HELP!: Big problem with GMAT online quant section!

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Hi Edeler,

Are you still looking for advice regarding your retake?

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?

Posted from my mobile device