Disappointing Result - next steps?

Question

Hey Everyone,

I took the GMAT this morning and was extremely disappointed. I scored a 620 after scoring a 690, 710, 710 and 720 on the official practice exams and a 710 on my last Manhattan prep, each with mostly test like environments. I have no idea what happened.

Given that I intend on applying to top 10 schools, in a split second decision, I elected to cancels my scores.

Question 1: was canceling my score wise? I assume that if I can pull off a 720 or 730 on my next sitting, schools wouldn't view the cancelation as a big deal. I'll then address the cancelation in a supplemental essay if needed

Question 2: in your view, what's the best way to reevaluate my scoring level? Part of me is convinced this score is an aberration given my past performance but I am now certainly in the market for different test prep materials.

Thanks for the feedback!!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Mortysmith,

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 (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 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 you took the CAT?

It's possible that you just had a "bad day"; but if we can figure all of this out quickly, then you shouldn't wait too long to retest.

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

Mortysmith · Answer

Rick,

Thanks for the response. I really appreciate the help.

1) I did not take the entire CATs during my practice, though I'd like to point out, that at no point during my Official GMAT did I feel tired
2) I took them at the office
3) I took the practice exams at a slightly later time. Actual at 8AM, Practice 930AM
4) During my CATs i may have taken a phone call or two related to work. Not sure this would have helped inflate my score much though
5) on the first 2, 710s, yes. but on the 690 and 720 no.

I'm working to figure this all out quickly. Any thoughts on how to self analyze at this stage. Note I have spent 3 months preparing.

Thanks again for all the help!

Jacob

Ekland · Answer

I have to say this. My suggestion might be weird.

The GMAT seems to be improving significantly in terms of difficulty level for the test taker.
While the prep test you took online from some prep guys have been the questions in their server for almost a decade... the questions in the GMAT real exam you will take are not just new questions but ALSO with content, twists, and registar that are NOT totally the same with those in the prepCAT you took.

This is why I think the real preparation for GMAT is understanding the mind of the test creators. What do they expect of you in a question? E.g. What really do they mean by "weaken", "Most closely parallels", etc...
It's not about taking several CATs as it is about understanding the core principle of raw Arithmetic and mastering the language & reasoning in verbal.
I wish I knew this earlier. E.g a good book on fundamental arithmetic will help you increase your score than CATs.

Let me suggest weirdly that you also sample some hard verbal questions from OG and try to create questions yourself copying the reasoning in the real question. U might want to give your questions to an expert to look at. If the expert says : "This question is not very GMATlike" OR hold any reservations about the question(s), then chances are high you are yet to be at 90percentile score. 
Even if you register for a new lesson, it will only rehash what you know.

Try and use any means to grab the mind of the test giver.
Use weird means if you can. go off book if you can.

Analyse a question for two days or two weeks, creating many more possible stimuli/questions from idea behind that question and exposing the question to an expert or a your paid tutor.

PS: If you didn't feel tired towards the end of the test, chances are high you got some questions wrong because you didn't think through them enough. Your mental energy level is NOT going to be at initial level if are thinking for about 4 hours.

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Mortysmith,

The extra information that you've provided is quite useful, as it helps to define what went wrong on Test Day. In real basic terms, you took your CATs in such a way that you were NOT properly training to face the Official GMAT.

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 scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at a different time of day, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

Thankfully, this is a relatively easy set of problems to fix. The big question now is "how long will it take you to properly get 'used to' taking the full GMAT?" You'll certainly need a new set of practice CATs to work with and you have to put in the necessary time to train your brain (and body) for the FULL GMAT. You might also need to invest in some new GMAT training materials.

1) What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on your Official GMAT and on each of your CATs?

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

Mortysmith · Answer

Rich, Thank you again for the responsiveness. I'm surprised to hear that such a small deviation would matter. Although, my results certainly could suggest you are correct. 1) 710 Q49, V38 2) 710 Q45, V41 3) 690 Q47, V38 4) 720 Q47, V41 Actual Test :cry:

620 Q42, V34

HiLine · Answer

Mortysmith, sorry to hear of the significant deviation. Before offering any advice, I'd like to know one thing.

