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Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
03 Jan 2015, 15:47
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I need a little bit of encouragement / help explaining my low GMAT score. I just got a 700 (Q49, V37). My last 6 practice scores were:
Dec 31: 740 (Q47, V45) - GMAC
Dec 26: 710 (Q48, V40) - GMAC. I was dead tired when I took this one and could hardly concentrate.
Dec 14: 750 (Q49, V44) - Veritas
Nov 29: 760 (Q48, V46) - Veritas
Nov 02: 720 (Q48, V41) - Veritas
Oct 26: 730 (Q48, V43) - Veritas
I don't understand how my verbal score was so low. Even when I was dead tired and took the GMAC CAT, I still got a 40 on verbal. I got a 37 on my very first diagnostic, and I haven't gotten below a 40 since. I am very confused right now. I did not think that the verbal section went poorly. I was getting challenging questions and was confident with my answers. All of the environmental factors were fine. I got 9 hours of sleep, felt alert when talking the test, had a protein bar and water during my breaks, and thought everything was fine. I was / am very shocked at my low verbal score.
Was this just a statistical anomaly? Any other explanations?
Dec 31: 740 (Q47, V45) - GMAC
Dec 26: 710 (Q48, V40) - GMAC. I was dead tired when I took this one and could hardly concentrate.
Dec 14: 750 (Q49, V44) - Veritas
Nov 29: 760 (Q48, V46) - Veritas
Nov 02: 720 (Q48, V41) - Veritas
Oct 26: 730 (Q48, V43) - Veritas
I don't understand how my verbal score was so low. Even when I was dead tired and took the GMAC CAT, I still got a 40 on verbal. I got a 37 on my very first diagnostic, and I haven't gotten below a 40 since. I am very confused right now. I did not think that the verbal section went poorly. I was getting challenging questions and was confident with my answers. All of the environmental factors were fine. I got 9 hours of sleep, felt alert when talking the test, had a protein bar and water during my breaks, and thought everything was fine. I was / am very shocked at my low verbal score.
Was this just a statistical anomaly? Any other explanations?
03 Jan 2015, 19:48
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Hi pate13,
First off, a 700/Q49 is an outstanding score (it's right around the 90th percentile overall), so you really shouldn't have any "bad feelings" about this.
As far as what MAY have lead to a score drop, there are a variety of possible reasons:
1) GMAC has openly stated that your score on Test Day is within +- 30 points of actual ability, so you COULD have scored higher/lower just from a general statistical standpoint.
2) Your skill levels were measured by GMAT Company CATs that were not created by GMAC. If those CATs are even a little bit "off", then your scores wouldn't be 100% accurate.
3) There are always "variables" in how you take your CATs that will not "match up" with Test Day. There are obvious ones - skipping sections, taking the CATs on days/times that don't match the day/time of your GMAT, taking the CAT on a laptop instead of a desktop computer, etc. But then there are lots of little, subtle things too that might not be a match for what you experienced on Test Day.
4) At this scoring level, the GMAT gets really "sensitive" to little mistakes - just a couple of extra wrong answers, if they occurred in "bad" spots, could have accounted for the difference in score.
You now have a score that will likely make every Business School happy, so you've done well.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
First off, a 700/Q49 is an outstanding score (it's right around the 90th percentile overall), so you really shouldn't have any "bad feelings" about this.
As far as what MAY have lead to a score drop, there are a variety of possible reasons:
1) GMAC has openly stated that your score on Test Day is within +- 30 points of actual ability, so you COULD have scored higher/lower just from a general statistical standpoint.
2) Your skill levels were measured by GMAT Company CATs that were not created by GMAC. If those CATs are even a little bit "off", then your scores wouldn't be 100% accurate.
3) There are always "variables" in how you take your CATs that will not "match up" with Test Day. There are obvious ones - skipping sections, taking the CATs on days/times that don't match the day/time of your GMAT, taking the CAT on a laptop instead of a desktop computer, etc. But then there are lots of little, subtle things too that might not be a match for what you experienced on Test Day.
4) At this scoring level, the GMAT gets really "sensitive" to little mistakes - just a couple of extra wrong answers, if they occurred in "bad" spots, could have accounted for the difference in score.
You now have a score that will likely make every Business School happy, so you've done well.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
03 Jan 2015, 20:06
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Bookmarks
EMPOWERgmatRichC
Rich, thank you for the reply. Your words are very kind. I don't necessarily think my score is "bad", but relative to how well I have performed on verbal in the past, I am very disappointed. However, I am very happy with my Quant score. My last 5 CATs have all been full simulations, and this test was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. So I am just confused more than anything. I sent a message to the GMAC to ask if an error in my score is possible. I will definitely be buying the enhanced score report that is available starting next month.
For now, I think I am going to take a break from the GMAT. I don't plan applying to business school for the next 3 years or so. I started early so I wouldn't have to cram my studying and test preparation. I haven't really done anything besides work and prepare for the GMAT for the past 3-4 months. A little breather my help me out. Plus, maybe there was an error in my score. Any other advise you can give is very appreciated.
Thanks again, Rich.
