GMAT Prep Software 510 when lowest I'd score ever before was a 550

Question

Hello all,

I have been studying for the GMAT for over a few months now, I had taken the MGMAT online course which I thought was excellent and reviewed for quite some time as well. My MGMAT scores thus far have been:

CAT 1: 550 Q38/V28
CAT 2: 580 Q38/V32
CAT 3: 610 Q38/V35

After hearing that the MGMAT tests were harder than the real thing and that the GMAT Prep software was a correct indicator of how I would do on the test I took the test and got crushed.

CAT: 510 Q33/V27 5 IR

I am quite confused as I felt as thought I did extremely well on Verbal but did ehhhh on Quant. I am not sure what had happened and wonder if this test is truly reflective of my capabilities. Any suggestions or feedback here? Feeling like garbage.

saraheja · Answer

Hi ,

First of all don't feel garbage, stay motivated. More practice will lead you where you want to be. What i would suggest you to do is , identify your weak areas and start solving the questions on that area. In my opinion, you may just need to brush up some basic concepts.

The MGMAT tests you wrote are no doubt harder than the actual GMAT but are good material to solve and analyze yourself. Also, GMAT prep test actually reflects your actual score.

No need to worry, start again and talk on this forum for more advice from other people.

AkshdeepS · Answer

Hi,

It is true that the best indicator of your skill level is GMATprep CAT. It should be noted that MGMAT tests are difficult than actual GMAT or GMATprep, but MGMAT tests always inflate scores ir they easily gives you more difficult questions to score high. The point is that you should always try variety of tests to know your actual level.

QZ.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi barnaeva,

There are a variety of factors that can influence your performance on a practice CAT, including the time of day (and day of the week) that you take your CATs), how well rested you are, the location, etc. It's certainly possible that you just had a 'bad day' when you took this recent CAT or that you took your first 3 CATs in conditions that were not realistic (so your scores were 'inflated'). 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 how you've been studying and your goals:

1) What type of study routine have you been following? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What is your goal score?
3) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

barnaeva · Answer

1) What type of study routine have you been following? How many hours do you typically study each week?
Study about 10-20 hours a week

2) What is your goal score?

720
3) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

Scheduled for May 5th

4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

2019 Intake

5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

Cornell,Texas,UNC,USC, OSU or Mich St

AjiteshArun · Answer

MGMAT would have tried their best to give you a way to understand what score your performance might get you on the actual GMAT, but the fact remains that an MGMAT test is not the actual GMAT (I'm not saying that this means that those tests are bad).

Even the GMATPreps are just "closer" to the actual GMAT. That means that they are more likely to be more predictive than other tests. Also, your 510 is just one data point, on a completely different test. The thing with just one test is that the scores could be "off" for a number of reasons.

1. Don't compare your scores across test providers.
2. Take your tests under exam conditions (at least as close as possible).
3. Look for trends (scores across multiple tests).

barnaeva · Answer

I overlooked the part where you had wanted me to mention how I had been studying as well (perhaps this can be attributed to my studies as well). I had been following the recommendations of looking at wrong answers on my practice CATs although admittedly perhaps did not do a deep enough dive on these. I am finding that I struggle occasionally with relating the questions I get wrong to a particular question type. Outside of that I was following MGMAT's syllabus for each question type break down, specifically focusing on the highlighted areas that I had consistently scoring poorly on (they give a list of questions broken down by FDP/Algebra, then break those down into subsections)

Outside of that as of two days ago I am rereviewing all missed test questions and trying to rationalize the question and then doing two more questions of the same type in the OG book. I am finding that I typically make 1-3 mistakes per exam on questions that I could've easily gotten correctly (Quant section mostly, I find that Verbal can sometimes be a bit of a blur as it's a ton of reading and it can be a matter of consistently comprehending the question and answers). Any tips past here would be much appreciated, I value all insight.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi barnaeva,

To start, May 5th is less than 2 weeks away. Unfortunately, based on your Score Goal - and CAT Scores - it's likely that you will need at least another 2-3 months of consistent, guided study to get to that higher level (and you'll have to make big improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections). As such, you might want to consider pushing back your Test Date.

You have plenty of time before the 2018 application deadlines for the Schools that you listed, so you can proceed with your studies however you choose. Based on the information that you've provided, it's not clear whether these CATs were in the new, shorter format or not. If they were NOT, then I suggest that you take one of the new CATs next (perhaps this weekend) and 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 how best to proceed.

