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22 Aug 2011, 10:53
Kudos
Bookmarks
This is my first post on this forum and I didn't expect the content to to be this!
This was my best preparation and I am really disgusted with myself and with what happened on the test day. Before we go over with that, here are my scores on my practice tests:
GMATPrep 1 -don't remember the split ( sometime early august) 710
GMATPrep 2 (Q46, V48) (08/14/2011) 740
Manhattan 1: 08/09/2011 51 39 730
Manhattan 2: 08/13/2011 51 42 760
Knewton: Q V
Diagnostic GMAT 07/05/2011 at 10:19PM 47 36 680
Practice GMAT #1 07/24/2011 at 01:53AM 44 39 680
Practice GMAT #2 07/24/2011 at 02:20PM 46 30 630
Practice GMAT #3 07/28/2011 at 03:03AM 49 37 710
I stopped doing their tests because their scoring algorithm is not up to the mark, and it’s very de-motivating. For example in the GMAT #3 I got 4Q wrong on the quant and 4-5 on the verbal and still got a 710! On the bright side the questions are pretty decent.
My exam was at 1:30 pm so took the day off from work (btw- I couldn't take a single day off from work to prepare for my exam, so I had to slog after work and during the weekends) and reached the center at 12:45 after a long drive. I was fully energized as usual because I had so much confidence that I was going to crack the exam. I knew if I did my quant section well then I was going to get a score above 750 for sure. I used to get 6-8 questions wrong in quant in my practice tests out of which all of them were because of silly mistakes, I just kept telling myself that I had focus and read the entire question, not get too excited if it was easy, and always solve the prompt for data sufficiency questions.
Here’s what happened - The proctor signed me in and there it was. I started my test, and since I had practiced writing a few essay’s this section went off pretty smoothly. I finished both my essays with 2-3 mins remaining. Took the break as usual, and kept reminding me how I had to re-read the questions for quant. I am so bad at this, I usually read the question quickly and get too excited if I know how to solve it and end up making silly mistakes. So went back to my test after the break, started the quant section and boy this was a killer. Even though I had to guess a couple of questions I finished this section with 7-8 mins to spare. I was thrilled to bits after I finished my quant section and I decided to take the second break, Believe it or not, I was jumping in the bathroom with excitement because I knew I had pretty much aced the quant section and I knew that my favorite section of the GMAT, critical reasoning, was up next. I promptly went back to my cubicle on time and then started the verbal. BLANK! BLANK! BLANK! I did not apply a single grammar rule, as a matter of fact did not apply any rules for any of the questions. I don’t know what the F*** I was doing - staring at the bloody monitor. It was too late when I realized what was happening, I was on the 35th question and I had 17 mins to spare. At that time I realized either the test was too easy or I had screwed it up. I mean really?? 35th question with 17 mins left! I meticulously took the next 10 mins to finish the last 5 questions and there it was (Q50 V26) 640. I thought I was going to collapse in the testing room. I was barely able to get up and walk out. The lady at the front desk handed me the print out of my result, and as I walked out I tore those two sheets into tiny pieces and dumped it in the bin.
Has this happened to anyone before? It’s been 2 days now and I am sitting here at work still trying to ask myself why I lost focus and concentration during the second half. I think this has been the biggest blow to my confidence in years. I need some serious help guys. I don’t have confidence to do anything in life anymore.
P.S: I remember getting a better verbal score on both my prep tests. I don’t know what seriously happened on the test day.
All suggestions are welcome!!
-Holla
This was my best preparation and I am really disgusted with myself and with what happened on the test day. Before we go over with that, here are my scores on my practice tests:
GMATPrep 1 -don't remember the split ( sometime early august) 710
GMATPrep 2 (Q46, V48) (08/14/2011) 740
Manhattan 1: 08/09/2011 51 39 730
Manhattan 2: 08/13/2011 51 42 760
Knewton: Q V
Diagnostic GMAT 07/05/2011 at 10:19PM 47 36 680
Practice GMAT #1 07/24/2011 at 01:53AM 44 39 680
Practice GMAT #2 07/24/2011 at 02:20PM 46 30 630
Practice GMAT #3 07/28/2011 at 03:03AM 49 37 710
I stopped doing their tests because their scoring algorithm is not up to the mark, and it’s very de-motivating. For example in the GMAT #3 I got 4Q wrong on the quant and 4-5 on the verbal and still got a 710! On the bright side the questions are pretty decent.
My exam was at 1:30 pm so took the day off from work (btw- I couldn't take a single day off from work to prepare for my exam, so I had to slog after work and during the weekends) and reached the center at 12:45 after a long drive. I was fully energized as usual because I had so much confidence that I was going to crack the exam. I knew if I did my quant section well then I was going to get a score above 750 for sure. I used to get 6-8 questions wrong in quant in my practice tests out of which all of them were because of silly mistakes, I just kept telling myself that I had focus and read the entire question, not get too excited if it was easy, and always solve the prompt for data sufficiency questions.
