I always screw up the RCs..DS.. or whatever it is..

Every question you missed has an absolute reason "why you missed it". Although it is easier said than done, you need to find ways to get those type of questions right when you see them again. 

If reading speed is your issue, try and read a few articles from scientificamerican.com, Economist.com, aldaily.com... everyday and most importantly "with time restriction"

Just think of preparation for the test as a preparation for Marathon. What really matters is "HOW YOU RUN ON THE D-DAY" and not how you ran the first time you started preparing for the race!

I haven't taken the test yet, but I have definitely incorporated the "no judgement of my level" during everyday prep and it has helped me a lot.

sperumba · Answer

giddi77,

Thanks for all the pointers. I will keep you posted on how things go.

k-rag · Answer

hi sperumba,

i had similar clock issues with the verbal. i would suggest to do the verbal drills on the kaplan cd. the artificial time crunch will really tone you. ideally by the end of it you should be able to get about 85-100% correct on those drills (SC/RC/CR) at an accelerated pace.

i think you've already seen this, but the details on the approach i took to get faster on the verbal:
https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=25627

andy_gr8 · Answer

hi sperumba..
in all the practice tests that i have done and also the real GMAT i have faced, one thing i have noticed...
The more anxious i am, the more i screw up...If i sit with the intention of knocking down a particular score i mess up...So just chill, relax and take a test as if the whole world is still out there..
The second thing that i have noticed is the fear of something..If u afraid of RC, then no matter what you would get many questions wrong and would take up a lot of time...So removing that fear is the key...
I too am struggling with RC and as soon as i see RC i panick...The day i dont panick i am able to hit 90% correct but otherwise 60-70%

sperumba · Answer

thanx u guys will keep you posted on progress..

sperumba · Answer

Hi all,

Took my 2nd practice test this weekend . 

made and overall 640 (Q49, V27) . this time I managed to complete the verbal section on time but it did not seem to increase my verbal score by a lot. 

I seem to do the verbal section well if I am not under pressure. But some how when i am taking the test I forget all the conctpst that I have to apply, get discombobulated and screw things up. 

I guess i have to pull my verbal score up. Any sugestions.

I have done Kaplan 2005 , kaplan 800 ( CR and SC) and PR. 
was palnning on starting OG- SC with Mgmat SC book this week.

Thanks, 
-sperumba.

Yurik79 · Answer

Hi sperumba
i have similar problem my quant is not bad (44 on real test)
but verbal is awful 18
The one thing I noticed is that Kaplan stuff is good for quant section but verbal weak))
my suggestion is to download 1000 series and do as much as you can!
practice practice and practice.
believe me it really helps.
And of cause take part in discussions on verbal section of GMATCLUB )))

sperumba · Answer

thanks a lot yurik

coolfish1103 · Answer

I took my test in Jan 2006 the first time and I did very horrible on it. Actual score will remain as a mystery but I just want to share my experience.

AWA was alright... I had time to check on both of my essays. I don't think you have to write very long.. all you have to do is just to hit the points the question is asking you to do.

Quantitative is my strong point. (Much like Quantitative > AWA > Verbal) However, I was trying to be a perfectionist so I kept on double-checking my answers and stuff. I thought I timed each question correctly (2 min) as if I were taking the test at my house using the GMATPrep, but I was wrong. Just an advice for everyone...

 DO NOT THINK THE COMPUTER AT PEARSON & VUE WILL RESPOND AS FAST AS YOUR HOME COMPUTER. 

I freaked out when I realized I have 5 minutes and I still have 8 Quantitative Questions unfinished.. so I quickly finished about 3-4 of them and 4-5 of them remain un-answered when time is up. I have no idea how much that hurted my score but I got 40 on the Quantative Section when I saw my score.

Then... I think I freak myself out too much so I started pacing myself faster than usual for the Verbal Section, so I ended up with 2x minutes left when I am on my last question of the Verbal Section -.- When I realized that, I was like sure I know I did really bad on the test, but I still want the score anyways... so... 12 for Verbal xD

The only thing that made me feel better was that I got a 5 on the AWA from the official score report. Taking the test again in March and hopefully I won't score so horrible =3

HongHu · Answer

I've heard that the test score algorithm may include a punishment for guessing. (This is unofficial, though) So if you have done the last 3-4 very fast it may be considered guessing, and the last five un-answered questions definitely hurt.

I would recommend everybody starting from your second stage of preparation you should do timed exercises to get yourself familiar with the right pace.

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