More than shocked!

Question

Hi everyone. I wrote my GMAT today after 5 months of preparation and scored a meager 570. It's least to say that I am bewildered.

I had been performing consistently well on all practice tests. My scores were mostly 700 plus on GMAT prep tests and 640 to 720 on Manhattan tests.

I am just not able to analyse what went wrong.

And even if I re-attempt, I will have just 1 month to do so. Is a jump of more than 100 points. I am ready to put my heart and soul but this I really want to achieve.

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear pallavi.mahajan4 , I'm happy to respond. :-)

My friend, what has happened to you has happened to many others. Here's a blot article discussing this point. https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/lower-on-t ... ice-tests/ Read that article and the linked article very carefully. If you decide to take the GMAT again, here's a one-month study plan. https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/1-month-gm ... -schedule/ If you join Magoosh, we have a score guarantee , guarantees at least a 50 point increase. Many students see a much bigger increase. I hope all this helps. Mike :-)

rajvedi · Answer

hi,

i have been in that exact situation and i still am planning to take the gmat the 4th time. my best was 630 and lowest after 5 months prep was 570.

my two cents of advise would be, take a step back, do not rush and do lot of self analysis on what went wrong. it could be lack of concentration, or practicing from easier non gmat types questions or lack of clarity and grip on concepts esp verbal.

go with the flow and only when you have identified your weaknesses, reattempt for the next one. 100 points improvement requires some solid work and guts.

so good luck! i myself am planning to restart and take it in 4 months from now.

cheers
rajvedi

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi pallavi.mahajan4,

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 (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.

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

WayneHam · Answer

I went from 620 to 710 in 7 weeks time but I studied less than 10 hours per week, mainly on the weekends. A 100 point jump in 1 month is probably possible but I'd suggest you figure out what your problems are and you work on that. For me it was the timing and the quant. I got those under control and did it.

gmathopeful25 · Answer

Hi Mike, that is a very interesting article. I wonder if you've given any thought as to why some people actually perform much better under pressure.

pallavi.mahajan4 · Answer

Hi, thanks a ton for writing in. 
I guess, I did a major blunder in the one last month of giving practice tests every 3rd day and not really solving variety of questions. I just revised theory and notes.

After a good night sleep from yesterday, I can logically assess the blunders and also am less hopeless. I am gonna devise a good strategy and take another attempt in a month.

pallavi.mahajan4 · Answer

Hi,after a good night sleep, I am able to assess my failed strategy better. I studied for 5 months altogether. However, in the last one month, I just focussed on practice tests and revising the theory orally. I did not do any quant or verbal drills and I guess that's what caused the blunder.

As far as practice tests are concerned, I did take them more than once and that must have caused the scores to inflate.

Anyhow, I am in a better position now, mentally and psychologically, and am almost certain to re-attempt in a month's time and this time with a smart and foolproof strategy.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi pallavi.mahajan4,

It sounds like you've done some self-analysis, which is good. To properly 'fix' as many of the issues as possible before you retest, it would be helpful if you answered all of the questions that I asked. Those answers might expose some other areas that could also use some improvement.

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

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear gmathopeful25 , I'm happy to respond. :-)

This is very subtle. There is a kind of "sweet spot" --- mostly relaxed, but a little bit stressed. It's a sweet-spot for folks who can remain cool and calm under pressure. That's a skill that some folks have mastered, but many haven't. Admittedly, the folks who do master that can excel in the business world. When I wrote that blog and similar blogs, my assumption is that the vast majority of GMAT takers are not in the "sweet spot" because they are too stressed. Most people in the modern electronic world are way too stressed. We live in a world in which people have more or less forgotten that it's supposed to feel good simply to be human. It's perfectly true that if we met someone who was totally relaxed and chill, not all all threatened by the GMAT, practically falling asleep at the GMAT, we would have to urge that person to take it seriously and engage with the pressure a little. That person, though, I believe is the super-rare exception, and mostly we have folks who are in very high stress states trying to cope with the GMAT. That's why I emphasized one side of the discussion more than the other. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

egmat · Answer

Hi Pallavi,

I am sorry to hear that you did not do as well on GMAT as you intended to. With appropriate planning and diligent execution, you should succeed the next time.

It is very much possible to improve by 100+ points in a month provided you are sincere and diligent in your efforts. Here are few of our students who have done that: https://e-gmat.com/testimonials/success_lessthan-30day/.

Also, we have had students who have improved by more than 250 points, here are two such examples

1) Richa improved from 12 percentile (V16) to 85 percentile (V38) on GMAT Verbal improved her overall score from 470 to 720. Read Richa's debrief: https://goo.gl/8Gu2oS.
2) Suren improved from 470 (V17) to 740 (V40). Read Suren's debrief: https://goo.gl/K2gUgU.

I have few questions for you

1. How much did you score in Quant and Verbal in your current attempt (570)? Also, how much were you scoring in Quant and Verbal on the Manhattan mocks, and on GMAT Prep?
2. How much score are you targeting in Quant and Verbal when you appear for the GMAT in a month's time?
3. How many hours can you devote towards your GMAT preparation (from now)?
4. How do you approach SC, CR and RC questions? List the process you follow to answer the questions?

I look forward to hearing back from you on the above.

Also, I would suggest you to go through the following files and tell me if you learned something new

1. Verb-ed and Verb-ing Modifiers: https://goo.gl/50GBms
2. Bold Face: https://goo.gl/uprgDB

We have 100+ such beautifully designed audio visual files in our Verbal Online course. To view more such content, just log in to our Free Trial from here https://e-gmat.com/login/.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,
Rajat Sadana

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