Mock 700 to real GMAT 580 HELP PLEASE :(

Question

hi there!
it's my first post on here so i hope this is the right place to ask for advice.
yesterday i took my first GMAT and had a quite disastrous experience.

i studied with examPAL for the past three months and took 8 GMAC mocks in total. my starting score was 510. i also practised a bit with the OG books but didn't really use them all that much to be fair. these are my mock results and percentiles:
510 (Q31/V30) - Q20% V59%
580 (Q33/V37) - Q25% V83%
590 (Q39/V33) - Q37% V69%
600 (Q42/V31) - Q45% V62%
640 (Q45/V36) - Q45% V81%
640 (Q40/V37) - Q41% V83%
660 (Q46/V35) - Q60% V76%
680 (Q45/V38) - Q57% V85%
700 (Q44/V41) - Q52% V94%

when i started out i scored quite low because i didn't know anything about the format (DS) so the initial increase from 510 to 580 mid-studies was surely due to figuring out the GMAT format. the theory i feel like i aced and i know my formulas but somehow i often have a hard time applying the theory correctly in the fastest way for GMAT questions. i also don't have a time management problem. for verbal i've done CAE certificates in C1 and when i'm concentrated and focused, verbal goes by smoothly (granted i had luck with the difficulty and choice of questions).

but quant stresses me out a bit and i do not understand where everything went wrong. i didn't run out of time, nor did i get stressed. i wasn't worried and didn't have a hard time focusing. still, my score yesterday was:  580 (Q36/V34), or 27% Q and 71% V .

quant yesterday felt very easy and i feel like i never even got to the hard questions. i even don't know how i got such a low percentile on quant. it felt very easy, i sat through the whole GMAT feeling like everything was going great and then when i hit the send-essay-button the 580 score on the screen freaked me out.

i am planning on retaking the gmat in 3 weeks as i want to get into the 700s, or at least get a score higher than 640-650. do you guys have any idea what went wrong? do you have advice on how to prepare better for quant and practice "applying" the theory? i'd much appreciate any info whatsoever as i feel very lost and defeated right now. thank you!

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi kikimondra,

Sorry to hear about your experience. It is possible that may have been a bit nervous during your test and that may have affected your performance a bit. However looking at your Quant scores in your mocks, I think you should focus your preps on Quant. If you have only 3 weeks and you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in Quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them.

Lastly I would also encourage you to purchase the GMATPREP QP 1 for some great additional practice.

Hope this helps. All the best.

Leadership · Answer

Hi,
It is the right place to ask for advice. I can understand your frustrating and shocking experience in official GMAT. I see that you was continuously improving scores overall but importantly in Quant. Your verbal was good from day 1. It's normal to score low on the first exam as you were not used to GMAT format.
I would like to tell you that if you didn't faced hard questions in Quant, most probably you are going to score low. I am not a GMAT expert, but this can happen due to many things such as: Incorrect questions in first set and consecutively later on. Once, algorithm gives you enough chances to move up and you don't take them, it starts to give you the same level questions which you were solving perfectly. I think, this could be your case.
From a general point of view, Q34 is too low score which shows you are lacking basic concepts of Quant and there is urgent need to re do these concepts thoroughly again.

Your next move is to focus on Quant concepts, follow Quant Expert - Bunuel.
Check his signature and you will get many helpful topics. Follow the quant questions and their explanations regularly. If you need to change your strategy, then I would recommend EmpowerGmat course which is highly recommended by Re-takers and get the Gmatclub tests if you can. I wish you all the best. In case, you need further guidance, please let us know.

kikimondra · Answer

hi rohan! thank you for your fast answer. it would be in three weeks as all dates after that are in the morning and i am NOT a 9.am serious-test-situation person.. do you think an increase up to the big 7 is possible in such a short time? i actually have the OG GMAT books, the big ones and thin ones but i haven't gotten around solving much in them. are they any good? i feel lost and don't know how to approach these three weeks but at the same time i know i need a killer prep plan to help me get there

kikimondra · Answer

hi! thank you so much for your answer.

i also feel a reason might have been that i was nearly too relaxed. everything about the days leading up to the exam was perfect, i took care of everything to the point where looking back i don't even know what went wrong. i wasn't stressed or anything and maybe i was too confident that i'd succeed so i didn't approach the questions with a sound portion of fear or respect and just sailed through the easy ones. so naturally i was super shocked at my 580..

but this is exactly my question, at the real thing my Quant was 36, but when practising it was higher than that so i am really clueless as to where everything went downhill..
do you think a jump from 580 to 700 considering my past scores is possible in three weeks?

thank you!

