HELP!: Big problem with GMAT online quant section!

Question

Hi guys!

I am a non-native Speaker from Germany. I need a minimum score of 500 for an MBA program at the University of Central Arkansas.

On Tuesday, I took the GMAT online for the first time.
The verbal section was ok and I managed the task without problems. However, I experienced a rabbit punch in the quantitative section, which completely destroyed my target score.

I have neever seen such hard and silly tasks before the real exam! I thought that this could be a good signal for a high scoring range, because the quantitative tasks get never easier in the further test. This was a misjudgment!

I am now preparing for the GMAT since 10 weeks. At first, I started with some training in the Official Guide 2020 (inclusive Reviews) and continued with the Manhattan Prep Books. After finishing all the theoretical basics, I bought GMAT Official Practice Exams 3, 4, 5 & 6 and went on with these online tasks at mba.com.

Overall, I did all the 6 diagnostic test on mba.com
Let me add some results of the Diagnostic tests:
Quantative - score: from 42 to 49
Verbal - score from 25 to 30

To my math skills: In the last weeks, I got more and more confidence with the tasks and was able to manage medium and hard tasks without problems. But I never saw quant tasks in this way before. All in all, I was not able to find any calculation approach.

Has anyone made similar experiences with GMAT online quant?
My plan is to take the real test in 2-3 weeks. My next try I will take my second try in the test center.

What would you recommand for further training in the quantitative part?

Best regards

Posted from my mobile device

shameekv1989 · Answer

Hi, Since your plan is to give in another 2-3 weeks only, you should go over the basics and try to figure out the most common traps that GMAT Quant tests. Additionally, I would suggest you to practice Number properties, Exponentials and Inequality questions the most. They cover the majority of the questions in my experience.

Go over the Manhattan the sections you struggle with.

I am pretty sure you will do well. All the best!!

Go over the Manhattan the sections you struggle with.

I am pretty sure you will do well. All the best!!

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  Edeler . I agree with what has been written above. I also feel compelled to ask, how are you so confident that you did  not  achieve your target score on Tuesday? I mean, it is natural to feel somewhat overwhelmed and defeated when a tough question or two might catch you off guard, but remember, there is always a chance that you happened to click the right bubble to a given question, even if you had no idea how to approach it. Looking at the low end of your section ranges from your practice tests, a V25, Q42 would still put you at 550 or so for a total score. If you felt pretty good about Verbal, perhaps you earned an even higher score.

Going forward, I would recommend checking out pertinent sections of  the Ultimate GMAT Quantitative Megathread  and searching the  Practice Question Banks  for questions you have not attempted, particularly those that are official or in-house. (  Bunuel   writes some tricky top-notch questions.)

Most importantly, since you are targeting a less competitive score,  place the most emphasis on Easy and Medium questions . Even for someone shooting for a 700, I recommend this strategy. The GMAT™ punishes mistakes on lower-level questions much more severely than on Hard questions. Get yourself in good shape on sub-600- and 600-level questions, and I guarantee you will exceed your 500, probably by some margin.

Best of luck to you. If you have further questions along the way, feel free to ask. The community is here to help out.

- Andrew

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Difficult to know your language situation, but I wonder if you might get more bang for your "study" buck by trying to improve that Verbal score.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Edeler,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. 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. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How did you score on the Official GMAT, including your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores?
2) Over the last 10 weeks, how many hours did you typically study each week?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
4) What application deadlines are you facing?

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

Edeler · Answer

Hi Rich,

thank you so much for your respond.
1) My results on the Official GMAT were Q3 (!!!) and V25. You wont´t believe it.
2) Over the last 10 weeks, I studied around 6-7 hours a day.
3) Here are the results of each diagnostic test from MBA.com:
Exam 1: Q48, V20
Exam 2: Q47, V25
Exam 3: Q46, V20
Exam 4: Q39, V19
Exam 5: Q37, V22
Exam 6: Q39, V24
I took all the exams in the last 3 weeks.

4) My application deadline is on February.

The only feasible explanation is that the algorithm does not work in my quant section, maybe because of techniqual issues. My study partner took the GMAT online to the same time and reported the same problem! Could this be an explanation? Is it a good idea to contact the customer support and ask for verifying the system?

Thank you! Best regards

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Edeler,

The Q3 you received is clearly the immediate issue - and assuming that you finished the entire Quant section (meaning that you did not leave a bunch of questions unanswered), that Scaled Score implies that some 'tech issue' may have occurred during your Exam. Do you recall any functional issues with the Exam while you worked on the Quant section? For example, did you have to restart the Exam or was there any point at which you submitted your answer but had to wait an abnormal amount of time before the next question appeared? etc. My thought is that the Program may have simply stopped logging your answers - and if the net effect was a long string of questions that you Algorithm interpreted as 'unanswered', then that could explain the Q3.

I suggest that you reach out and question the validity of this result. It might take weeks - and a repeated series of emails and phone calls on your part - but this Q3 is too low of a result to be realistic.

If your friend ALSO received a Q3 on that same day, then that is unlikely to break a coincidence - and hints that they Online GMAT Program may have malfunctioned on that date. It might help your cause if you and your friend both reached out.

As you prepare for your next attempt, you have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ 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 that much, 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.

In addition, each CAT/mock is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. In addition, 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. Going forward, you really shouldn't take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

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

Edeler · Answer

Hi Rich,

thank you again for your detailed information! The only techniqual issue during the test was sometimes a longer waiting period between the questions. During the test, I assumed that this is no real problem.
I will try everything to come in contact with the customer service. Do you have any tips, which person I should contact and how I should manage it?

Another abnormality is, that my study partner, who took the test to the same time, have still to wait for his results, while I got my score two days after the test. Is this maybe a reaction of my mail to the customer service?

Best regards

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Edeler,

While I do not have a specific person for you to ask for, the broader advice (that you should repeatedly call/email Customer Service) is important as there are so many Exams administered in the At-home format that your particular case might become "buried"/delayed. The Q3 that you received may have alerted the Test Administrators of a potential issue with the Test Program/Algorithm - and that could conceivably have delayed the release of a number of Official Score Reports (but we cannot say for sure if this has had any impact on the release of your Friend's Scores, as the two situations might not be related at all).

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Edeler,

Are you still looking for advice regarding your retake?

Edeler · Answer

Hi!

I will retake the GMAT exam in the test center next Thursday.
 
Do you have any tips, how I can manage the real GMAT quant without nasty suprises?
I managed the the biggest part of the tasks from the OG 2020 and the Math/Verbal Review without problems.

Is the quantitative part in the real GMAT (test center) thougher?

Moreover, I did two further mock tests last week. My score was 590 and 610 (Q75 and Q52).

What should I do in the last week of my preparation?

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