Gmat prep test score - Can someone Please help with an analysis?

Question

Hi All,

I gave two Gmat official prep tests over the last two weeks and my scores in both tests were 490 (V29 Q29). I am really disappointed with the score as I am preparing for GMAT for a few months now (although at a slow and steady pace as I am mother of a three year old and have a full time job, with not much free time). I am more concerned with Verbal score as that's my strong point and I have been doing well in the OG online practice. I am aiming for a score of 700 and want to give the exam at least by July this year.

I am not sure what exactly led to the low scores. I understand I have quite a lot of wrong answers but I have seen others scoring in the 40s with more than 10 wrong answers. I was a bit tense during both the exams and made few silly mistakes. My pacing was really bad and I missed last 2 Quant questions in the second test and had to rush through the last 6 questions in verbal and had no time to read the RC. I am sharing the performance break up for second test here (as I am unable to attach the doc). Please help with some useful insights so that I can plan and prepare better.

Quant

Question 1 Incorrect
question 2
question 3
question 4
question 5 Incorrect
question 6 Incorrect
question 7
question 8
question 9 
question 10 Incorrect
question 11
question 12
question 13 Incorrect
question 14 Incorrect
question 15
question 16
question 17 Incorrect
question 18 Incorrect
question 19 Incorrect
question 20 Incorrect
question 21 Incorrect
question 22 Incorrect
question 23
question 24
question 25
question 26
question 27 Incorrect
question 28
question 29 Incorrect

Verbal

Question 1 Incorrect
question 2
question 3
question 4
question 5 Incorrect
question 6 
question 7 Incorrect
question 8 incorrect
question 9 
question 10 
question 11
question 12
question 13 
question 14 
question 15
question 16 Incorrect
question 17 
question 18 Incorrect
question 19 Incorrect
question 20 
question 21 
question 22 Incorrect
question 23
question 24 Incorrect
question 25 Incorrect
question 26
question 27 
question 28
question 29 Incorrect
question 30 Incorrect
question 31 
question 32
question 33
question 34 Incorrect
question 35 Incorrect
question 36

Thanks in advance. 
Smita

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi smits,

To start, earning a similar Score on a practice CAT after just 1 week of additional study is not too surprising. If you are 'responding' to the Exam in the same ways as before, then you will likely earn a similar Score. You have to develop a lot of different skills to Score 700+ and raising a 490 to the point that you can consistently score at that higher level will likely require at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

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:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) Are these the only 2 practice CATs/mocks that you have taken? How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
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

smits · Answer

Hi Rich,

I study two hours every day. I am using OG 2019, Quantitative review 2019 and Verbal Review 2019. I also started solving quant questions from Gmat Club. I had used Economist Gmat initially that helped a lot with my Verbal accuracy, but I couldn't utilize it so well for Quant (the course is very detailed and good for people who can put in a lot of time).

These are the only two practice tests I have taken. The scores were V28 Q29 and V29, Q29.

Looking for more responses from people in the forum. Anyone? I need to know more about how the scoring really works. And an analysis of the scores. Please help.

Regards,
Smita

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

Few pointers:-

1) Get your basics down cold! You cannot afford to get easy questions wrong. 
2) Practice will help you overcome your problems. You will not get success, i.e. a score of 700, free of cost on a plater. You will not only have to get your basics right but also have to practice lots of questions of ALL question types and review your mistakes again and again until you perfect yourself.
3) Develop a study plan and follow it religiously. Self-discipline is key to success.
4) Continuity of practice is very important to improve your timing and solving GMAT questions as your second nature.
5) Improve your reading skills. Improve your focus and attention span.

Last but not the least, ask yourself, what else you can do to see improvements in your scores.

All the best!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi smits,

The Scoring Algorithm is far more complicated than most people realize - and it takes into account a number of different factors (and not just the number of correct/incorrect answers). As such, you shouldn't be spending your time trying to figure all of that out - instead, you should be focused on learning and practicing the proper Tactics to improve to your Goal Score.

"Review" is an exceptionally important part of the GMAT training process; your ability to define WHY you're getting questions wrong is essential to defining the areas that you need to work on (and the specific things that you need to 'fix'). As such, I'd like to know a bit more about your last CAT. While a full Mistake Tracker would provide a lot more information, there are some basic questions that you should be able to answer (and the more EXACT you can be with your answers, the better):

After reviewing each section of this recent 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) How many Verbal questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi smits.

Regarding your question, the scores that you got reflect not only how many questions you answered correctly but also the difficulty level of the questions that you answered. The difficulty level increases as you correctly answer questions in succession and decreases as you incorrectly answer questions in succession. So, the order of your correct and incorrect answers affected your score level.

That said, since you recently scored two 490’s, I think that, rather than focusing on the correct/incorrect breakdown of your practice exams, or on the GMAC scoring algorithm, you would be better off spending your energy on improving both your verbal and quant skills. If you’d like some more specific advice on how to improve those skills, feel free to reach back out, and I’d be happy to help.

Good luck!

deepverma · Answer

Hi Smits,Here is my 2 cents....
 looking at details, I get that you prolly have the required skills,but silly mistakes are bringing u down.
For starter, make sure u r able to answer all easy ND medium difficulty level questions, Correctly. For that u need to get ur Basics correct! ND look for patterns while solving official questions.

Review of incorrect questions is must!! And also as gmatninja said once...have zero tolerance for silly mistakes!

Ur score will go up for sure!!

Sent from my Redmi 5 Plus using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

smits · Answer

Thanks Scott...will follow the advice.

Thanks Deep...quite encouraging.

	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

Gmat prep test score - Can someone Please help with an analysis?

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