April fools

Question

I took the gmat first around 4 months ago and got a 660. Respectable score I guess, but I wanted to do better. I'd already used the two gmatprep free tests and got a 640 at the start of my studies and a 660 right before the test so I figured they were fairly accurate.

I studied for a few months, took some manhattan practice tests got around a 640, kind of a bummer. Got the extra gmatprep tests since I'd already used the free two. Got a 700 on the first one, 720 on the second, 690 on the third, and 720 on the fourth. All under test conditions, so I was feeling pretty good.

Night before the test I got about 8.5 hours of sleep, had all my snacks and stuff ready to go. Morning of, reviewed my notes, felt good.

Took the test, got a 610. I'm astonished. I don't know how it could be. Anyone have a similar experience?

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sdlife · Answer

I had the exact same experience few months back. My score dropped by 50 points. I went from 670 (Q49, V32) in first attempt to 620 (Q48, V27) in second. My GMAT Prep scores before my second attempt ranged from 690 to 770 (repeat and new).

I still don't know what happened on that day. I ordered the ESR and found out that I bombed CR. I had a CR -15, but an exceptional RC score of 51. DS and PS both were at 48. I also noticed that I got 50-60% questions wrong in the first 10 questions in Verbal. This explains a Verbal score of 27.

My suggestion would be to order ESR (if you haven't already) and look at what went wrong. It could very well be exam pressure and/or other factors.

I made a mistake of taking a break after second attempt since I had been preparing for SOO long. I don't think that was the best decision since I had to start all over again for my third attempt. So if you recently gave your second attempt, start working on preparing for your third attempt ASAP. Use GMAT Prep and all official materials for Verbal to work on your weak sections. Just my 2 cents.

hpaton111 · Answer

I appreciate the feedback, unfortunately I have to take 2 tests that are required for work before I take it again. Going to try to get through those as efficiently as possible and just get back to it.

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi hpaton111,

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 each time (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 when you took 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? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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

patonhari · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Hi Rich, kind of honored to have you reply, given that I've seen your responses to various questions all over the forum. In answer to your questions:

1. I did take the entire CAT each time, including the IR and the AWA

2. I did take them at home.

3. I only really took the practice tests in the afternoon, while I took the real test in the morning (I will fully admit to not being a morning person).

4. Truthfully on two of the practice tests I think I did take a longer time during the break between IR and quant because I forgot to set a timer, but on the other two I did try to keep as close to the actual test timing as I could.

5. I did not see any repeat questions that I know of since I used 4 different tests.

Do you think that taking the practice tests at home and during the afternoon/not being 100% on timing affected it that much? If so, do you think it's possible to hit my target scores by training myself more strictly on practice tests, or is it a lost cause?

I appreciate your feedback!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi patonhari,

To start, are you "hpaton111"? I ask because you're responding to my post as if you are - and I need to know whether the original information offered refers to your situation or not. Assuming that you posted that original message, there are a couple of 'red flags' in terms of how you took your CATs. Before we discuss those details though, I have a few additional questions about the lead-up to Test Day and Test Day itself:

1) What did you do in the 3 days before your GMAT?
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
6) Did you finish any sections early?
7) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?

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

patonhari · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Yessir, same guy. Guess I accidentally made a new profile with the app.

1. The three days before the test I did some timed practice tests from the OG. Some review of some flashcards, things like that.

2. I slept well the night before the test, certainly more sleep than I usually get so probably in the realm of 8.5 hours.

3. I took the train to the test center so probably 15 minute walk to the station, 15 minute ride, 5 minute walk to the test center.

4. No distractions that I can think of.

5. During the breaks I paced around a lot, drank water, and had some snacks

6. I finished the math section a little early which is unusual for me. Usually I finish the math section with seconds to spare and have plenty of time left at the end of the verbal, but this time it was exactly the opposite since I finished the verbal with basically no time left.

7. I didn't have to do a series of guesses at the end of either of the sections, but at the end of the verbal section I wasn't feeling 100% at all.

Thanks for your help, Rich. I appreciate it

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi patonhari,

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 practice scores can become - and that's what happened here. By taking the CATs at home, taking them at different times of day, anything else that didn't 'match up' with what you experienced on Test Day, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.' In addition, by taking the CATs at home, you didn't account for that 35 minutes of travel time - time when you'd be spending energy, thinking about the Test, etc. Thankfully, all of these issues are relatively easy to account for - you just have to be more rigorous about making your future CATs mimic the aspects of what you'll face when you retake the Official GMAT.

Points can be won and lost rather easily on Test Day, so beyond the 'physical' factors that I discussed above, it would help to have data about your exact Test Day performance. Have you considered purchasing the Enhanced Score Report? While the ESR doesn't provide that much information, there are usually a few data points that can help to define exactly what you need to work on to score at a higher level. If you purchase the ESR for this recent attempt, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you expecting to restart your studies?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
4) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

patonhari · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

That makes a lot of sense, I hadn't really thought of the commute time as being a factor to prepare for but there it is.

In response to your questions:

1) Goal score is around what I was hitting on my later practice tests 710/720.

2) I'll be forced to push out my studies for the gmat by about a month since there are two tests for work that I must complete first. I'm hoping to come up with some way to keep myself from forgetting all the material, but maybe a break from it will be for the best. It was consuming me when I was building up for the test.

3) I'm planning to apply for fall of 2018 ideally, but because of some developments at work (recent promotion) I may have to push it out by another year in order to maximize my pre-business school earnings for some extra leverage when I graduate.

4) Mostly in the top 15. My GPA is above the average for many of the top schools thankfully, and I've done some interesting things with my life so far and I hope to continue to do so in the future. I've also been fortunate enough to rise quickly in my current company, and hopefully that will reflect positively on my application. Who ever really knows what the schools will think about extra curricular activities, but I don't see the point in going for me if it's outside the top 10/15 schools so that's where I'd like to apply. The one key factor I think I'm missing is an acceptable gmat score.

That was a little long winded, but I'll send you my ESR for my second test in a private message since I'd rather not post it in a public setting. Thank you again for your guidance

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi patonhari,

From what you've described, it's not completely clear what these two work-related 'tests' are (nor how much time and effort you'll have to put in to prepare for those tests). Assuming that those test results are the immediate priority, you might need to put your GMAT studies on hold - trying to study for 3 tests all at once would likely impact how well you would ultimately perform on each of them. Since you have some time before you plan to apply to Business School, that 'time off' from your GMAT studies shouldn't be too detrimental (and you have plenty of time to reacquire any skills that might fade during that time).

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

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