GMAT help - Scores are declining

Question

Hello All,

i took GMAT in Oct' 2016 and got a score of 670.

Since then, i have been preparing for GMAT - on & off ,because of frequent travel involved in work.

In Oct'2017, i scored 650 (scores dropped only in quant)

In Dec'2018, once again i took GMAT and got a score of 640 (scores dropped in both quant & verbal).

In the last 2 tests (2017 & 2018),i did not get sufficient sleep on the day of Exam. I feel lack of sleep might be small factor for drop in score and not a major factor.

In the last few weeks before the exam on Dec'18 - i was able to arrive at the correct answer for most verbal & quant questions if i spent more than 2 min for each question. It was not the case in 2016, wherein i was really lost on most questions.

I feel really helpless, even though i feel i have improved on the concepts & application of verbal and quant questions. Timing is a genuine issue in verbal but not that much in quant.

Is there anything i can do to improve and reach a 700+ score.

Any support/ guidance would be really helpful.

Following materials were used for Preparation:

1) SC - MGMAT guides
2) CR- Powerscore
3) RC - MGMAT guide
4) Quant - GMAT club tests
5) solved all questions in Official Guide 2018 for practice
6) Just started with OG 2018 - verbal review

Thank you

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ashokshiva,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on your prior Scores, how you've been studying recently and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long did you study before each of your Official GMAT attempts?
2) On what dates did you take each Official GMAT? What were your Scores on EACH attempt (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) Over the last 3 years, are those books the only study materials that you have used or has there been anything else (Course(s), Tutor, etc.)?

Goals:
4) When are you planning to retake the GMAT?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Ashokshiva · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your concern.

i've interacted with quite few experts since yesterday and zeroed on a strategy. Planning to work on the same for a few weeks, take mocks, monitor the progress and then make a shift in approach/strategy if required.

Anyways to answer your questions 4,5,&6 - i'm planning to take the exam in the next 3-4 months and apply for next year, focussing mostly on B-schools in Asia.

Thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ashokshiva,

You've given yourself plenty of additional time to study - which is good. I think that your next practice CAT Score will be really important in terms of defining how well you are adapting your way of 'seeing' (and responding to) the GMAT. As such, I strongly recommend that you take a NEW CAT (one of the Official GMAC CATs, if you have not taken all 6 already) and make sure to take it in a realistic fashion (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss the results.

From your last message, it's still not clear what you plan to do differently during this next phase of your studies. If you're just going to continue working in the same ways as before - and with the same general study materials as before - then you will likely end up with the same general score result.

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

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi Ashok, how much have you been scoring in mocks?

Also, can you attach your ESR?

egmat · Answer

Hi Ashokshiva , I am sorry to know that your scores were not in line with your expectations. However, the silver lining is that you have identified one of the causes for your poor score. Since you have mentioned that timing is one of the issues, I would recommend that you go through this article - Timing Management to improve upon this aspect. Other than this your scores indicate specific conceptual and process gaps. You must identify those using your ESR. If you do not have your ESR, you can take Ability Quizzes ( Verbal Ability Quiz | Quant Ability Quiz ) to identify your gaps and then work on them accordingly. Following articles may be helpful for you to define your retake strategy: 1. ESR Analysis in 3 steps 2. Retaking the GMAT Hope this helps! Please feel free to write to us at support@e-gmat.com for any further queries. Regards, Aditee

GMAT help - Scores are declining

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards