GMAT Score stuck at 580

Question

Hi everyone!

I try to understand why my score isn’t really improving. I am studying since 10 weeks and did 5 ManhattanPrep CATs more or less every 2 weeks in this time. Before studying, I got a 480. The second, third and fourth CAT were a 580. The last CAT was a 550 again (yesterday) and I just don’t understand why.

Date/Overall Score/Quant Score/Verbal Score/IR Score

CAT 1: 19th February: 480 / 29 / 28 / 4.5 (Without studying)
CAT 2: 20th March: 580 / 42 / 29 / 3.8
CAT 3: 08th April: 580 / 39 / 31 / 2.4 (After finishing "All the Quant" and "All the Verbal" books of ManhattanPrep; After that I started to do OG problems and Timed Sets while reviewing my notes and the two books)
CAT 4: 21th April: 580 / 38 / 32 / 3.8 
CAT 5: 05th May: 550 / 38 / 28 / 5.2
GMAT Official Practice: 530 / 35 / 28 / 3

I studied with the ManhattanPrep books and studied around 30-50 hours a week, as I didnt work during this time.

I think therre are 2 reasons now: 1. I studied too much and mixed things zp and got in my head as I thought I need to know everything and was too stressed. Second, I feel like I didn’t master every topic because I tried to cover all topics before increasing my accuracy in the different topics, and I think that’s a reason why my score at some point didnt increase anymore.

I have my GMAT scheduled for next week Friday, but think I should postpone it as I won’t get the score I want, that is a minimum of 600. Is there anything that I could do until next week or is it better to postpone and study for some time. If I'd postpone, I would concentrate on a few topics (Quant: Algebra, FDPs, Word Problems and maybe Number Properties and Verbal just SC) to really understand those and therefore to improve my accuracy in some specific topics, which would hopefully increase my score to 600.

Any help/advice gladly seen.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Luis1,

Currently, you are allowed to take the At-home GMAT just ONCE - so if you're not feeling confident that you can hit 600+ right now, then the smart choice would be to push back your Test Date (so that you can continue to study and hone the necessary skills needed to raise your Score).

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, most of your CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 550 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. Since you've been scoring at this level for about 1.5 months, it's possible that you've gotten "stuck" at this level - and it will take a certain amount of time to define whatever 'bad habits' you may have developed (and then replace those bad habits with new "good habits").

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) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you listed? 
3) Did you take your practice CATs/mocks in the same format as the current At-home GMAT (re: use an online notepad - not handheld notes, take the sections Q/V/IR in that order with no 'break' until after the Verbal section, etc.)?

Goals:
4) Is your overall goal score 600 or something else?
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

Russ19 · Answer

Did you go through any online preparation course? Many candidates can enhance the score by going through on-demand video lessons.

Luis1 · Answer

Hi! Thanks for your reply, now I want to answer your questions:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
--> I studied more or less every day 4-7 hours for ~10 weeks, sometimes less, sometimes more, and sometimes did a break for a day.

2) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you listed?
--> No, after finishing the 2 books I started to do OG2020 problems and started an Error Log from these questions. Meanwhile I refreshed some chapters of the books. Besides that I tried some apps but didnt really continue that. I also did basic math every second day (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division numbers to 150) to get faster and because I struggled with time in these questions.

3) Did you take your practice CATs/mocks in the same format as the current At-home GMAT (re: use an online notepad - not handheld notes, take the sections Q/V/IR in that order with no 'break' until after the Verbal section, etc.)?
--> I studied and am studying for the normal GMAT as I hope testcenters will be opened next week in Germany.

Goals:
4) Is your overall goal score 600 or something else?
--> I just need 600. More would make it safer and give me a better feeling but 600 is enough!

5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
--> Deadline is 31th of May 2020 and I want to apply to University of Mannheim (Germany).

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Follow the following study plan:-
https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-p ... ml?fl=menu
https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-self-pr ... tml?f=menu

Courses that can help with your prep:-
https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-co ... ml?fl=menu

Best books for Quants:-
https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ma ... ml?fl=menu
Best books for Verbal:-
https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... ml?fl=menu

Best Gmat practice tests:-
https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-pra ... ml?fl=menu

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Luis1,

Since the Covid-19 virus has led to the temporary closure of many business buildings, it's unclear whether the Testing Facilities will be reopened in a week (although I suspect that those facilities would NOT reopen so quickly). Since many GMATers have found the At-home version of the Exam to be a bit more challenging than anticipated (and scored lower than expected) - and you're not quite at the 600+ level right now - it would make sense for you to push back your Test Date.

