CAT Score stuck at 690

Question

Hi,

I have been preparing for my GMAT exam since November . In this time, I have given 5 tests (2 Kaplan, 1 MGMAT and 2 GMAT Prep). My last 2 tests were the GMAT Prep tests- I had given these since I was told that these would give a more accurate score than the others.

My Scores in Order:

1. Kaplan diagnostic-Without any prep- 620 (Q49,V26).
2. MGMAT CAT 1- 3 weeks of prep-580 (Q34,V35) -This was naturally a very disappointing score
3. Kaplan CAT 2- 5 Weeks of prep-650 (Q49,V30)
4. GMAT Prep 1- 8 Weeks of Prep -680 (Q49,V34)- I was unable to complete the verbal section and had 1 Question that was missed
5. GMAT Prep 2- 10 Weeks of Prep-690 (Q47,V38)

When I looked back and reviewed my last 2 tests, I found that there were a lot of error in the quant section that occurred due to silly mistakes and lack of time. I want to break the 700 barrier(aiming for a 720).

Can someone please suggest what I can do to improve my score and cross the bridge into 700? I have 2 weeks left for my exam(which is on the 1st of March). What can I do to boost my score?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi vsaketram,

You've actually already defined the source of your missing points: silly mistakes (and more specifically...when you eliminate the silly mistakes, your score will go up).

At your current scoring level, the GMAT becomes really "sensitive" to silly mistakes - a few more correct or incorrect answers can make a BIG different in your overall score, so the impact of silly mistakes (or NOT making them) will be a big factor into your score.

Fixing silly mistakes is often about note-taking and attention-to-detail. The MORE notes you take, the less likely you are to miss the little details. To that end, you should NOT do work in your head and you should spend the extra couple of seconds necessary to label your work. Pacing problems actually occur when you try to do too much in your head (and you end up re-reading the entire prompt because you're not doing enough note-taking).

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

vsaketram · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the great advice. Also, I'd like to know one more thing- How accurate are the scores that GMATPrep gives? Are they reliable and can reviewing the tests give better results,both in future CAT's and the Actual Exam? I am asking you this since I have read and heard that these scores are more accurate than MGMAT and Kaplan.

Thanks again!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi vsaketram,

ALL of the available CATs on the market have their own "biases", since the algorithm for the Official GMAT is proprietary (and rather specific). The CATs offered by GMAC (the 2 free CATs and the 2 additional CATs that can be purchased from www.mba.com) are arguably the MOST accurate, but they too have their limitations (a limited pool of questions and a fixed "curve").

Even though the popular brand-name CATs have their own biases, there are things that YOU can do to make the experience as realistic as possible (and you really MUST choose to take these steps, if you want a realistic score result): take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections), take the CAT in a Test-like environment, away from your home, use a desktop computer and don't do anything unrealistic (such as retaking a CAT, pausing the Test, listening to music, etc.).

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

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hey Vsaketram,

In the last two weeks of your prep, there are two things that you might want to do.

1. Go over the questions that you have made an error. Make sure you don't repeat the same error on any other question.

2. Maintain consistency. Make sure you work out some questions each day.

3. Don't try to learn something new - Instead work on your strengths and become stronger on this.

All the very best

vsaketram · Answer

Hi CrackVerbalGMAT/EMPOWERgmatRichC,

Another update on this front: I gave my 3rd Prep test on the 17th of Feb. I got a score of 720(Q47,V41). While I was pretty happy with this score, I am bit sceptical since my score was pretty high in Verbal whereas it was average in quant. The reason for my scepticism is that I am unsure of producing the same kind of verbal score in the real test.

Points here:
1. How can I raise my score in quant to 49 atleast
2. Is there any way of maintaining consistency in verbal.

Thanks for all your advice!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi vsaketram,

When you review this CAT, here is something specific that you can look for, but you have to go through the ENTIRE Verbal section (including the questions that you got correct): how often did you 'narrow down the question to 2 choices and then "guess" CORRECTLY?' And how often did you "guess" incorrectly? You have to be precise and honest with this assessment. If you truly have no explanation for why your Verbal score is higher than normal, then the possible reasons are limited - one of them is that you just got a bit 'lucky' on a handful of questions that you just as easily could have gotten wrong. To keep your Verbal score at this higher level, you have to understand why the correct answer is correct AND why the incorrect answers are incorrect. With all of that knowledge, you'll have ways to 'double-check' your answer on Test Day.

You've already answered your question about the Quant section - the missing points are in the silly/little mistakes. If you make to many of those, then a Q49+ will not be possible. On this last CAT, how many Quant questions did you get wrong that you COULD have gotten correct? What did you miss? What could you have done differently to keep the little mistake from happening?

