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10 May 2017, 19:25
Kudos
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Hi,
I took the GMAT for the second time 2 days ago and got a disappointing score of 650. The first time I took it 8 months ago, my score was 620, so it was not a big improvement.
My mocks before the most current exam were 720, 710, 740, from GMAT Official and Economist. So I was very hopeful for this time around.
The problem with me is that I have extremely bad test anxiety, which significantly impacts my performance. Before the first exam, I was not able to sleep the whole night and my exam was at 8am. The second time, I took a sleeping pill but still had troubles with sleeping and did not sleep till 3:30am, waking up at 7 and I had my test at 2:30pm. Needless to say, I was very tired, sleepy, and my body ached.
I feel like I have been studying all I could and, if I take it once more time (which I most likely will do), what else could I do to prepare for the exam. When should I retake it (my schedule works best a month later)? And, most importantly, I appreciate any advice on how to calm my nerves and give the exam my best ability the next time.
Thanks!
Chi
I took the GMAT for the second time 2 days ago and got a disappointing score of 650. The first time I took it 8 months ago, my score was 620, so it was not a big improvement.
My mocks before the most current exam were 720, 710, 740, from GMAT Official and Economist. So I was very hopeful for this time around.
The problem with me is that I have extremely bad test anxiety, which significantly impacts my performance. Before the first exam, I was not able to sleep the whole night and my exam was at 8am. The second time, I took a sleeping pill but still had troubles with sleeping and did not sleep till 3:30am, waking up at 7 and I had my test at 2:30pm. Needless to say, I was very tired, sleepy, and my body ached.
I feel like I have been studying all I could and, if I take it once more time (which I most likely will do), what else could I do to prepare for the exam. When should I retake it (my schedule works best a month later)? And, most importantly, I appreciate any advice on how to calm my nerves and give the exam my best ability the next time.
Thanks!
Chi
11 May 2017, 11:53
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Chi,
I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. A poor night's sleep would impact just about every Test Taker's performance on the Official GMAT, but there are other potential factors as well. 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. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:
When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
In addition, what were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on each of your 2 Official GMATs?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. A poor night's sleep would impact just about every Test Taker's performance on the Official GMAT, but there are other potential factors as well. 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. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:
When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
In addition, what were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on each of your 2 Official GMATs?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
12 May 2017, 06:14
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Rich,
Thanks so much for your reply!
Please see below for my response to the questions:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
No. I took the first mock entire time. For the second and the third exams, I took only the Quantitative and Verbal sections
2) Did you take them at home?
I took them in the library. I tried to mimic the exam atmosphere as much as possible. But the exam environment is very daunting to me! The whole checking in and checking out every time I go for a break is so intimidating. Plus, they don't allow many drafts. It took me 2 minutes to wait for the exam proctor to give me the second draft during Quantitative section. I also went to the restroom every break and had to run across the hall from the exam room to the restroom. I wonder if I should try not to go to the restroom and just sit and recompose myself? I have a bad habit of going to the restroom regularly when I am nervous.
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
Yes. I always take them around 2-4pm. My exam was at 2 pm.
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
I did pause for a few minutes during the second exam because somebody was talking on the phone in the library.
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
I did take the first and second mocks before when I first started studying. There were some but not many repetitive questions. The third mock was completely new to me.
6) My scores
GMAT 1: 650 (Q48, V28)
GMAT 2: 620 (Q44, V35) - I was very surprised by the low math score. I always scored 48 or higher in any mocks throughout my study time.
Thanks so much. I appreciate any pointers of whether I should continue studying (I have about 4 months before the round 1 application) and how I can study, not just hard, but also smart to get to the 700 level.
Sincerely,
Chi
Thanks so much for your reply!
Please see below for my response to the questions:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
No. I took the first mock entire time. For the second and the third exams, I took only the Quantitative and Verbal sections
2) Did you take them at home?
I took them in the library. I tried to mimic the exam atmosphere as much as possible. But the exam environment is very daunting to me! The whole checking in and checking out every time I go for a break is so intimidating. Plus, they don't allow many drafts. It took me 2 minutes to wait for the exam proctor to give me the second draft during Quantitative section. I also went to the restroom every break and had to run across the hall from the exam room to the restroom. I wonder if I should try not to go to the restroom and just sit and recompose myself? I have a bad habit of going to the restroom regularly when I am nervous.
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
Yes. I always take them around 2-4pm. My exam was at 2 pm.
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
I did pause for a few minutes during the second exam because somebody was talking on the phone in the library.
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
I did take the first and second mocks before when I first started studying. There were some but not many repetitive questions. The third mock was completely new to me.
6) My scores
GMAT 1: 650 (Q48, V28)
GMAT 2: 620 (Q44, V35) - I was very surprised by the low math score. I always scored 48 or higher in any mocks throughout my study time.
Thanks so much. I appreciate any pointers of whether I should continue studying (I have about 4 months before the round 1 application) and how I can study, not just hard, but also smart to get to the 700 level.
Sincerely,
Chi
)
