absolutely bombed-770-640

Question

I have been preparing for the gmat since the last 7 moths and this was my first attempt.I had been extremely diligent in my studies throughout(almost 2.5-3 hours daily)
Did all the right things such as making error logs,going through debriefs,analysing choices carefully,reading powerscorecr,mgmat sc,did just every thing possible
 My last eight mock scores(gprep+mgmat)have between 730-780 .Got 770 in the last gprep.But was absolutely destroyed by gmat today got 640(q-49,v-27)>absolutely shocked with verbal score,Rc's seemed to be long and tough but still didnt expect to fall from v45 to a v-27.
 Please help,please suggest me some good books,study material ,just anything.iam done with all my tests and materials.
Iam absolutely shattered and feel suicidal.
please help.

Warlock007 · Answer

brother i can empathize you
i went through the same situation
i sometimes feel that this test is biased for indians in particular (or non native in general)

anyway its their game they set the rules

any thing you noticed in verbal section (specially in SC area) as there have been changes implemented in that section

crick20002002 · Answer

The GMAT is not biased against anyone. Please check the following post, use the tool and find out for yourself. gmat-tool-109370.html If anything, the average score is more for indian takers than for US or overall takers. Crick

crick20002002 · Answer

There is nothing to worry Adhithya !! Scoring badly in your first take is not end of the world by any means. The gmatclub is filled with stories of people making to the top from scores in 400-500 range. You are in much better shape

. So cheer up, take a break, and give it a fresh shot. Crick

Raghavender · Answer

Hey Adithya,

Looks like a typical case of nerves. Above 750s in GMAT prep should easily pull you to above 700 in GMAT, UNLESS your nerves got the better of you.

Many friends llike you in the forum had the same issue. They just took a month's break, revised lightly and attempted again to score closer to their GMAT prep scores.

One thing i guess that happened in your case was, Verbal sometimes throws people's balance and timing off in the beginning. Esp, if you have atleast couple of tough and long RCs in the first 15-18 qs, the more guesses you make the more confidence you lose. Your well toned timing skills go out of the window, due to pressure. So, now you are in uncharted GMAT territory, where your timing is off and you are under a lot of pressure. This combination has thrown a lot of people off from their expected scores. (It's like cricket, with all the game strategies, and run-rate you plan to maintain. Suddenly in the actual match, 5 top wickets are down, and all your strategy goes out of the window. Only the coolest mind succeeds then. )

Just sit back, relax and try to analyze your performance, and remember th questions threw you off. Form a new strategy, brush up your skills and this time expect that the GMAT verbal will try to throw you off, with the worst possible questions in the beginning.

Just give it again, and I believe you will score closer to 750 this time.

cvsmech · Answer

Adhithya,

Sorry to hear that. Don't feel bad, your score is good nevertheless.

I'd highly recommend a retake, considering you were scoring so well on the practice tests. It also seems that long RCs threw you off balance. Once you lose focus in a long tough RC passage, it becomes difficult to get your mind together to focus on other questions and as a result, you tend to make more mistakes.

I know you're dissapointed but don't let it bother you for too long. It's only an exam. Beauty about this exam is that it is very learn-able and you can take it a few times before you decide to give up on it.

All the best. Waiting to see your debrief on a 750+ on your retake. :D

York101 · Answer

hey, chill

( i know easier said than done ) it just wasn't your day, get back on that horse! you will kick gmat b**it next time!! just my 2 cents have you tried taking any gmat prep course?

