Mock exam scores high but low GMAT - A very unpleasant surprise

Question

Hi everyone, I dont know how to express my misery right now. I gave gmat today and scored 610: Q50 V23 IR 8. Seeing my verbal score I almost fainted. Whereas in my mocks I was scoring in the range of 650-690 and in GMATPrep Exam 1 i got 700 and GMATPrep exam 2 i got 760. What do I do? How do I improve verbal? I have booked another appointment in November. Kindly suggest me something. I am in deep sorrow and misery, plus my mom is the only one who supports me, seeing her cry makes me cry also, what can i say, my other family members are always discouraging me, please gmat club friends help me

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi debaratidg,

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) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) 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.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?

Thankfully, the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. We just need to figure out what was 'off' about your studies or Test Day (or both) and fix it.

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

debaratidg · Answer

Hello rich,

Thank you for your reply. I have an eye condition because of which I can't look at the computer screen for a long time. So yes it's true I took most of my mocks with breaks that is morning I Did quant and evening I did verbal. However the gmat prep mocks I took in one go with ir section.

What I felt during test day:
I did AWA reasonably well I felt. IR troubled me a bit. While in quant I actually thought I made a few mistakes. But after my quant section got over, my head was pounding and eyes were paining. Anyways I even wrote down Brief points of The 4 RCs I got and thought I did okay. Sc and Cr I went faster, I don't know whether it was the headache or eye pain Or my lack of concepts, I had 12 mins remaining at te last question while in quant I had just a 6 seconds left.

Whatever the cause it felt devastating. Please do help me out id be highly obliged

Regards,
Debaratidg

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Debaratidg,

While you didn't exactly answer all of my questions, the information that you've provided essentially points out the BIG issue with how you studied: you were NOT properly preparing yourself to face the specific 'event' that you would face on Test Day. Among its many aspects, the GMAT is also a bit of an 'endurance challenge' - you have to train to perform at a high level for almost 4 straight hours. Since you didn't take your CATs in a realistic way, and you were used to stopping after the Quant question (likely for hours at a time), when you had to continue on with the Verbal section on Test Day, you were too worn-out to perform better.

Thankfully, all of that can be 'fixed', but it takes time (and you have to be far more stringent with how you go about taking your CATs).

If you've had this eye condition for awhile, and there's medical documentation of it, then you might be able to apply for special testing considerations.

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

debaratidg · Answer

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I completely agree that 'perfect test conditions' weren't achieved at home. Could you suggest how I may correct these flaws?

I gave the mocks at home.
I had given them at the same time as was scheduled for my real exam i.e. 13:00 hrs
I did pause in between because my eyes pained
I did not practise AWA and IR except in the case of GMATPrep Exams.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi debaratidg,

If you plan to retake the GMAT at the same location as your last appointment, then you have an idea of how long it takes to travel to that location. Using that 'travel time' as a gauge, you should find an external location (library, office space, etc.) that requires that approximate amount of travel time and take your CATs there. You also must be rigorous about as many of the other Test Day 'details' as possible (taking the FULL CAT in one sitting, NOT pausing it, not doing anything that you can't do on Test Day, etc.).

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

FightToSurvive · Answer

Hi Debarati, Assuming that you are from Kolkata, please have a free consultation from Avi, www.gmat-scholar.com I also had a similar situation like (or even worse situation) but i recovered nicely with their support and my dreams of this years intake is in the process. I can feel what you are going through right now. Dont give up!!! Just have a call at 070640 00130 and then decide for your self.... Hope you have good luck in your next battle in GMAT. Regards!!!

debaratidg · Answer

Thank you EMPOWERgmatRichC Sir and FightToSurvive I have found a library close to the test center and gave a mock exam there today from start to finish scoring a 650 IR 5 Q49 V30 Kaplan CAT (i bought these tests). How else do I understand my mistakes? I got 5 CR wrong, 3 SC wrong, 2 RC wrong (1 completely wrong and 1 3/5 wrong)

I wont give up. Well I am based out of kolkata but giving a call never harmed anyone, thanks

I wont give up. Well I am based out of kolkata but giving a call never harmed anyone, thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi debaratidg,

What resources did you use during your studies (specifically for Verbal)? What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical SC, RC or CR prompt?

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

debaratidg · Answer

I am currently using Magoosh and e-gmat verbal online

For SC:
1. I try to understand the meaning of the sentence
2. then mentally check for SV, Modifier, Pronoun problems
3. Scan through options and try to see if split works
4. Narrow down to an answer

Weaknesses: Idioms, Comparisons

For CR:
1. I read the stimulus, mentally find the conclusion
2. For strengthen: I search for options that strengthen the conclusion (although I do end up choosing an option that deviates slightly from the conclusion)
3. For weaken: Same as strengthen
4. For Assumption: I look for instances the weaken the conclusion --> then check such options which dont carry these weakeners for the conclusion to hold. 
5. For Inference: I look for options that connect the premises well enough to conclusion

my weaknesses: I have noticed when I am pro-active, I tend to think diversely. But in the exam, that diversification of thought fails and i end up choosing the almost close answer but not the right one.

For RC:
1. I read through the RC passage as fast as I can, noting short notes in short hand
2. Read the question, and try to find answers

my weaknesses: I sometimes dont understand the way the answer is worded despite understanding the passage and its flow

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi debaratidg,

Based on how you describe your 'approaches' to the Verbal section, I think that you're making everything more difficult than it should be. The entire GMAT is predictable, and based on patterns, so you can train to take advantage of those patterns. "Your way" of handling the Verbal section doesn't seem to take advantage of any of those patterns, so you'll likely need to make some serious adjustments to how you handle that section to score at a higher level. If your current resources can't help you to make those improvements, then you might need to invest in some new resources.

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

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