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Intern
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Joined: 29 Jun 2018
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Location: United States (MA)
Concentration: General Management, Strategy
GPA: 3.11
WE:Brand Management (Pharmaceuticals and Biotech)
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VP
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Joined: 29 Oct 2019
Posts: 1367
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Math Revolution GMAT Instructor
Joined: 16 Aug 2015
Posts: 10161
Own Kudos [?]: 16598 [1]
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GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V42
GPA: 3.82
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Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
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Help! Prep was going well then took a sharp nose dive. BAD Live Test [#permalink]
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Expert Reply
Hi xnickx,

I'm sorry to hear about your GMAT. Regarding how your GMAT score could have fallen in comparison to your practice exams, I have a great article for you to check out:

Why Was My GMAT Score Lower Than My Practice Test Scores?

Regarding how to move forward, since you are looking for additional study materials, in addition to seeking advice in this thread, take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses, and also read through some GMAT success stories to see what materials have worked well for other test-takers.

You also may find it helpful to read this article about how to score a 700+ on the GMAT.

Good luck!
VP
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Concentration: Marketing, Leadership
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Re: Help! Prep was going well then took a sharp nose dive. BAD Live Test [#permalink]
xnickx - I am sorry to hear that could not reach your target GMAT score. I recommend that you purchase the ESR to know exactly how you performed. My guess is that you went horribly wrong in your timing strategy while solving quantitative questions. You must have run out of time and therefore gotten a long string of incorrect questions towards the end of the test. Lack of practice could be a reason for the poor performance in the quant section.
GMAT Club Legend
GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Status:GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat
Posts: 21846
Own Kudos [?]: 11666 [0]
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Location: United States (CA)
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
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Re: Help! Prep was going well then took a sharp nose dive. BAD Live Test [#permalink]
Expert Reply
Hi xnickx,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out better. GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, most of your CAT score results - along with your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (680 +/- a few points). You only had one result that was significantly higher (the 750) - and that's an outlier relative to the other 12 results, so we have to be careful about assuming that that result was reflective of your overall 'ability level.' You clearly handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but "your way" of approaching the Exam leaves you open to making certain types of mistakes.

While you've identified your sleep issues as a potential cause for your lack of improvement - and that could certainly be a big factor - we have to be careful about assuming that it's the only factor. 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) Over the last 3 months, what type of study routine have you been following? How many hours did you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Intern
Intern
Joined: 29 Jun 2018
Posts: 4
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Location: United States (MA)
Concentration: General Management, Strategy
GPA: 3.11
WE:Brand Management (Pharmaceuticals and Biotech)
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Re: Help! Prep was going well then took a sharp nose dive. BAD Live Test [#permalink]
DisciplinedPrep wrote:
xnickx - I am sorry to hear that could not reach your target GMAT score. I recommend that you purchase the ESR to know exactly how you performed. My guess is that you went horribly wrong in your timing strategy while solving quantitative questions. You must have run out of time and therefore gotten a long string of incorrect questions towards the end of the test. Lack of practice could be a reason for the poor performance in the quant section.


Unfortunately, you cannot purchase the ESR for the GMAT online.
GMATWhiz Representative
Joined: 07 May 2019
Posts: 3409
Own Kudos [?]: 1800 [0]
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Location: India
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41
GMAT 2: 760 Q51 V40
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Re: Help! Prep was going well then took a sharp nose dive. BAD Live Test [#permalink]
Expert Reply
xnickx wrote:
Hi All,

When I took my first GMAT prep test in Feb 2019 (OG Exam 1) I got a 710 (Q46 V42). I put studying on hold due to some personal issues, then started prep again in November of 2020. Prep was going very well, but after two months my practice tests scores started tanking. I studied harder but my mind would just go blank when I looked at quant problems. I sat for the online exam several days ago, and ended up getting one of the worst quant scores I've ever gotten and performing badly on both verbal and IR here are my Exam results:

  • 02/22/2019 OG Exam 1: 710 (Q46 V42 IR5)
  • 11/09/2020 Veritas 1: 650 (Q41 V38 IR4)
  • 11/14/2020 OG Exam 2: 710 (Q45 V42 IR3)
  • 11/22/2020 Veritas 2: 640 (Q41 V37 IR5)
  • 12/18/2020 Veritas 3: 670 (Q43 V39 IR6)
  • 12/24/2020 OG Exam 3: 750 (Q48 V44 IR6)
  • 12/31/2020 Veritas 4: 700 (Q46 V40 IR4)
  • 01/09/2021 OG Exam 4: 670 (Q43 V39 IR7)
  • 01/18/2021 Veritas 5: 680 (Q46 V38 IR6)
  • 01/24/2021 Veritas 6: 690 (Q46 V39 IR6)
  • 01/29/2021 OG Exam 5: 710 (Q46 V42 IR7)
  • 01/31/2021 OG Exam 6: 700 (Q48 V38 IR8)
  • 02/04/2021 GMAT Online: 680 (Q42 V41 IR5)

As you can see for the first few months my Veritas tests lagged my OG tests by a huge amount, but both had an upward trend as I studied more, then both took a dive in January and crawled back up. I took all tests in 2021 under the exact conditions for test day - same time, same desk, same laptop, same screen, same amount of caffeine down to the mg, same amount of fluid morning of and night before, same 5 minute break between verbal and IR.

What went wrong :
In January I stopped getting enough sleep. Not sure what happened, but all of the sudden I couldn't sleep for more than 3-4 hours a night. I started making dumb mistakes on every exam and during my prep (misreading questions, making silly math errors), and getting "stuck" on quant where I just couldn't figure out how to start problems. Every time I took an exam it felt like my brain was in a fog, and I would need more time to get the questions right. My pacing was off and I couldn't focus. If I went too fast I made too many dumb mistakes, if I slowed down I would run out of time and have to guess too much.

I'm not sure where to go for here. I am targeting 760 and really thought I would get there at the end of December with 1 month to go before the test, but something happened and I cannot put my finger on it. Does anyone have any suggestions for a retake strategy? I've burned up all my OG tests as well as almost all of the OG 2021 questions so I think I will end up buying another test package, any advice appreciated.



I see that your quant score is not very consistent in the mocks. So, a Q42 should not be a major surprise. I suspect that you are struggling with the application part of the concepts. I understand that you have solved OG but the point is "did you solve the questions using the right methodology?". The solution to your problems lies in the answer for this question.

GMAT is a test which focuses mainly on the application skills. So, the better your application skills are, the better your performance is going to be. So, I recommend you to focus on learning the right methodology to solve questions. Once you do that, you can practice a few questions from each topic to solidify your learning.

Here's a recording for you which can help you understand the right test taking strategy to score Q50 on GMAT.



I suggest you to choose a right resource which can help you to work on your weak areas and to learn the right methodology to solve questions. A better way would be to check the free trials of the online courses and choose the one which suits you. I would suggets you to take a decision by checking out the free trial of GMATWhiz course. It is an AI driven course which focuses on the application part.

If you wish to have a detailed discussion regarding the study strategy, you can get in touch with me using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call
GMAT Club Bot
Re: Help! Prep was going well then took a sharp nose dive. BAD Live Test [#permalink]

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