Disappointing GMAT Performance after 4 Months Studying/Tutoring

Question

Hi all,

I recently took the GMAT twice (online and in-person) and scored 650 then 660. Realistically and modestly, this was  very  disappointing given that my first GMAT diagnostic test was a 650 (back in February/March). So ultimately, 4 months of daily studying (2-3 hours on weekdays and significantly more on weekends) only seemed to have boosted my score by 10 points. In addition, I spent 40 of those hours with tutors (20 hours with Kaplan and then 20 hours with Veritas- noticeable difference with Veritas tutoring FYI- the tutor was able to answer any question I threw at him, whereas the Kaplan tutor occasionally struggled).

I am struggling to make sense of my poor performance and would love some suggestions. After these attempts, I have decided not to go for an MBA program this application cycle (eg 2022 intake). I want to give myself another year (well less than that, realistically, I would love to have a 710+ score by the spring) to significantly improve on this test.

To be a little more specific- right before I took the GMAT, I was able to achieve Q49 on two practice tests (one official MBA). Nonetheless, on the actual test I scored 43 then 46. Regarding verbal, towards the end of my prep I was able to occasionally reach V39. On my tests I got V38 and then V35. Altogether, my practice tests averaged in the high 600s, and I broke 700 once.

My main reason for postponing my studies for a tiny bit is the fact that I've burned through a lot of material. I've taken the six GMAT official practice tests and I've gone through a bunch of OG questions. I think that I should probably wait a month or two to defamiliarize myself with the material. I've taken all Kaplan and 7 Veritas tests as well.

In terms of input from the community, I would really appreciate a little diagnosis. I would love to know if any of what I've mentioned sounds misguided, or if I've done something noticeably wrong. I'm not sure I want to use a tutor in the future, and one thing on my mind is to try find a study buddy to make this content more approachable and intelligible. Perhaps a tutor was not the best route for me (and for others either)?

BSchoolinAUS · Answer

I'm following to see what other much more knowledgeable people have to say but maybe there was less structure to your studies than there should have been?

Following an online program like ttp or egmat will give you structure and make sure you aren't missing any topic. It also shows you your weak areas and forces you to work on them. This type of structured learning is essential in my opinion as nothing "falls through the cracks" and also provides a great foundation so you have high accuracy on easy and medium questions.

Another issue, as you've seemed to do well on practice tests, might be your anxiety on test day. If you consistently score higher on all the CATs, including official gmat ones, this is likely a major culprit so you should look at ways to mitigate stress/anxiety (meditation, eating healthy, good sleep, exercise, and visualization of success can all help)

The good news is you are scoring well on CATs so you're close to being there. Just figure out your issues in CATs (and get the score report from your official gmat tests), become one with Buddha, and you're sorted! 
   Posted from my mobile device

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

"Regarding verbal, towards the end of my prep I was able to occasionally reach V39."

A V39 is pretty good! Probably fair to say it shows you have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of GMAT Verbal. One suggestion would be to work on your solving approach. In fact, I recently completed (yesterday) a 6-hour Verbal "solving approach" package with a student.

Of course, given your tutoring history working with a study buddy may be something to try. Here's a link that may be useful:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/looking-for- ... 48276.html

You know the fundamentals of Verbal. Working on making your approach more effective/efficient may help get you that V40+ now.

All the best.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi karimGMAT,

First off, a 660/Q46 is a solid Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, another retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

With a 660, you're closer to a 710 than you probably realize, but even during your practice, you never quite got to that level. GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Your 2 Official Scores show that you essentially performed the same each time - along with that initial CAT Score (and possibly several of your other CAT Scores) - show that you've been performing at the same general level for the last 4 months (about 650 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. The slight 'swings' in your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores are likely due to lucky/unlucky guesses and little mistakes (that you make or don't make from Test to Test). It's likely that you've developed some 'bad habits' that will take time to fix (and replace with new 'good habits'). Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level - and you could potentially retest in 1-2 months and hit your Score Goal.

Since you took one of your GMATs at a Test Center, you might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Your prep materials may have taught to the official practice tests. If so, you would score high on the official tests, but a bit lower on the actual GMAT.

In any case, your move for quant is to master one weaker area at a time to drive your expected quant score up point by point. To score in the upper 40s or 50s in quant, you have to be pretty solid in all areas of quant. If you have too many knowledge or skill gaps, the GMAT will likely uncover them.

For more on increasing your quant score, see this post.  How To Increase Your GMAT Quant Score

Don't do that. Think about it. You are seeking to prepare by forgetting! Not the move. There is plenty of material to use. In fact, the idea that you should forget the material to learn is perhaps a clue indicating why you haven't hit your score goal. For instance, maybe you've been too focused on practicing rather than on mastering topics from the ground up.

Just move on to other materials and keep learning. By the time you have mastered more quant topics and strengthened your verbal skills, a month or two will have gone by anyway.

Regarding verbal, you could read this post to learn how to master verbal.  How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

A tutor can be helpful, but unless you want to spend 200 hours with a tutor, you have to learn a lot on your own as well. Also, probabaly you have to practice way more than you have so far. At a certain point, preparing for the GMAT has to involve spending time working on you own and figuring things out. Too often, people get the impression that, if tutor explains a lot of concepts and practice questions for them, they'll be prepared for the test, but the thing is that you also have to learn to explain things yourself. After all, a key GMAT skill is skill in figuring things out on the fly.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  karimGMAT ,

I think that's a good idea (to take a break at this point). 2-3 hours on weekdays and more on weekends for 4 months straight is a significant amount of time (and effort).

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