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

barnaeva · Answer

Rich, all my exams were taken in the full format. I have been choosing the order of Quant-Verbal then IR and AWA so my scores wouldn't change even if I hadn't taken the full exam, of the 5 I have taken only two didn't include the full exam. The scores should be accurately reflecting my capabilities. The last two CATS reflect the April changes as well.

The GMATPrep exam was in the older format and I had gotten 23/41 correct on the verbal (5 Critical reasoning (weaken/inference are awful), 6 SC (typically getting 60-80% correct on MGMAT), 7 RC incorrect-I am doing awful here for some reason specifically the detail and Inference RC questions.

In quant I typically score the worst in Algebra (VIC questions are almost a guaranteed miss) and Geometry. GMAT Prep I got something like 23/37 questions wrong-I found that the style of questions were written differently than the MGMAT Cats (better to find out now I suppose).

To push back the Exam there is a fee associated correct?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi barnaeva,

When I mentioned the 'new' format of the GMAT, I was referring to the change that took place on April 16th (re: the Quant and Verbal sections are now shorter - fewer questions and less time). The Official CAT that you took would have been in the 'old' format (37 Quant questions and 41 Verbal questions) and it's still not clear whether the MGMAT CATs were in the new format or the old format. Regardless, to hit your Score Goal you will need to make some big changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Exam - and all of that training is going to take time.

The current fee to reschedule the Exam is $50 (as long as you do so at least 7 full days before your Official Test Date). You can certainly take the GMAT as scheduled (there's really no harm in doing so), but you will likely end up having to retake the GMAT at a later date (which will cost you another $250). By rescheduling, you can avoid some frustration and save some money.

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

barnaeva · Answer

Rich, the 580 and 610 quoted for MGMAT both reflect the April changes. I think I'm going to sit the test for the experience of it all at the very least. I can always cancel the score. Any advice on how to get the most out of my studies beforehand would be appreciated or if I need to retake how to best study for my second attempt would be appreciated as well.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi barnaeva,

With the time that you have remaining before Test Day, you don't really have enough time to properly master any new concepts, but you might still be able to make some adjustments to how you handle the Exam overall.

After taking each CAT, it's important to do a full review of your performance (with the goal of defining WHY you got questions wrong). While a full Mistake Tracker would provide more detail, there are some basic questions that you should look to answer after you take each CAT (and the more specific you can be with your answers, the better).

After reviewing each section of your last MGMAT CAT, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?
5) In the Verbal section, how many questions did you "narrow down to 2 choices" but still get wrong?

With the answers to the above questions, you can put in some extra time into the areas that impact your performance the most.

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

barnaeva · Answer

Rich,

In reviewing the Verbal it seems that the vast majority of answers that I get incorrect after review seem pretty obvious to me. Seldom do I see one that I got wrong where it really confuses me why it's the correct answer, I think under time constraint my biggest issue there would be understand the prompt/question (this is particularly true in RC. I usually get 55-65% correct on verbal)

In Quant I typically average 2-5 mistakes where after reviewing it seems to be I either rushed or didn't slow my thought process down. I am finding that I typically have excess time on Quant and some times am rushing on verbal. Perhaps I need to slow down on quant and make sure I take the extra 10-20 seconds on each question. Verbal just depends on how I'm doing, I find that it's hard for me to distinguish between a 600 level question and a 700 level, I can occaisonally get like 50% on 600 level questions and 60%+ on 700 levels, I don't think it would take much revision for me to really increase my verbal score.

Perhaps I need to review basics (500-600 level questions on quant?) I think MGMAT gives you a little exposure to higher level questions so I think I am a little better off than average (still need a lot of review). Truthfully I do see some topics where I am just flat out lost-on the GMAT Prep exam I got 7-8 questions wrong on quant purely because they were just weak topics (coordinate geometry, combinatrics, etc.)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi barnaeva,

Many Test Takers become too fixated on the 'implied level' of the questions that they're working on - instead of what really matters: defining WHY they're getting questions wrong and becoming more efficient at approaching the overall Exam. It's also worth noting that just because a 3rd party describes a question as "700 level" does not necessarily make it so. This is all meant to say that you appear to have at least 1 significant area in which you can pick up points: eliminating the little mistakes from your work (so that you nail ALL of the 'gettable' questions). At this point, you should not be spending time on the really hard/weird questions/concepts - that would be a waste of your limited time and energy. There are plenty of other questions that you COULD get correct (but don't get correct because you're making silly/little mistakes). Until you can do the precise work (on your PAD, not 'in your head') to keep those little mistakes from happening, you will find it difficult to get close to your Score Goal.

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

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