Demoralized after second horrible GMAT Exam

Question

Hi All,

I am new hear and seeking some encouragement/advice. I just finished taking my second GMAT exam. The first time, back in November, I scored a disgusting 380 after I had scored a 460 and 480 using Kaplan's GMAT Prep and CATs 1 & 2. I decided to give Kaplan and the GMAT exam one more swing. I started to study intensely last April and my last two CATs on Kaplan (just last week) were both 550. It seems like my biggest weakness is the quant. Anyway, took the GMAT today and again, kicked in the butt and left stranded by Kaplan (yet again), I received a 400. I asked Kaplan about retaking their GMAT Anywhere but all I would get is the Alumni discount. I am honestly disappointing with their lack of accuracy on the CATs and the real GMAT. My goal is to reach at least 550, ideally 600. I want to retake the exam next month as my deadline to submit my scores to my B-School is July 15. I'm thinking about Manhattan Prep to study with for this month. Any recommendations as to which Prep course to take? Should I write-off Kaplan for good?

Also, can't help but feel demoralized. Both my Quant and Verbal were down in comparisons to my Kaplan CATs of 550. The one that took the worst hit was my Quant. I scored at the 13th percentile. It just doesn't get any worse than that. I need some kind advice as well as some encouragement. I'm sure you all have been down a road similar to mine. Please give me you earliest feedback. Your help is appreciated.

Regards,

Miguel

Catalan7 · Answer

I should probably include my breakdown on the last five Kaplan CATs and my last GMAT Exam:

CAT 3:
Quant - 41
Verbal - 28

CAT 4:
Quant - 37
Verbal - 30

Real GMAT:
Quant - 25
Verbal - 21

WoundedTiger · Answer

Honestly, I am not a big fan of Kaplan but then people have done well going through its course material
And have done pretty well

I am not sure but did you refer to OG guide as well.If not,then please get latest guide before moving forward and no matter what else you do,finishing og should be one of your prime objectives before appearing for next exam

Assuming you will take test around 12th-15th July period, you cannot focus on all aspects of the exam and hence it is important that you cover some major topics in quant and verbal

For quant: you should focus on number properties,statistics and geometry.
For verbal: immediate gains can be seen if you focus on sc (sub-verb,pronouns,parallelism and basic modifier rules)
Since you haven't mentioned on your weak areas,i would suggest that you take a mgmat free test on mgmat site and download it's analysis of your test ...

Getting to your desired score is not that difficult provided you spend your time wisely

Also, understand the exam well.Use the search option on gmatclub site and type in "what if scenario" and you will get detailed analysis on how the scoring on real gmat likely to be...

For math, you can download the gmatclub mathbook and follow Math expert Bunuel...

There is no reason for you to feel bad..you can get your score...it's not that far...what is required is consistent efforts for the next 30 days...

Btw,I hope you have 2 free tests from mba.com..use them in last 15 days of your preparation

ATB...keep moving...

Catalan7 · Answer

Thank you for the advice. I'd like to see how I do on a CAT outside of Kaplan. At this point, I probably won't give it a swing until tomorrow. I am pretty burnt out after today, but I think getting my hands on some free CATs from Manhattan and the official MBA Practice Exam.

I am just in awe still about how crappy this exam was in comparison to the last two Kaplan CATs. I keep asking myself, "How did I manage to score 150 points lower than the Kaplan CATs? How does that happen?" The only thing I can think of that might have happened was that I must have strung 10 consecutive incorrect questions - missed a few too many medium questions, and got dinged. How do I reverse this defect and make it my fortitude?

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

Hi Catalan7,

I can't speak to the accuracy of Kaplan's exams, but I'd worry more about why you got the 380. I'm going to guess you ran into some trouble with timing on the real test. How did that go? Did you time out or have to rush and guess at the end of either section?

In any case, while you should definitely take another practice test eventually, that should probably not be your main priority at this point. Clearly you need to improve your skills, and since quality practice tests are limited in number, you should wait to take another exam until you have made some concrete improvements.

We'd certainly be happy to have you in one of our classes, and we can give you a "refugee" discount since you are coming from another test prep program: https://www.manhattangmat.com/gmat-prep-test-refugee.cfm
I would recommend that you discuss your experience with your instructor so that you can strategize how best to make use of the course given your previous experience.

Also, I want to take a minute to stress that students of all classes--ours, Kaplan's, whoever's--should take the official practice tests from mba.com in addition to any CATs provided by the prep program. Those exams are the most realistic practice test experience you can get. Having said that, it's certainly possible to see a very large discrepancy between your home scores and your real score. When this happens, it often turns out that the student is having trouble with time/stress management. It can also happen when the test-taker tries to improve their performance on test-day rather than keeping their work consistent with what they've been doing at home.

Demoralized after second horrible GMAT Exam

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