First GMAT test experience (615-Q82 V81 DI79). Need help to score 655

Question

Hello, I gave my first attempt of GMAT yesterday and I got a pretty low score. I'd be grateful if the experts could please guide me to up my score to at least 655+ so that I have some chance to get into a decent B-School (ISB, etc.). I plan to re-attempt the exam before end of this month or even before that. I need to find a job soon so I want to finish off GMAT soon and then start looking so that I don't half-aese on either prepping for GMAT or applying for jobs.

A little background:
I am 32 Year old male, Indian, Civil Engineer Post graduate (IIT-Madras), 8 years of work experience (3.5 years Planning role in a Heavy Civil Infrastructure company, 2.5 years as head of Manufacturing at a small factory, 2 years as a co-founder of a start-up on Alternative Fuels which has failed and we are now shutting it down)

My Prep:
1) Complete self-study, didn't go for any tutoring. Have been taking the prep seriously for last 3 months. Followed this brilliant 13-week study plan by GMATNinja (skipped all SCs). However, I couldn't finish the entire 13 weeks, only did until the 9th week and started DI practice 2 weeks before exam.
2) Solved two of the official Free mocks scored 615 in one and 645 other one. Badly struggled to finish DI on time. Also, rushed through last 3-4 questions in verbal.
3) Didn't buy any prep-course nor attempted any mocks other than official 1&2
4) Attaching my error log to this post for experts' review and advise.
P.S: It's a macro enabled excel template which I downloaded from one of the forums on GMATClub and have been using it. There's no virus on the file, I promise.
5) OG Material usage is as follows:

My Score:
Total score - 615 (80th percentile)
Quantitative Reasoning - 82 (76th percentile)
Verbal Reasoning - 81 (70th percentile)
Data Insights - 79 (79th Percentile)

In the QUANT SECTION of exam, I only got mostly easy and a few medium level questions. I finished the entire section a whole 10 minutes before time and it has never happened to me before in the mocks. Throughout the quant section I thought I must have screwed up something very badly because I am only getting easy questions and after looking at my percentile and unofficial score, I was thoroughly disapointed. However, today, when I got the official score, I checked again and to my surpirse, 19 out of 21 questions were correct! I don't understand why the algorithm only gave me easy questions. Here's a screenshot:

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Attachment:

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Attachments

File comment: My score report screenshots
GMAT Focus score.pdf [417.87 KiB]
Downloaded 145 times

File comment: My Error Log
Error Log for Practice v3.5.xlsm [454.42 KiB]
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a191291r · Answer

Another thing I forgot to mention: 
Right after the  quant  section, there was an issue with the computer at the test centre and the screen went blank and a popup message appeared which said that there was a connectivity problem. The proctor came and restarted the PC before starting the next section. When I asked the proctor, they said that the problem was from GMAT server. I wonder if this has something to do with the peculiarity of the overly easy questions I got in the quant section. Any thoughts?

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Manhattan-Prep's 6th Edition for Critical Reasoning may be helpful to check out. If you feel your fundamentals are solid, consider working on your solving approach. May help boost your score a bit. Perhaps include working with a study buddy. If you can find someone who is strong in areas you're not (and vice versa), that could be a good fit. There's a study buddy thread on gmatclub.

How to score high on GMAT Verbal.

GMATNinja · Answer

Thank you for the shoutout on the study plan,  a191291r ! Sorry that the update is taking so long -- we're still working on it, for better or worse.

We're seeing quite a few results like yours on quant: very few errors, but a score in the low-to-mid 80s. There are two reasons why that's happening. First, an 82Q is actually a really, really great score -- equivalent to a 49 on the old version of the test, if that means anything to you. An 82Q doesn't feel all that great, but you have to be spectacular at quant to get that score. It's just that the score scale is weirdly sensitive once you're past an 80Q, and one or two mistakes in the wrong spot can be the difference between, say, an 82 and an 86.

The other factor is that your score is determined not just by the number of questions you missed, but by the difficulty level of the questions you saw. In your case, you missed question #2, which was probably relatively (or perhaps extremely) easy for you. Once you made that mistake, the questions simply didn't get difficult quickly enough, and it kept your score down a bit. That's exactly what we'd expect from an adaptive test, for better or worse.

I can promise you that the connectivity issue had nothing to do with it, though. Your score might not feel fair at all, but it's very consistent with what we've seen on the quant section lately: a few errors pull you away from a 90 very dramatically, and misses on easier questions cost you more than misses on harder ones.

So stamp out those errors on easier questions, and in the long run, you'll be in great shape on quant.

