Low GMAT 560 compared to 670 in practice GMAT tests

Question

Hi,

I just gave my GMAT yesterday and scored a 560 (Q44,V23).I expected around 680 during the test but ended up very low score. I felt during the test that the difficulty level was increasing. I was short of time towards the end for Verbal (last 6 q) and for Maths (Last 5) and ended up guessing. I was sure that the level was increasing with the probability questions comming in the start 10 and bold face questions for verbal in the starting 10. But seems like I have either blown it off in the end or I am not sure of the answers.

For studying I used Egmat for verbal and GMATclub tests for Maths. My GMAT Practice test scores are as below

1. Veritas 650 (Q46 V33)
2. Veritas 600 (Q41,V32)
3. Veritas 650 (Q46,V34)
4. Veritas (Q45,V24)
5. Veritas (q46,V32)
6. Veritas (Q42,V28)
7. Manhattan 620 (Q43,V32)
8. Manhattan 670 (Q45,V36)
9. Manhattan 620 (Q43,V32)
10.Manhattan 580 (q41, V30)
11. Kaplan 670 (Q45, V36) 
11. GMATPrep 660 (Q46,V35)
12. GMATPrep 600 (Q46, V27)

My scores have been fluctuating in the GMAT practice tests but I am not sure really what happened. I do not think 560 is representative of my GMAT score. I have cancelled my gmat score and plan to retake it in the next few months and apply next year for my MBA.
I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I gave most of the test under complete timed conditions and scored around 660 670 but cant understand what wrong I am doing in my preparation. I want to score a 700 in GMAT. Please advice whats going wrong in my GMATPrep.
Thanks,
Olly.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Olly,

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. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) On what dates did you take each of these CATs?
2) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
3) Did you take them at home?
4) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you took your Official GMAT?
5) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
6) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: on a prior CAT, in an online forum or in a practice set)?

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

ollyfranc · Answer

Hi Rich,

My replies are below
1) On what dates did you take each of these CATs?

1. Veritas 650 (Q46 V33) November 1,2017
2. Veritas 600 (Q41,V32) March 11 2018
3. Veritas 650 (Q46,V34) March 12 2018
4. Veritas (Q45,V24) April 5 2018
5. Veritas (q46,V32) April 6, 2018
6. Veritas (Q42,V28) April 8 2018
7. Manhattan 620 (Q43,V32) April 8 2018
8. Manhattan 670 (Q45,V36) March 9 2018
9. Manhattan 620 (Q43,V32) March 22 2018
10.Manhattan 580 (q41, V30) March 16 2018
11. Kaplan 670 (Q45, V36) Marc 21 2018
11. GMATPrep 660 (Q46,V35) April 10 2018
12. GMATPrep 600 (Q46, V27) April 11 2018

2) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)? Just took IR section for GMATPrep. Never took entire CAT.

3) Did you take them at home? Yes took all the CATs at home. For the GMATPrep took it while I was on a holiday.

4) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you took your Official GMAT? Only took 2 tests at the same time.

5) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? Yes, did pause and did take longer breaks. I did only Kaplan test and the last GMATPrep test under strict timed condition.

6) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: on a prior CAT, in an online forum or in a practice set)? Didnt repeat a CAT. Didnt find the questions similar.

Allwyn.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Olly,

From your prior post, there were some 'red flags' in terms of how you took your CATs. Before we discuss those issues, I have a few additional questions about the lead-up to Test Day and Test Day itself:

1) What did you do in the 3 days before your GMAT?
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
6) Did you finish any sections early?
7) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?

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

ollyfranc · Answer

Hi Rich,

1) What did you do in the 3 days before your GMAT?
I had travelled a week before the GMAT for a vacation with my family. During this time just practiced q online. I practiced gmatprep 4 and 2 days before the actual GMAT.
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
Didn’t get much rest. Could sleep for 5 hours. Had driven for 3 hours before to reach home the day before at noon.
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
I took the train and had to walk roughly 200 m. Total time travel was 1.25 hours.
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
Was tough finding the centre. But didn’t have too many distractions at the centre.
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
Went to washroom. When returned, Ate some chocolate, a sandwich and drank red bull.
6) Did you finish any sections early?
Was short on time for both sections.
7) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?
Yes, I guessed on 6 questions randomly for last 12 q on verbal. Was rushed for last 12 q on verbal. For quant, guessed randomly on 4 q in last 9 q. Felt rushed for last 8 q in quantitative.

Regards,

Olly.

souvonik2k · Answer

Hi
Sorry to hear that your Gmat didn't go well. In my opinion, you need to revisit all the concepts and strategies of Quant and Verbal. You can order ESR to know the areas of weaknesses. Then you can start working on the weaknesses. Time your practice sessions. 
Hope it helps.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Olly,

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your practice scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, taking them at different times of day, pausing the Exams, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

Test Day involves a variety of really specific steps and parameters (including steps before the Test even begins - such as leaving your home, traveling, etc.). Every factor matters, including the psychological ones. When you sit down on Test Day, you KNOW that you're going to be in the Computer Lab for about 4 hours - but if you also have to TRAVEL a significant distance on Test Day (which you did), then you also have to account for THAT time and effort. The details about how you took your CATs during your practice were NOT a match for what you faced on Test Day. All of the 'differences' involved in how you took your CATs could explain why your Scores dropped - you weren't properly prepared for THAT full day, so your Scores fluctuated.

Beyond all of those issues, the other factors that you described about the last 3 days before your Exam also define some areas that impacted your performance. 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. By taking a CAT right before your Official GMAT, there's a reasonable chance that you experienced some 'burn out' on Test Day. Long travel days often tire people out - so we can't ignore that potential impact on you either. In addition, a poor night's sleep would hurt most Test Takers - and not knowing exactly where the Test Center was probably added some stress to an already challenging situation.

Thankfully, these are all relatively easy issues to fix - now that you've taken the Official GMAT, you know the EXACT details of what happens on Test Day, so you can better train to mimic those details during your CATs. That having been said, raising a 560 to a 700+ will likely take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

1) What Schools are you planning to apply to?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

ollyfranc · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks a lot for your help to help me analyse on the below.

I plan to apply to MBS and AGSM. I have missed the deadlines so now plan prepare well and give it again in 3 months time. 
I realistically feel that I can spend 1 hour a day on weekdays and probably 6 t 8 hours total on weekends.

Regards,
Allwyn.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Olly,

With another 3 months of study time, you could potentially improve a great deal. Based on what you described about your prior studies, it's not clear whether you were following a formal study plan - with a focus on learning and practicing the proper Tactics - or if you were essentially working through lots of practice questions "your way." To hit your Score Goal, you will have to make some big changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Exam. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to invest in a GMAT Course of some kind (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led). Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at our site (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

If you have any additional question, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

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