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

vsaketram · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the advice! I have done exactly what you have suggested and here are my findings for verbal:
My split of scores per topic were:
SC- 14 out of 17 correct
RC -13 out of 13 correct
CR- 4 out of 11 correct

My CR seemed a bit off in this test. I was surprised at first but when I looked back, I found that 6 out of the 11 CR questions were asked in the last 9 questions(33 to 41). Due to lack of time, I had to guess a few questions (which I felt were consuming my limited time left) and move on.

I am usually able to narrow down between the 2 correct answers and more often than not, I get the answer right in CR. That being said, in the initial 5 questions that were asked in CR(between Q1 to Q33), i got 3 on 5 correct. So I am planning to put a little more effort in CR for next couple of days.

In Quant, my score remained the same but this time , instead of 6 silly errors, I made 2 . I am trying to eliminate these altogether. 
Also, I seemed to be struggling with Word problems according to my review and am hence going through more word problems since then.
Please let me know in case I can look for anything more specific.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi vsaketram,

When the goal is to consistently score at a high level in the Verbal section, ANYTHING that is imprecise is a potential problem. "Narrowing down to 2 choices and 'guessing'" has the potential to be really imprecise. To combat that "potential swing" in scores, you have to do more precise work BEFORE you look at the answer choices (when you're dealing with RC and CR prompts; with SCs, you should START with the answer choices, as they provide valuable information and potential patterns to work with). By taking the proper notes and pre-phrasing your answer before you look at the 5 choices, you should be more likely to end up with the correct answer. Instead of wondering "which answer is best?", you'll be searching for the answer that matches your prediction. Doing this will also save you time (and could potentially "fix" any pacing problems that you might have).

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

vsaketram · Answer

Hi Rich,

I gave my GMAT yesterday and got a dismal 680(Q49,V34). I have decided to retake the test within a month and a half(preferably by April 15). A few things that I realised:

1. My timing was off- especially in the verbal section in which I took more quite some time in the RC section.
2. A few questions in quant caught me by surprise(max min problems) .
3. My nerves did not help either(although I would not give much importance to this as a cause of my low score)

Also, let me give you an insight into my profile:
I am an Indian Engineer with 2 years of work experience. I'm planning to apply this year end so that I will have 3 yrs of work experience by the time I matriculate.
I have had a short stint at a manufacturing firm post which I worked in an Account Management and Operations role in a tech startup. Now I am going to start work at Twitter Inc.(which acquired the startup) in a global growth ops role.
The schools that I am aiming for are:
Ambitious- Anderson School and Haas school
Others: Tuck,Darden, Indian School of Business(ISB)
Under grad GPA: 3.4

Given all this, please let me know what score would help me the most and also , what my retake strategy should be for achieving the same.

alexau · Answer

I know how you feel about being disappointed at first with your score. Nerves got to me last month when I took the exam.

Here are a few things that have been helping me as I study for my retake:
1. The test run is out of the way. When you take the exam next time, you will know exactly what to do and how everything will work. It won't be an unfamiliar territory and you will feel more comfortable.
2. You have a solid score in the books and schools tend to only look at your best score, meaning that as long as you study throughout the next month you shouldn't be too worried.
3. You know you can score at a higher level. You have done it multiple times based on your practice CATs, so there is no reason to believe that you can't do it again. Take a few days to gather yourself and then just do a little bit of studying each day.

Now that you have this score in the books you can focus on truly "thinking like the testmaker". You clearly know how to answer most of the questions and score pretty well. Now its just clawing your way for those last few points and getting across the 700 barrier.

Best of luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi vsaketram,

First off, a 680/Q49 is a great score (it's just shy of the 90th percentile overall) and it might be enough to get you into any of the Schools that you listed. You have to remember that NO score (not even an 800) will guarantee you anything - Business Schools 'nitpick' your OVERALL profile, so you need more than just a high GMAT score to get into a Top Program.

Since you're asking Admissions questions, you should pose them to the Admissions Experts in THAT Forum:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

When you say that your timing was "off" in the Verbal section, what does that mean EXACTLY? Did you have to rush at the end just to finish? Did you finish early?

You're actually really close to 720 right now, but to consistently score at that level, you have to stop 'narrowing it down to 2 choices and then "guessing"' in the Verbal section. This requires a more pro-active set of tactics for dealing with RC and CR.

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

vsaketram · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the advice! I really want to improve my verbal score and bring it to around 40. As you said, I have to stop narrowing down and guessing between options.

Can you please suggest any tactic/coursework for improving the same?

vsaketram · Answer

Hi Rich,

Also, to answer your question on my timing, I found that I did not have enough time for the last 10 questions. I had around 12 mins for the last 10 questions and this was because I spent a lot of time on RC's(2 out of 4 were quite verbose and intricate).

So yes, I did not manage my time well in the Verbal section

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CAT Score stuck at 690

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