I hope that helps a bit, and good luck with your retake!

playthegame · Answer

Hi 615 is a great score on the first attempt, so congrtulations. For my first attempt I got the first question wrong and one other mistake and I got a Q81. I was very surprised too and could not understand. I think it is related to the question bank the test pulls from, it is adaptive so if you make a silly error the test starts to give you easier than normal question, that's how I explained it to my self. I wrote the test again and I got 645 with Q81 again, V84, DI80, my quant did not improve much. I still believe my abiilty is around 83 however the room for error on the focus is much lower and the test seems to be very sensitive. For DI, like you said eveyone has the same challenge, I was not able to finish it in time. So you need to leave the tough ones and make sure you get the easy ones correct. You will need to write more practice exams in a row before your next attempt. Once you get the target score you will want to book the test again. I have posted my error log if you want to have a look thank you. It is a sample of 7 practice exams. If you start to run out of OG 2023 you still have OG13th edition to tap into. And attempting the questions again and again helps you understand your mistake. Keep going you have the 655 in you and it will come out on test day. Thanks, Karam GMAT-Club-Forum-ehdwbfum.png GMAT-Club-Forum-bn0vx1gt.png

Anonymous · Answer

It's not like any indian exam where u study 8 hours and practice 4 hours. Unlike those you focus on reviewing the questions specifically those answers choice. Make sure your choice of reason align with the correct choice. And also definitely see other wrong options and see are whether you de-select them for the same reason as the answers explanation says. Note down the reasons of the wrong choice. If you complete half of the OG this way you are well prepare.
Most importantly, don't rush yourself by solving any questions under 2 minutes. Just focus on ur reason of error. Take your time on learning even if you solve one CR question in a day. Just one well defined CR question can teach you more than just solving 5 CR question.You need hardly 2-4 mock to get the timing practice.

Posted from my mobile device

a191291r · Answer

Thank you,  GMATNinja  ! This was quite validating and I don't feel as terrible anymore. Thanks for the insights as well. I definitely have to work on my verbal, as I understand. Until now, I had no set "solving approach" with my verbal. As  GmatKnightTutor  recommended, I am taking a look at Manhatten-Prep's material (I managed to get some 4th edition hand-me-downs). Hope it gets me through on the second attempt.

EducationAisle · Answer

For the next attempt, do consider attempting the four paid-official mock tests.

Have you been getting Verbal and DI scores in a similar range in the mocks as well? Both these sections could especially benefit with some more prep from your side.

TheNikunjAgarwal · Answer

What is the sequence of sections you opted for the exam?

a191291r · Answer

Quant-Verbal-Break-DI

Posted from my mobile device

a191291r · Answer

Summary of my mock scores: https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=82727 Note that I have not reviewed any of the answers after I finished each of these tests. There is a chance of me wrongly marking a repeat question in multiple attempts that I came across it. I definitely did have a time advantage on the mocks on which I saw repeat questions cause I ran through the text swiftly. I am definitely going to buy the other four official mocks before my next attempt. Hope I don't see questions from the same question pools as Mocks #1 and #2. GMAT-Club-Forum-wt022e47.png

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi a191291r,

That's a good idea. You'll almost certainly not see any questions from official practice tests 1&2 in tests 3-6.

All the best.

playthegame · Answer

You get two attempts for practice exams 3-6 and you will not see any repeats. I would strongly recommend you review mistakes and your style in attempting problems, it will help you identify patterns in terms of where or why you make mistakes, you will also want to review your time management strategy and how it works our under pressure. See the link to my error log for practice exams it may help with setting up the analysis for yours. You will want to identify your strengths and weaknesses for each area after you get a good sample of 6-8 practice exams out of the way. You got repeats on the practice exam two as you took the first practice exam 5 times, at a certain point the question bank seems to be merging for the two....good luck and let me know how it goes. GMAT-Club-Forum-m2tisxal.png

a191291r · Answer

Guys! I did it! 665 - Q85 V83 DI81

Thanks, GMATNinja, your 13 Week Study Plan helped me with keeping my preperation well structured and your youtube videos are a blessing! Also, the confidence boost I got from your earlier reply helped me keep going.

GmatKnightTutor, your suggestion to use Manhattan-Prep for CR did wonders for me. Before this, I used to solve CR with just intuition, now I have a proper approach to solve them. Also used Manhattan-Prep material for RC and this playlist on GMAT Club Youtube channel

Also, I redeemed some points to get free 2-week access to GMATClub Focus Tests and I regret not doing this earlier. Was able to take 6 Verbal tests, 3 DI tests and 16 Quant tests in 2 weeks' time before my re-take. These tests really helped me with improving my Quant score! If I had more time, I would have definitely purchased full access too these tests. Also, GMAT Club Math Book is probably the best free reading material for GMAT Quant out there. Thank you, authors, bb, walker, Bunuel, shrouded1

This is the summary of my mocks and Main tests:

* Did not include Official Mock 2 here because it was mostly repeat questions from Mock 1

Show Spoiler

Attachment:

GMAT-Club-Forum-5i20qf1p.png [ 117.02 KiB | Viewed 2089 times ]

This is the summary of my mocks and Main tests: https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=82899 * Did not include Official Mock 2 here because it was mostly repeat questions from Mock 1 GMAT-Club-Forum-5i20qf1p.png

First GMAT test experience (615-Q82 V81 DI79). Need help to score 655

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