Thankfully, you're closer to a 600+ than you probably realize - and there are a variety of different ways that you could pick up the additional points that you're looking for (meaning that you would NOT need to significantly improve in both the Quant and Verbal sections). Statistically-speaking, with another month of consistent, guided study, you could probably get to the point that you would consistently score at that higher level.

1) Do you have the flexibility to push back your Exam a month?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

Luis1 · Answer

Hi Rich,

thanks for your reply. If the testcenter won't be open next week, I will immediately switch to the At-home GMAT and start studying with the whiteboard. But I really hope I can take the exam next week with pen and notes...

1) Do you have the flexibility to push back your Exam a month?
--> Not really, the deadline is 31th May and it takes like 2 weeks to get the official reports, I could do the At-home GMAT one week later, as the result will arrive after around 7 days, right? But I really dislike the idea of just having a whiteboard.

2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
--> I could spend 15 hours a day, so I just have to eat, sleep and study, but I think it's not the best approach, as I'm getting a headache after studying more than 5 hours a day now...

So yesterday I read again some articles from Stacey Koprince from ManhattanPrep, especially about time management and how to approach the GMAT and found that I didn't apply one important strategy: I was afraid to bail on 6 to 7 questions in each section. 
Now I told myseld:
 1. In  Quant , I bail on more or less every Geometry, Combinatorics and Probability question really fast, they are my big weaknesses. Furthermore, I will bail on hard questions when I have no good plan to solve them!
 2. In  Verbal , I bail on hard RC questions, I still try to answer the Main Purpose question if I get at least the big picture or I try the passage questions if I at least understand a certain paragraph. On very hard RC and SC (especially with a lot of text, as I'm a slow reader), I will bail as well!

What do you think about this approach?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Luis1,

Since you are making your decisions based on a May 31st application deadline, you might want to reach out to the School directly and explain your situation. It can take Programs weeks (and sometimes months) to decide who to invite to School), so you might not actually need to submit a GMAT Score on May 31st as long as the rest of your application is in on time AND your Official Score Report is available sometime in early June. The extra study time would almost certainly be beneficial and provide a bit more freedom when it comes to how and when you'll scheduled your Official GMAT.

Under current testing rules, you have to wait 16 days between taking Official Exams. Thus, I'm not sure that your assumption that you could take the At-home GMAT just 1 week after taking the GMAT at a Test Facility is correct. I haven't read anything from GMAC about changing that scheduling 'rule', so you might have to rethink how you might schedule a second attempt (if needed).

You also have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 40+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that we want to avoid). If you are going to try to study in such a high volume, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc. As you get closer to Test Day, you should cut back on your study hours - in the last couple of days, a bit of light review and practice would be fine, but NO CATs and NO "cramming." You would be better served by getting some extra rest so that you can go into Test Day calm, clear-headed and ready to work.

"Dumping" a few questions in each section on purpose can be quite helpful to your overall performance - and it's worth noting that you with a Score Goal of 600+, you do not need to correctly answer ANY questions that you think are too hard or too weird. One of the keys to taking advantage of that Tactic is that beyond quickly dumping those questions, you have to properly use the time that you "save" to put more work, note-taking, etc. into the questions that you DO choose work on (so that you avoid making little mistakes and losing points).

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

Luis1 · Answer

Hi Rich,

thanks again for your detailed reply!

I will contact the school tomorrow and hopefully get some advice from their side. I know that is is possible to apply without the GMAT but we have to do the GMAT before lectures start in september. But that means we can't earn any points for the GMAT, which means that just the Bachelor's degree and stuff like internships and semesters abroad count. But of course that is my decision how to handle this. Thanks a lot though for all your tips!

"a bit of light review and practice would be fine, but NO CATs and NO "cramming." You would be better served by getting some extra rest so that you can go into Test Day calm, clear-headed and ready to work."
--> I thought about doing another CAT on Tuesday, so 3 days before the GMAT, to implement the approach of bailing on more questions and to solidify my gameplan. As you said, you would recommend no CATs, so shouldn't I do it? I feel insecure cause the score in my last CAT was so low and I feel like another CAT would give me a better feeling how to implement my bailing strategy. If though you absolutely disagree with that, I will try to rest and just review my flashcards.

Best regards!
Luis

bigge2win · Answer

I noticed that you’ve only done the Manhattan CATs. You should really be doing the MBA.com CATs, especially closer to test day. Manhattan questions are difficult and at times harder in an unrealistic way.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

Luis1 · Answer

I did one from mba.com and scored 530, but that was a mistake, as I did the one on mba.com like 2 days after one from Manhattan when I scored 550.

