Help! My scores are decreasing...

Question

Hi everyone,

I have just taken my fourth practice CAT and I am very confused because my scores just get lower and lower.
Here are my results
1. Beginning of June 2015: 590 (Veritas Prep)
2. June 29th GMATPrep CAT #1 660 (Quant 39, Verbal 41)
3. July 8th MGMAT CAT #1 630 (Quant 40, Verbal 36)
4. July 15th MGMAT CAT #2 630 (Quant 39, Verbal 37)
5. August 5th MGMAT CAT #3 590 (Quant 39, Verbal 32)

After the original diagnostic test (590) I reviewed questions (and did basic math review) with the OG. That really improved my score to a 660 within just over 2 weeks. I figured I could move on to more advanced concepts and strategies and completed the entire math section of the Kaplan Premier book. What followed was a slightly lower score but I figured I just had a bad day and moved on, because I had to travel a lot I even signed up for the EmpowerGmat online course. After a week of review with that I took another CAT and again, was disappointed but figured my tests were just too close together. So I´ve been taking it slower lately (2-3 hrs a day max) and made sure I had sufficient practice before the next CAT. But today I had a pretty rude awakening with a 590. Right now I am very frustruated and not sure what I can do, I am about a month away from my test date (September 11th) and my target score of 720 seems unreachable. Does anyone have any advice as to how I could improve? Is my target score unattainable at this point?

VeritasPrepDennis · Answer

Wimpytots -

The practice tests are really just benchmarks and some degree of fluctuation in scores is normal. That being said, the fluctuation appears to be almost exclusively on the Verbal side of the exam. When you have taken the CAT's, are you taking all parts of the test (including AWA and IR)? Have you taken all the CAT's at the same time of day and on all on work or school days, weekends or a mix? Your mindset, fatigue and other factors play into things. FInally, have you drilled into the results to see if the mistakes you have made are dumb errors (ie. you know how to do the problem but just made a silly mistake) or are they gaps in your fundamentals? Cataloging your incorrect answers is a great way of highlighting your weak areas and also pinpointing recurring silly mistakes.

If you can get back with some of these answers, we can likely provide you with better information on how to proceed. Good luck.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi wimpytots,

Based on what you've described, I'm hoping that you can clarify a few points:

1) Is the information that you provided about your CATs accurate and complete? You mention "That really improved my score to a 550 within just over 2 weeks" but I don't see a 550 CAT anywhere in your list (and a 550 would NOT have been an improvement relative to your 590).
2) How long have you been using the EMPOWERgmat Course? And which Study Plan are you following?
3) Which areas have you been focusing on in your studies over the last few weeks?

Since most of your recent CATs have not been Official CATs, I suggest that you plan to take a FULL GMAC CAT sometime soon (perhaps this weekend) under realistic and test-like conditions (include the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as your Official GMAT, etc.). With a September 11th Test Date, you have a lot of work to do in a relatively short period of time to hit your score goals. The fact that your Quant is 'stuck' at Q39/Q40 is as much of a concern as your decreasing Verbal scores. That Quant Scaled Score will need to be much higher for you to hit 720+.

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

wimpytots · Answer

Thank you for your replies so far!

Veritasprep -
Yes, I have taken the IR and AWA for each of those, since I know it can make a huge difference. The time of the day was always exclusively mid-morning to noon, with the exception of the last CAT where I did not have enough time in the morning and had to finish the verbal in the evening, though I actually felt more focused when I did it then (the results obviously point to the opposite). I have generally reviewed my errors (with a few exceptions) for all tests and exercises I have done so far, but I never feel like it is very effective after CATs. It is difficult to remember when I review the day after a CAT, but when I review on the day of a CAT i have trouble concentrating. Would it be better to always review immediately after nonetheless? Another problem I found is that sometimes I simply don´t know how to categorize all errors, I often find that I look at Quant errors, see what I had done wrong and then go "There is no way I would have known how to do that" (Often because I never came across a similar problem in my preparation so far). For Verbal, 90% of my mistakes are stupid mistakes, so last CAT I actually gave myself more time per question (I tend to somewhat rush through Verbal) but that did not help.

