GMAT(Online) -610 Debrief

Background:
I graduated in July of 2021 from the University of Delhi where I majored in commerce. I gave the GMAT for the first time on 23rd August 2021. I started preparing with Magoosh in June and after a week of going through the material, I gave the GMAT prep practice exam and scored 550 (Q33, V33). My foundations in both quant and verbal were extremely weak.
I gave an Official GMAT Practice Exam 3 days before the actual exam and scored 700 (Q47, V38)
During my preparation, I focused mostly on quant and not as much on verbal. I had finished all the easy, medium, and hard questions from the Magoosh question bank and I was getting the majority of the easy and medium level questions correct.

Exam Day:
The Proctor guided me through the check-in process smoothly and was extremely helpful. I did face a minor technical issue with my laptop's microphone but that didn't bother the proctor a lot. I went into panic mode because my browser had some issues.
I chose to do the exam in the following order: Quant, Verbal, IR, and Essay. I panicked and struggled with even the easy questions in the quant section because my brain was clouded with anxiety. I tried to calm myself down during the break but I still hadn't gained back my focus till the second quarter of the verbal section. I had lost a lot of time and had to guess the last 6 questions. After that, I gave up on the IR and essay section.
My unofficial score for the first attempt is 610 (Q41, V33).
The problems in the quantitative section were harder on the Online exam than on the practice exams, while the problems in the verbal section were about the same.

I'd say if it weren't for the technical issues, my experience would have been much better.

armaankumar - Congratulations on scoring 610 on the GMAT. I have moved the post to the appropriate forum: Share GMAT Experience.

Hi armaankumar,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not go as well as hoped. 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. It is interesting that this Official Score is remarkably similar to the practice CAT result that you posted about just 2 weeks ago (a 630/Q42/V34). While it's possible that anxiety impacted some of your performances, it's also possible that some aspects of your recent 700 were not realistic (meaning that the results may have been 'inflated'). Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Thank you for the reply Rich, I really appreciate it!

Hi armaankumar,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not go as well as hoped. 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. It is interesting that this Official Score is remarkably similar to the practice CAT result that you posted about just 2 weeks ago (a 630/Q42/V34). While it's possible that anxiety impacted some of your performances, it's also possible that some aspects of your recent 700 were not realistic- I gave the exam in two different shifts (meaning that the results may have been 'inflated'). Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
I prepared for 2.5 months at an average of 30 hours of studying per week
2) What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
I used the Manhattan Mocks, Magoosh Practice Exam and the Official Practice Tests
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
1. GMAT Official Practice Test 1(26/05/2021)-550(Q33, V33)
2. Magoosh Practice Exam(31/06/2021)-540 (Q34, V31)
3. Manhattan Mock (28/07/2021)-610(Q44,V31)
4. Manhattan Mock (08/08/2021)-630(Q42, V32)
5. GMAT Official Practice Exam 2(14/08/2021) - 620(Q48, V27)
6. GMAT Official Practice Exam 1 (18/08/2021)- 700 (Q47, V38)
Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
My overall goal score is 700+
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
I am planning to apply next year.

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

Hi armaankumar,

I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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