Shoumik · Answer

Don't give up! I think the best idea is to go through LSAT material to strengthen your verbal. I feel that GMAT is kind of heading towards the difficulty level of LSAT RC and CR hmm...

toiysam · Answer

man the same thing happened to me... retaking next week.

sguptashared · Answer

Same story here. SC questions were definitely off the track. I remember one question stem in which "she where..." was right after underlined part. Neither I could find "that" in any of the options before "she" not any other connections to understand the role of "she" there. Even if I assume that "she" fits in the sentence. How in this world "where" can modify "she". I don't know somehow completely pissed off with the GMAT.

sguptashared · Answer

Dude did you study with this book? I like Powerscore CR so much. Their approach for solving problems is very different. In fact, I became confident with CR only after studying with this book. Having good experience with CR book, I assume their RC will also have the same impact on my RC skills. I wanted to order this, but I wanted to get reviews from the people before I order. Please let me know how your experience was with the book so that I can order this one. Thanks!

walker · Answer

retake in a month!

stompy · Answer

Just finished taking the test today as well. I can only imagine what you are going through. Did you make sure to take your practice tests under actual test conditions?

If you were indeed in that 730-780 range, my advice would be to DEFINITELY retake the test. You will do better. I failed my CPA test the first time around and it felt horrible. (both physically and mentally) In time it will go away. Give it a couple days. Once you feel up to it, continue your studies and take the test in a month.

This is not the end game but a mere roadblock. Think about how badly you want a good gmat score and I know you will try again.

adhithya · Answer

@all,thanks a lot people for ur encouragement,i really need some support badly
Iam planning to take a break for a week from gmat studies(physically and mentally drained out,I had slowed down my office work because of GMAT,so even that needs to be dealt with)

I just have a few doubts
1)where do i find SC material that is actually representative of the  current  gmat SC.Same with rc and cr. Some people have suggested lsat materials but I would just like to know a little bit more about them.During,my first attempt I had tried my hand at lsat cr and ended up getting confused as they were deviating from the gmat logic
2)Also,i have exhausted almost all study materials and all the tets(mgmat+gprep(6attempts at gprep)),so I dont really feel that practising the same tests would be useful again as they dont quite reflect the current gmat
So,i need some help regarding good tests.
Again,guys thanks a lot,atleast iam happy that I have so many great people to help me

crick20002002 · Answer

Can you please let us know what you observed in SC questions in the real GMAT. I am sure that would be useful to everybody.

Crick

adhithya · Answer

@crick,sc questions were more meaning based i.e.u could eliminate only 1/at the most 2 options based on grammar rules=>one has to examine the remaining 3/4 options more closely wich meant screwing up ur time.Same with Rc.eg . in main idea questions based on tone of passage one could eliminate options with extreme words like 'argue','criticicize','defend' etc.But on the actual gmat,all options used words like 'describe'/'present' which meant that u had to go through all 5 options.also the options wre slightly convoluted which further ended up wasting time
but more than sc,it was rc that caused problem

crick20002002 · Answer

Thanks for the insight Adithya. +1 Kudos for it.

I am sure with such a meticulous understanding, you would nail the GMAT next time on..

Crick

Shoumik · Answer

I used powerscore CR bible but not the RC guide... I don't think there are clear-cut strategies to massively improve your RC accuracy. Best thing to do is read RC 99 passages and enhance your vocabulary list.

adhithya · Answer

hi,
Iam slightly confused right now as to how should I plan my retake.Read some reatke posts but still in doubt as I have already implemented many of their strategies such as error logs,taking tests with AWA,mgmat sc ,powerscore cr in my first attempt itself??Have lsat RC doc but with no explanations given and still no sign of SC material.The gmatprep SC also seems to be on the easy side(had done 70 questions during my first attempt)
Plese suggest some ideas(memebers have been really kind and patient with me,please do bear my doubts a little more)

walker · Answer

My 2 cents:

I was in your shoes. I always had 700+ score from the beginning of my preparation. On the real exam long RCs just killed my concentration and I got pretty bad verbal score. I scheduled my second attempt in a month and worked mainly on concentration in Verbal section and RC (I went again through OG12 and OG Verbal 2). You may browse my earlier posts about why you may lose concentration and how to trick yourself making GMAT passages the most interesting thing on the Earth (at least for a couple of minutes). If you have 700+ score in any mock tests, your low score more about concentration/panic/psychology than about quant/verbal skills. So, just more practice, more tests, more questions may not be so helpful. Ask yourself one more time: what exactly was the reason of poor performance on the test?

Best,
Walker

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