Here’s what happened - The proctor signed me in and there it was. I started my test, and since I had practiced writing a few essay’s this section went off pretty smoothly. I finished both my essays with 2-3 mins remaining. Took the break as usual, and kept reminding me how I had to re-read the questions for quant. I am so bad at this, I usually read the question quickly and get too excited if I know how to solve it and end up making silly mistakes. So went back to my test after the break, started the quant section and boy this was a killer. Even though I had to guess a couple of questions I finished this section with 7-8 mins to spare. I was thrilled to bits after I finished my quant section and I decided to take the second break, Believe it or not, I was jumping in the bathroom with excitement because I knew I had pretty much aced the quant section and I knew that my favorite section of the GMAT, critical reasoning, was up next. I promptly went back to my cubicle on time and then started the verbal. BLANK! BLANK! BLANK! I did not apply a single grammar rule, as a matter of fact did not apply any rules for any of the questions. I don’t know what the F*** I was doing - staring at the bloody monitor. It was too late when I realized what was happening, I was on the 35th question and I had 17 mins to spare. At that time I realized either the test was too easy or I had screwed it up. I mean really?? 35th question with 17 mins left! I meticulously took the next 10 mins to finish the last 5 questions and there it was (Q50 V26) 640. I thought I was going to collapse in the testing room. I was barely able to get up and walk out. The lady at the front desk handed me the print out of my result, and as I walked out I tore those two sheets into tiny pieces and dumped it in the bin.
Has this happened to anyone before? It’s been 2 days now and I am sitting here at work still trying to ask myself why I lost focus and concentration during the second half. I think this has been the biggest blow to my confidence in years. I need some serious help guys. I don’t have confidence to do anything in life anymore.
P.S: I remember getting a better verbal score on both my prep tests. I don’t know what seriously happened on the test day.
All suggestions are welcome!!
-Holla
22 Aug 2011, 12:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
The disparity does seem wide, but tell us more about your preparation. Did you take all of the CAT's under realistic test conditions (AWA, time constraints, breaks, etc.)? Which guidebooks did you use to prepare for the verbal section? Did you eat or drink anything to maintain your energy for the verbal section? And how did you feel mentally during the verbal (please be very specific here)?
The answers to these questions will provide a better idea of what happened. I don't want to speculate on your situation just yet, but here are some common trends that trouble test takers (I'm not, of course, accusing you of such things).
1. False Confidence - Sometimes people retake the GMATPrep over and over again until they see a nice score, ignoring how repeat questions inflate their performance. Skipping the AWA and taking longer breaks also factor into this. Avoiding or expressing anger at practice tests that display less flattering scores is also related to this phenomenon.
2. Excessive Practice Tests - CAT practice is important, but it does not replace solid study and preparation, which comes from guidebooks. CAT practice does not qualify as effective study, nor does it supply the necessary tools during the actual test.
3. Burnout - Many suffer from study burnout from preparing too long alongside family, school, or work obligations.
4. GMAT Fatigue - Just about everyone feels somewhat tired by the time the verbal section shows up. That's why taking the breaks and eating snacks or energy drinks is a good idea. Taking deep breaths and looking away from the screen also helps.
5. GMAT Anxiety - This is mental, though it's directly related to the above four points. The main point here is to just remain calm in order to stay in control.
These are a few ideas the I thought of just now. There are probably other factors others could list. At any rate, I am not suggesting that you succumbed to these problems. If you did, though, then we can probably find a solution. At the very least, this post hopefully helps you to figure out what happened.
The answers to these questions will provide a better idea of what happened. I don't want to speculate on your situation just yet, but here are some common trends that trouble test takers (I'm not, of course, accusing you of such things).
1. False Confidence - Sometimes people retake the GMATPrep over and over again until they see a nice score, ignoring how repeat questions inflate their performance. Skipping the AWA and taking longer breaks also factor into this. Avoiding or expressing anger at practice tests that display less flattering scores is also related to this phenomenon.
2. Excessive Practice Tests - CAT practice is important, but it does not replace solid study and preparation, which comes from guidebooks. CAT practice does not qualify as effective study, nor does it supply the necessary tools during the actual test.
3. Burnout - Many suffer from study burnout from preparing too long alongside family, school, or work obligations.
4. GMAT Fatigue - Just about everyone feels somewhat tired by the time the verbal section shows up. That's why taking the breaks and eating snacks or energy drinks is a good idea. Taking deep breaths and looking away from the screen also helps.
5. GMAT Anxiety - This is mental, though it's directly related to the above four points. The main point here is to just remain calm in order to stay in control.
These are a few ideas the I thought of just now. There are probably other factors others could list. At any rate, I am not suggesting that you succumbed to these problems. If you did, though, then we can probably find a solution. At the very least, this post hopefully helps you to figure out what happened.