Thats why I think doing a last one could help me now...but I know that mental fatigue would kill me so I'm not sure yet if I should do another CAT or not.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Luis1,

The process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically shouldn't take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. If you want to take a CAT just 3 days before your Official GMAT, then that's your choice - but it's not something that I would recommend.

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

bigge2win · Answer

At the same time, he’ll have to see what works best. Even though it’s recommended 1 CAT per week, some people have different levels of obtaining information and of execution.

I was on the other side of the spectrum where I actually did 2 CATs the week of my exam (one 6-7 days before and another 2-3 days before. When I didn’t do that, I easily lost stamina during the test or felt my strong habits somewhat straying. For example, I’d be stubborn moving on from a question or I may miss a minor detail in the stimulus that was all the difference for choosing the right answer. Since I was doing 2-3 hours worth of timed problem sets a day anyway, a CAT wasn’t all that much difference.

I don’t recommend my approach for people who don’t operate like me, but definitely tinker a little to see what works best for you, since there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

Posted from my mobile device

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Luis1,

Thank you for sharing such detailed information. One thing that really stuck out from your post is “I didn’t master every topic.” I think that you tried to get through a large number of topics, perhaps in too short a timeline, and thus got only “pretty good” at many topics rather than “really good” at the topics you covered. Moving forward, you need to ensure that you follow a linear and structured study plan that allows you to learn each GMAT quant and verbal topic individually, and then practice each topic until you’ve gained mastery. Certainly, if you need further advice on how to improve your GMAT quant and verbal skills, feel free to reach out. Lastly, you may find it helpful to read the following article:

The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT .

Luis1 · Answer

Thanks for all of your replies!! Really appreciate it!

I think you are right, I tried to do too much in a short amount of time. Therefore, I concentrated on a few topics (the topics that are most common on the exam and where I saw the possibility to improve) the last days and didn't do any CAT. If (I don't even wanted to mention that now) I dont get my 600, I know how I have to improve my studies!

I have a good gameplan now, I will bail on hard Geometry, Combinatorics, Probability and hard Work & Rate problems in Quant and I will bail in Verbal if the text is very long and wordy (CR), if all answers choices differ and I'd have to read all of them + the sentences are long and wordy (SC) and if I don't understand a RC passage: Then I will try to get the Main point or at least if I understand a paragraph, try to at least answer one question (and not bail on a whole RC passage).

Of course I wanted to test this gameplan another time, but I will safe my mental energy for Friday, so now just going through my flashcards, solidifying my gameplan and relaxing mentally (chatting with friends, meditation).

So I am positive to finish this off on friday and get a 600+ score, if not, see you soon!

Luis1 · Answer

Just finished the exam...490. -I'm so sad...dont know what happened, I had a 580 after studying for 4 weeks and my first CAT without even studying was a 480.

My mental health was **** the last 3 weeks, girlfriend broke up, have a headache since 2 weeks every **** day, had to take 3 iboprofen today. I know I can do it and my skill is at least a 600, but I was so nervous today. Although I was able to concentrate today I got this bad score...

Any advice on how to continue? I will try it again next year, I can take the GMAT either in ende of August and continue to study OR take the GMAT next year in may (then I could study January-May)...but now first of all alcohol and some days off

vicenoversa · Answer

What was your split? maybe we can help after knowing that

bigge2win · Answer

Your game plan involved a lot of bailing on questions. You won’t get a 600 that way because those are moderate-level questions. There still needs to be a fundamental grasp and proficiency on concepts to crack 600.

Back to the fundamentals. Drill the concepts with questions, work on some problem sets timed, analyze those results to find your weak areas, and then work on more questions for those weak areas. That’s really the only way to improve. Don’t take any shortcuts with bailing so easily, unless you consistently hit your score in practice tests and know when you need to cut your losses during an exam to properly manage your time.

Posted from my mobile device

Luis1 · Answer

So my split was:

Verbal: 25 / 39%
Quant: 32 / 20%
Total: 490 /24%
AWA: 5.0 /54%
IR: 3 / 21%

I took one month off now and will start again studying tomorrow. I have another 10 weeks from then until my next GMAT exam. I'm thinking about an online course like the one from ManhattanPrep, what do you guys think about that? Cause I'm scared now I won't make it by myself...

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Luis1,

Taking that time off from your studies was a smart move - and you've given yourself enough time before your next Exam to hit your Score Goal. I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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

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