Gmat prep Tests : score decrease

Hi Mathildel.

Yes the first 10 questions are extremely critical for both Quant and Verbal. Also, your mistakes need to be spaced out rather than making too many mistakes back to back. This can happen especially if you are rushing because of lack of time towards the end, or because you are losing focus.

Also, do realize that the level of Q on the Manhattan tests are slightly harder than what you see on the real GMAT, whereas the V is mostly at par. That is why the Manhattan tests sometimes have a higher scaled and total score.
Generally, tests whose content is harder tend to be more lenient in their scoring (to balance things out).

Try to divide the Q and V sections into 3 or 4 sets of approx 10 questions. Fir instance, in verbal, you can pace in the following manner:
Questions 1 to 10- take about 20 mins
11-20 take 18mins
21-30 take 17 mins
31-36 take 10 mins

As far as tackling SC is concerned, you need to spend less time reading theory (since you mentioned that you have been prepping since Aug, I assume that you have already read up considerable amount of grammar theory) and more time doing timed practice drills.
You can start with the following resources:
OG 2020
OG 10 and GMAT Past paper tests.

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Hi MathildeI,

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize - and it takes into account a variety of factors (more than just the number of correct answers). Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC (the 2 free CATs, and each of the 2 that come with Exam Pack 1 and Exam Pack 2), but retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills - since you will likely see some 'repeat' questions that you have already faced. Unfortunately, seeing even a couple of repeats can 'throw off' the Scoring Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. (meaning that they would likely all appear to be better than they actually are). Thankfully, the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you correctly take the CAT in a realistic fashion).

There are a variety of factors that can influence your performance on your practice CATs that have nothing to do with the 'brand' of CAT that you are using (including the time of day you take your test, how well-rested you are, the environment that you take the test in, the number of silly mistakes you make, etc.), so some further analysis of your CAT performances would likely be a good idea. There's a big difference between getting a question wrong because you made a silly/little mistake and getting a question wrong because you simply don't know how to answer it.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, 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? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) 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

Hi MathildeI,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. Regarding the difference in scoring between your two practice exams, when you take practice tests from companies other than GMAC, you may find some variation in algorithms used and thus variations in your score. Regarding your actual score versus percentage correct, remember that your GMAT score is based on not only the number of questions you answer correct/incorrect, but also the difficulty of those questions, among other things.

With all that said, rather than spending time worrying about the GMAC algorithm, you really should focus on the things you can control, and the number one thing you can control is getting better at the GMAT. If you get to a point at which you can dominate the GMAT, the specifics of the scoring algorithm won't matter because you will have the skills that you need to get an amazing score, right?

If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out. Good luck!

Hello ! Thank you all for your answers !
I try not to desperate but I feel like I have lost motivation but I will keep on studying anyway
I understand now that I should improve my SC as it is the main reason why my score dropped as I failed almost all of them, and maybe these questions were coming each I was doing good, and as I failed them my score dropped
To respond to you Rich :
1) I have started gently my studies in August, then got really focused on the gmat in September but I had some issues with my health so I had to pause for 3 weeks and I got back into it middle October
During the week I work 2 hours a day and during the weekend 8 hours, which make 18 hours a week
2) I have first used the OG then I realized that those books were not enough to succeed so I bought the Aristotle books for verbal and worked on the gmat club math book as well
I noticed that I have difficulties with algebra and decimals questions
3) I always took my cat on Saturday mornings except the latest which I took on Monday evening after work
4) my goal is to get around 650, 700 feels like unreachable
5) i should take the gmat before mid April
6) my applications are all around April and I want to apply to French business school such as ESSEC, HEC, ESCP and also Dauphine university

Posted from my mobile device

Hi MathildeI,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, 3 of your 4 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (around 490 +/- a few points) - the 590 is an 'outlier' and includes much higher Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores than the ones on your other CATs. You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.

Raising a 490 to the point that you can consistently score 650+ 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. Unfortunately, given your timeframe, you have just 1.5 months of potential study time remaining, so you might need to consider pushing back your Test Date and consider a later application Round. While I understand that you would probably prefer to apply in April, you have to remember your REAL Goal: to get into your first-choice School - and there's no benefit to 'rushing in' an application if it won't be strong enough to earn you an invite to the Schools that you plan to apply to.

If you can commit to a 3-month study timeframe, then I can help you to build a Study Plan for this next phase of your studies.

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

Hello Rich
I agree with your point however some of my applications allow just on only deadline (such as Dauphine) so I ideally should try one real test before mid April don’t you think ?
See below the scores of my different prep test (ordered):
-GMAT PREP 490
-MGMAT 590 (one week later)
I paused my studies for two weeks then got back into it :
-MGMAT : 520, then 540 then 560 (one week separates each tests)
-and finally took recently real prep test : 490 and 2 days after 460

I am ready to push back some of my applications but that is not possible for all of them

Posted from my mobile device

Hi MathildeI,

Based on the additional information that you have provided, your CAT results can be divided into 2 groups: on the MGMAT CATs, you tend to score in the mid-500s and on the Official CATs, you tend to score in the high-400s. The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC, but the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you correctly take the CAT in a realistic fashion). There are a variety of factors that could explain the differences in these two 'groups' of Scores, including the time of day that you take the tests, how well-rested you are when you take them, the environment that you are in, whether you've seen any of the questions before or not and how lucky/unlucky you get when guessing on certain prompts (especially when you narrow the answers down to 2 choices).

Even if your current 'ability level' is closer to 550 than 500, then you would likely still need at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study before you could consistently score 650+ (and if you are ultimately going to keep studying until you score 700+, then you'll need at least another 3 months of study). Business Schools generally do not care if you take the GMAT more than once, so there's no harm in taking the GMAT in 1 month. However, if you're just going to end up retaking the GMAT again later, then you can potentially save some time, money and aggravation by adjusting your schedule now.

1) What is the minimum GMAT Score that you would apply with?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

Hello
I totally agree ! To repond with your questions :
1) I could apply with at least 630
2)I can work during the week each day from 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm and I can add one hour when I am at work during my lunch, which makes 3 hours and a half per day (but I cannot do this on Tuesday)
And during the weekends, I can work 5 hours each day which make 10 hours during the weekend
So we are around 25 hour a week
Thanks a lot Rich for all your help

Posted from my mobile device

Hi MathildeI,

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

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