22 Aug 2011, 13:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
I forgot to add that this was my second attempt at the GMAT. My first attempt was on 02/22/2011 with 10-15 days prep. I just wanted to get a feel of the exam and the test conditions. I did this for both my GRE and SAT just so that I don't freak out on test day. I scored exactly the same on my first attempt 640 (Q39, V38).
I took both the GMAT prep tests the second time since I had already taken them once before and this was way back in Feb, but honestly I didn't remember any answers when I took it now. I probably saw a few (3-4) repeated questions but that’s about it. I might want to add that I took a little more than 8 mins (10-15) break between my quant and verbal section during the practice tests but nothing more than that.
Preparation:
After my first attempt I took a month off from studying because I had to attend a lot of Sales calls at work and we were bringing in new clients on board. After things got a bit slow at work I joined the Knewton online course. This was really good, I attended every single class, did every single hw and the extra hw questions. My instructors Adam and Bridgette were awesome so I pretty much loved attending every class. I also had all the Manhattan Prep books, so after every class at Knewton I made sure I finished that concept in the MGMAT book and solved those questions on the OG. This was pretty much a ritual for 2 months till the course finished (on June 28th). By then I had finished reading everything from Manhattan, and had finished the OG 12.
I still had 1.5 months for my exam, so I decided to do some extra questions and ordered the Quant and the Verbal second edition books. These books sort of reinforced all my fundamentals and the best part was I could answer 80% of the CR questions even without looking at the answer choices. I would just read the question first, then the argument after which I would just brainstorm my own answers to the question and most of the times it would be one of the answer choices.
I started revising 2 weeks before my exam, started doing a lot of questions (especially the ones that I was a little weak in) that were posted on gmatclub and other forums. I had prepared tons of notes for SC, number properties etc., so I made a point to read my notes at least 2-3 times a week. Along with this as I had planned I would give 2-3 tests per week. But I stopped giving prep tests one week before my test. Like you see above my last test GMAT prep2 was on 08/14/2011. During the last week I just revised the OG12, all incorrect questions from my Knewton class and went through the Manhattan SC and number properties books for one last time. I also made sure I solved 10 questions under each SC, CR, RC and 20 questions in quant each day during the last one week.
This was my preparation from May 9th till last week. Honestly, I started freaking out one week before my exam, but I started getting myself back in control 1-2 days before my exam. I was very calm, poised and relaxed when I woke up on 19th and was very excited to go give the test. One last thing I want to add - I gulped a 250mL can of RedBull before I started my test, but I don't recall any fatigue or stress during the exam, but I just don't know what happened during the verbal section.
I took both the GMAT prep tests the second time since I had already taken them once before and this was way back in Feb, but honestly I didn't remember any answers when I took it now. I probably saw a few (3-4) repeated questions but that’s about it. I might want to add that I took a little more than 8 mins (10-15) break between my quant and verbal section during the practice tests but nothing more than that.
Preparation:
After my first attempt I took a month off from studying because I had to attend a lot of Sales calls at work and we were bringing in new clients on board. After things got a bit slow at work I joined the Knewton online course. This was really good, I attended every single class, did every single hw and the extra hw questions. My instructors Adam and Bridgette were awesome so I pretty much loved attending every class. I also had all the Manhattan Prep books, so after every class at Knewton I made sure I finished that concept in the MGMAT book and solved those questions on the OG. This was pretty much a ritual for 2 months till the course finished (on June 28th). By then I had finished reading everything from Manhattan, and had finished the OG 12.
I still had 1.5 months for my exam, so I decided to do some extra questions and ordered the Quant and the Verbal second edition books. These books sort of reinforced all my fundamentals and the best part was I could answer 80% of the CR questions even without looking at the answer choices. I would just read the question first, then the argument after which I would just brainstorm my own answers to the question and most of the times it would be one of the answer choices.
I started revising 2 weeks before my exam, started doing a lot of questions (especially the ones that I was a little weak in) that were posted on gmatclub and other forums. I had prepared tons of notes for SC, number properties etc., so I made a point to read my notes at least 2-3 times a week. Along with this as I had planned I would give 2-3 tests per week. But I stopped giving prep tests one week before my test. Like you see above my last test GMAT prep2 was on 08/14/2011. During the last week I just revised the OG12, all incorrect questions from my Knewton class and went through the Manhattan SC and number properties books for one last time. I also made sure I solved 10 questions under each SC, CR, RC and 20 questions in quant each day during the last one week.
This was my preparation from May 9th till last week. Honestly, I started freaking out one week before my exam, but I started getting myself back in control 1-2 days before my exam. I was very calm, poised and relaxed when I woke up on 19th and was very excited to go give the test. One last thing I want to add - I gulped a 250mL can of RedBull before I started my test, but I don't recall any fatigue or stress during the exam, but I just don't know what happened during the verbal section.