Rich -
Yes, I made a typo there (it was quite late at night when I wrote the original post) and there was never a 550 CAT, it should say 660. I have been following EmpowerGMAT since July 10th, and originally completed the 3 day trial and got up to the first CAT (I wanted to see whether the tactics would get me anywhere, but I did not watch all explanation videos back then). I got up to the first CAT, then had to take a few days off due to personal reasons and then re-enrolled and finished the course up to the 2 CAT mark, this time watching every video. I saw improvement in my scores for quizzes and was quite pleased with my progress so far before I took the second CAT on the Empower schedule. I have not been able to follow a study plan completely, since my study schedule was a bit disrupted since I was not at home for the past 2 weeks, but I still made a point of completing a few modules per day. Since I followed the course, I most recently focused on CR and Algebra. I was originally hoping to refrain from taking the second official CAT before the end of my training, but I guess it makes more sense to purchase another CAT than to sacrifice my score.

On a sidenote, I always run out of time for my last 10 Quant questions, I have no idea how to improve this, since I originally thought it would fix itself over continued study and since I have no issues with timing on practice quizzes. When it comes to triage in CATS, I often have trouble finding a lot (or any) answers to triage, even though I have now reviewed (and completed) that module many times. Another sidenote, I have noticed when I looked back that my first three questions are always perfect and put me in the 99% percentile on both Verbal and Quant, but I always get the next few questions wrong.

VeritasPrepDennis · Answer

wimpytots -

A few thoughts. Reviewing the results of your CAT's might be different than what you are thinking. In categorizing the questions you missed, I think it helps to note whether it was a dumb error (and note the cause - misread the question, went too fast, computational error, etc), or was due to a concept you don't have a good grasp on. For the latter, it is important to note the type of question and whether it is difficult, moderate or easy. In this way, you can start see patterns and then develop focused study plans to address. For example, if you see that you generally misshigh level problems dealing with exponents, you can focus on studying the concept and then working these types of problems - rather than going through all algebra concepts or problems.

AS for the timing, that is definitely something you need to address as the GMAT significantly punishes you for not answering questions. Getting more proficient and efficient working the problems is beneficial, but you also need to practice problems using a timer. One thing that helped me as far as timing goes was to hide the clock while I was taking the test. I would gauge my pace by looking at the clock every 5 or 7 questions to determine if I was on pace or if I needed to speed up. On the Quant section, you have 2 minutes per question, so checking every 5 -7 questions is simple math (you should be no more than 10 minutes in if you check every 5, and no more than 15 if checking every 7). Finally, do not be stubborn. If you cannot determine how to begin a Quant. problem and are 45 seconds to a minute in, guess and move on - on the Verbal side, if you've narrowed the answers down to 2 or 3 and do not see how to find THE answer, don't spend minutes dinking with it. Guess and move on; this lowers your frustration level and saves you valuable time to use on questions you know how work.

wimpytots · Answer

Thanks again for your help! I spent the past while on reviewing the tests I took so far and actually categorizing all answers and retaking all questions I had ever done. Then I took the second GMAC CAT and got a 700(44,42) a week ago! I was a bit worried because I had some repeat questions, so I purchased Exam Pack I and took another test under exam conditions and it really seems like I have improved. On my last GMAC Cat (Exam 3, from Exam Pack I taken under exam conditions today) I got a 730 (48,42). Again, thank you both for your feedback

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi wimpytots,

That's fantastic news about your recent CAT scores - you appear to be making some real progress in your studies. At this point, it's important not to get too 'comfortable' - the GMAT will always give you the score that you EARN. Scoring 730 on this recent CAT does NOT necessarily mean that you will score higher on your next one....UNLESS you do the necessary work to earn that higher score. All things being equal though, with 2 weeks to go until your Official GMAT, you're in a strong position to hit your score goals, so you just have to stay focused during this final stretch, keep working hard and make good decisions.

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

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