Leadership · Answer

Everything is possible if you are working smartly and learning actively. Though, people will suggest that 3 weeks is less time considering your Quant score. You need to quickly think if you want to opt for a course or not. If not, then you need to pay high attention on the questions and discussions. I suggest you to take 1 week maximum in revising all the basic concepts thoroughly with some practice and give a mock. If you feel confident, then you can skip the Prep company option., otherwise, opt for a course for strategy and change. Try: Empowergmat, Targettestprep, math revolution. They are good with trial options. 
If you are aiming for very high quant score, then take Gmatclub tests.

kikimondra · Answer

alright! i think i prefer guided study as i tend to get overwhelmed by the number of discussions and topics on the forum. would you suggest that i still practice verbal or should i just skip it and concentrate on quant fully?

Leadership · Answer

In reality, I would suggest to postpone the exam. We often make mistakes and skim in short time. As Verbal is your strong point, strategically take advantage of it and get in V40-V45. Due to this, low score on Quant will be covered by V40. First prioritize QUANT.. finish it and then do verbal + Quant together..

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kikimondra,

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. 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:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?

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

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

kikimondra · Answer

hi rich! thank you a lot for your answer! i'd love to get some help and guidance on this, as i am quite clueless.
1) i studied for 13 weeks, always between 16-24 hours per week. i am self-employed, so i created my schedule around studying and really focused on the GMAT prep. which means, for the upcoming three weeks i have until retaking the test i can also invest as much time as needed into studies.

2) 510 (11th May), 580 (30th Aug), 600 (2nd Sept), 590 (10th Sept), 660 (8th Oct), 700 (16th Oct), 640 (17th Oct), 640 (22nd Oct), 680 (23rd Oct)
3) i'd like to at least get a 640, preferably 660-680 and obviously as any GMAT student i'd be beyond excited about the big 7.
4) i need to retake the exam on the 15th of November as application deadlines are around the beginning of January.
5) my priority is a certain master's in aalto, finland. they require a minimum of 550, which i achieved, but i want to be competitive enough. also, i want to have a better GMAT in order to be able to apply to some MBAs if plan a doesn't work out, and if my score turns out good enough of course.
these MBAs would be in the US, so a GMAT of 580 won't take me very far for good universities overseas.

i purchased the ESR when booking the test date, but it's set to arrive in 20 days, if i got that right, but i'd need to redo the GMAT on the 15th, which is in 21 days.

Staphyk · Answer

Hello not an expert but here is my suggestion 
Get the OG resolve all the verbal questions take note of the OG explanation.(This for Verbal only) since you are strong there adding a few points will boost your overall score.
For Quant:
Hope you have ordered your ESR?
Now check the Quant which topics you were weak.
Get MGMAT or any good Quant concepts book an revisit those topics ,solve at least 20 questions timed review mistakes 
Now go for the test,all the best

Posted from my mobile device

kikimondra · Answer

hi! thank you for your advice!
i haven't even considered boosting verbal more but that's a great idea.

do you think the OG quant books are enough as well?
thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kikimondra,

The ESR is usually available within a few days of taking your Official GMAT, so I suggest that you check back each day to see when it becomes available. There's a considerable difference between a Score of 640 and a Score of 700+, so we really need to define what you want for a GMAT Score so that we can put together a proper Study Plan for this next phase of your studies. As an example, if you're focused on learning and practicing specific Tactics, then you could potentially retest in a month and hit 640. However, if you're really committed to scoring 700+ (meaning that you would retest more than once in an attempt to earn that type of Score), then you would need to hone even more skills - and that training would likely mean at least another 2-3 months of consistent, guided study. Either way, you might want to consider pushing your next Test Date back a bit (even if it's just for a couple of weeks).

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi kikimonidra,

I’m sorry to hear how things went with your GMAT.

Regarding the drop in your GMAT score (especially quant), while stress could have played a role, a more likely reason is that in your GMAT preparation, you did not really learn to do what you have to do in order to score high on the actual GMAT. Rather, you picked up on some patterns that were effective in getting you relatively high scores on practice tests.

Regarding how to move forward with your quant prep, since you scored Q36 on your GMAT, it’s clear that you have numerous weak areas that must be strengthened in order to improve your quant score. Thus, you should follow a linear and structured study plan that allows you to learn each GMAT quant topic individually and then practice each topic until you’ve gained mastery. By studying in such a way you can ensure that you methodically improve your GMAT quant skills. Certainly, if you’d like more specific advice on how to improve your quant skills, feel free to reach back out.

Lastly, you may find it helpful to read the following articles:

The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT

The Surprising Factor that is the Key to Hitting Your GMAT Score Goal: Grit

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