How did you feel during the official test? Be as specific as you can.

Mortysmith · Answer

Hiline,

Thanks so much for responding. I really appreciate the support.

I generally felt fine - a bit nervous at the beginning but generally ok. Unfortunately, on the first Quant question I froze a bit but regained my composure and thought I solved the question correctly. A few questions later I was asked another quant which I looked at and thought I would be able to solve quickly but couldnt. That threw me off a bit as well. After these 2 events, I felt better and moved through everything well, at least I thought well.

On Verbal, I was a bit weaker in the Science RC and got nailed with one of those on questions 4-6. After that series though I felt fine.

I wasnt too nervous before the test since I was consistently putting up solid numbers.

Let me know what you think

mortysmith

HiLine · Answer

Here's my interpretation.

Your accuracy was lower than expected. It seems apparent that you answered wrong many quant questions that you did not consider difficult at the time, and the same goes for verbal. Inconsistency is to be expected since the actual test day always feels much more serious than practice test days; the pressure can really damage your focus and accuracy. An 80-point deviation is out of the norm, however. How did you do on time? It is possible that you did not carefully review contender answer choices before selecting the final answer, a typical habit for a test taker under time pressure. Perhaps the science reading comprehension passage threw you off balance for the rest of the verbal section?

In general, do you feel that you did anything differently for the actual test than you did for the practice tests? Try to recall, and be honest with yourself. The answer to this question can save you a lot of time and money in the coming month.

Mortysmith · Answer

Hiline,

Thanks again for your response. I wish I knew exactly what threw me off but its unclear. My nerves certainly could have gotten a hold of me though I didnt feel too nervous. During practice exams I didnt do AWA or IR, so those could have thrown me off as well.

I can't honestly say what I did differently during the test. During quant, I generally felt OK. For verbal, the major difference is that I didnt have enough time to set up my answer grid. Also, I think the Science passage did throw me off.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Mortysmith

HiLine · Answer

Mortysmith,

Skipping AWA and IR could really affect your score, as a fatigued brain functions very differently from a fresh one. It could be that the AWA and IR sections which you took seriously for the first time not only tired you out but also took away your focus on the 2 later sections.

I think you already have a solid foundation as you were scoring around 700 on the timed practice tests. But if I were you I would add the AWA and IR sections to the next timed practice I'd take. If timing and mental fatigue are the only barriers to you cracking the 700's, the good news is these issues are relatively easy to fix. Let me know how your next practice test goes!

Mortysmith · Answer

Ok, thanks a lot for the feedback Hiline - I'll be sure to let you know.

Best,

mortysmith

Mortysmith · Answer

HiLine,

I hope all is well. Took a practice GMAT with test like environment, i.e. full AWA and IR and got Q48/V39, another 710.

Going to simulate the test a few more times and try and take the official again. Still convinced my 620 was an aberration.

Thanks for the help.

Mortysmith

HiLine · Answer

Fantastic. Nice job, mortysmith!

Now, the next thing to do is to improve your practice GMAT score. In case your test day performance is not as strong as your performance on practice tests, you still want to be in the safe zone. If you're aiming for 700, scoring 750 on your practice tests will make a strong guarantee. It is likely that the actual test will throw a few curve balls at you, so you want to be extra careful with attaining your target score. If you actually peak out on your test day and score 750+, even better!

AjiteshArun · Answer

Get the ESR. Since it'll contain all the information you're ever going to get about that attempt, put everything else behind you. Check whether the score drop was in fact due to your performance in RC.

As for the grid, even a quick "ABCDE" as you're reading the question works. That's probably not the reason for the score drop.

Schools will never even know that you took a test that day, unless you reinstate your 620  before  sending them the 700+ that you're looking for.

Mortysmith · Answer

Hey everyone,

Thanks again for your responses. Since this test, I've taken the GMAT again and scored a 700.

Thanks for the support.

mortysmith

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