Major Variation in GMAC Practice Tests/Test Coming Up/Very Concerned!!

Question

To say I'm worried would be an understatement.

My test is around the corner on March 3 and I'm not sure if it makes sense to reschedule now or retake if needed. The situation is dire and I'm freaking out for a good reason as you'll see.

First GMATprep taken Jan 8, 2018 -  Scores: 480 total, Q: 26 V: 31 
I DID NOT finish the quant section and left the last  13 questions unanswered  because I was under the impression that unlike the real test, It wouldn't time me out unless I was finished. Up to this point, ALL my preparation has been Quant meaning I took the Verbal section completely COLD.

Assuming the fact that Verbal would be my strong suit and that I left 13 questions blank on quant, this score didn't really surprise me. Since then, hours of studying continued except this time, instead of entirely focused on quant, I allocated a small portion of time on verbal preparation.

Second GMATprep taken Feb 12, 2018 -  Scores: 400 total, Q: 22 V: 23 
This time, I finished all the questions on Math and I seemed to be getting the same level of difficulty as last time but got a much lower score. The main difference that jumped out to me is that previously, I got the first 4 questions right but this time I got the first 4 questions wrong. Any explanations for this variation in quant?

As for Verbal; I'm at a complete loss for what happened and how to move forward from here. The level of difficulty seemed very similar if not more difficult this time around. Which score is a more accurate gauge of my ability? How can my score go from  60th percentile which was taken completely cold to 30th percentile ? Why isn't there more of a correlation in scores here? How can there be this large of a variation if I tried harder, studied more, and still got this large of a drop?

Any and all suggestions as to what happened and how I should plan my preparation moving forward would be greatly appreciated.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi FredstarRR233,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?

Goals:
3) What is your goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

FredstarRR233 · Answer

Please see below. Do you have any reasons as to why my scores are all over the place?

FredstarRR233 · Answer

Given 13 questions unanswered, wouldn't this lead to a substantially lower score relative to my second attempt?

All other factors being equal, my verbal score should at minimum be somewhat correlated instead of going from 60th percentile to 30th percentile right?? Is my thinking correct and if not, what potential factors am I missing here?

tgtgmat · Answer

Would you get insead with score of 600 .?

Sent from my ONE A2003 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

amanvermagmat · Answer

Hi

I think it would be very difficult, unless the applicant has an awesome, extraordinary profile. As per the INSEAD website, for their MBA program, they have to say this about GMAT:

" all applicants are required to take a GMAT test as it provides us with a standardised way of evaluating candidates. While we do not have a minimum score required for admission, we advise candidates to aim for a score at or above the 70th-75th percentile for both the quantitative and verbal sections of the GMAT. For the Integrated Reasoning section, we recommend achieving a score of 6 or above. Please keep in mind, however, that standardised tests are just one of several admissions criteria. A high score does not guarantee admission, and a below average score does not eliminate a candidate."

A 75 percentile in Quant is a score of 49, a 75 percentile in Verbal is a score of 35.. But then again Quant 49 and Verbal 35 will simply just not guarantee admission.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi FredstarRR233,

With a March 3rd Test Date, you have just over 2 weeks of potential study time remaining. If your current 'ability level' is in 400s - and with a Score Goal of 600+ - then you will likely need at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study to consistently score at that higher level (and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections). While there's no harm in taking the GMAT as scheduled, you can save some money (and aggravation) if you pay to push back your Test Date so that you can continue studying.

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

FredstarRR233 · Answer

What score do you think actually reflect my current ability level? Is 60th percentile on Verbal not representative? Can someone score significantly higher than their true ability. Is 30th? Is more data points necessary?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi FredstarRR233,

There are a variety of factors that can influence your score result on any given CAT - and I have no way of knowing how 'realistically' you took these two practice CATs. You might have gotten a bit 'lucky' during your first CAT (meaning that when you 'narrowed the answers to 2 choices', you got more than half correct); you might have also gotten 'unlucky' on your second CAT (for the same reason described, but you got more than half incorrect) or maybe you just had a 'bad day' (from a general attitude/energy/focus standpoint). From your question, you appear overly concerned about your percentile - instead of focusing on the issues that actually matter: do you have the necessary Quant and Verbal skills to hit 600+ right now? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is "no." Your current Verbal 'ability level' is probably in that score range - but there's not enough information to know for sure. To hit your Score Goal, you almost assuredly need more study time than you've allotted and a greater focus on learning and practicing the proper GMAT Tactics.

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

AjiteshArun · Answer

There is no real variation. Those two quant scores are almost the same (check the latest percentiles  here ).

Your current ability is not a fixed number. There are factors that can affect your ability to take the test (positively or negatively) and there are factors that limit the ability of the GMAT to measure your ability accurately (in other words, the GMAT is a good, but not perfect, test). But unless you were already familiar with the questions presented to you, you should have confidence in your V31 (62%).

If you want to measure your performance, it's more useful to have a "range" in mind than a fixed number. You'll probably want to work on reducing the variability of your score. That's normal, and almost every test taker has to do exactly the same thing.

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