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02 Aug 2021, 23:57
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EXAM SCORE
On 2nd August 2021, I appeared for the Online enhanced GMAT and bombed it. I ended up getting a 540 (V20, Q45, IR 3), my target score was 690 (V35, Q49, IR6-7), I am aiming for executive MBA from the top three IIMs in India and I have a healthy profile with about 8 years work exp in construction and 3+ years international exp in UAE and about 4 years experience as an entrepreneur. This is my second attempt, the last time i.e., 6 years back, I had scored a 610 with Q49 and V 23/25 ( I do not remember the exact score, and I do not think it matters much).
PREPARATION
I had spent the last 6 months preparing thoroughly for the test. I was extremely consistent throughout the entire preparation period and had dedicated close to 2-3 hours each day.
Verbal was my weakness 6 years back and is still my weakness. But this time around, I spent a lot more time in Verbal than in Quants. During my prep, I have used the Magoosh material for quants and I have used Manhattan books for verbal - SC & CR. Even after finishing the books, I felt strongly that my concepts were not very clear in SC and then I got hold of GMAT Ninja SC videos. Previous to watching the videos and understanding the approach to SC questions my accuracy in SC 700 level questions were 30-40%, but the videos definitely changed my understanding of the approach, and subsequently my accuracy shot up to about 70%. I was comfortable with the sub 600 and 600-700 level questions in SC. The 50-50 type of questions made me miserable.
RC was also a weak point because I spent a lot of time reading & understanding the passage. It was and still is hard for me to read and comprehend the passage completely with the time pressure ( I used to time myself, always). The problem I face with RC and CR questions is I spend too much time reading the background info. and the question stems. And, then the time pressure kicks in and I am pressurized by my brain to pick an answer. As per my assessment, it takes me around 3 mins to solve a 700 level CR ques. and that too with a 30-40% accuracy. As of RC, while practicing, my accuracy was about 90-100% in 600-700 level questions- Time spent- around 8-9 mins for a 2-3 paragraph. But the problem was with long passages where I used to spend around 6-7 mins reading & comprehending the passage, esp the ones about unionization & women empowerment. And, by the time I finished with all my answers, I would have spent 11-12 mins and my accuracy would be around 50%-75%.
TESTS/ MOCKS
I had purchased the Manhattan test series first, and looking at the jaw-breaking difficulty level of questions in quants, I quickly decided to purchase the official GMAT test prep pack (3-6).
My scores are as follows:
Exam Prep 1- 590 (Q 45, V 27, Date- 16 May 2021- 1st attempt)
Exam Prep 2 - 640 (Q 47, V 33, Date- 27 jun 2021)
Exam Prep 3 - 630 (Q 48, V 28, Date- 04 jul 2021)
Exam Prep 4 - 690 (Q 49, V 35, Date- 11 jul 2021)
Exam Prep 5 - 610 (Q 48, V 27, Date- 16 jul 2021)
Exam Prep 1 - 640 (Q 48, V 28, Date- 21 jul 2021- 2nd attempt)
Exam Prep 6 - 640 (Q 48, V 29, Date- 25 jul 2021)
Prior to these tests, I had also attempted the MGMAT mocks, where I was scoring V 30 consistently over 3 tests.
CONCLUSION
I have narrowed down my weakness to the fact that I tend to panic when I see big question stems or a bit complex passage (I cannot pinpoint a way I differentiate b/w an easy to comprehend passage and a complex one but I guess my brain just takes over). Just minutes before my exam, I had told my wife that if the question stems are a bit easy to comprehend (I know this is subjective, but my brain has a way), then I will do well (i.e., reach my target score at least). And, I guess the GMAT bot sensed this fear and hammered me again and again till I started panicking and picking up random options. So much so, that even during the quants section, I started feeling that the DS stems were quite large and difficult to comprehend.
Right now I feel that I have let down a lot of people including myself. Additionally, I feel hopeless because I had targetted R1 applications but now even R2 seems far-fetched.
On 2nd August 2021, I appeared for the Online enhanced GMAT and bombed it. I ended up getting a 540 (V20, Q45, IR 3), my target score was 690 (V35, Q49, IR6-7), I am aiming for executive MBA from the top three IIMs in India and I have a healthy profile with about 8 years work exp in construction and 3+ years international exp in UAE and about 4 years experience as an entrepreneur. This is my second attempt, the last time i.e., 6 years back, I had scored a 610 with Q49 and V 23/25 ( I do not remember the exact score, and I do not think it matters much).
PREPARATION
I had spent the last 6 months preparing thoroughly for the test. I was extremely consistent throughout the entire preparation period and had dedicated close to 2-3 hours each day.
Verbal was my weakness 6 years back and is still my weakness. But this time around, I spent a lot more time in Verbal than in Quants. During my prep, I have used the Magoosh material for quants and I have used Manhattan books for verbal - SC & CR. Even after finishing the books, I felt strongly that my concepts were not very clear in SC and then I got hold of GMAT Ninja SC videos. Previous to watching the videos and understanding the approach to SC questions my accuracy in SC 700 level questions were 30-40%, but the videos definitely changed my understanding of the approach, and subsequently my accuracy shot up to about 70%. I was comfortable with the sub 600 and 600-700 level questions in SC. The 50-50 type of questions made me miserable.
RC was also a weak point because I spent a lot of time reading & understanding the passage. It was and still is hard for me to read and comprehend the passage completely with the time pressure ( I used to time myself, always). The problem I face with RC and CR questions is I spend too much time reading the background info. and the question stems. And, then the time pressure kicks in and I am pressurized by my brain to pick an answer. As per my assessment, it takes me around 3 mins to solve a 700 level CR ques. and that too with a 30-40% accuracy. As of RC, while practicing, my accuracy was about 90-100% in 600-700 level questions- Time spent- around 8-9 mins for a 2-3 paragraph. But the problem was with long passages where I used to spend around 6-7 mins reading & comprehending the passage, esp the ones about unionization & women empowerment. And, by the time I finished with all my answers, I would have spent 11-12 mins and my accuracy would be around 50%-75%.
TESTS/ MOCKS
I had purchased the Manhattan test series first, and looking at the jaw-breaking difficulty level of questions in quants, I quickly decided to purchase the official GMAT test prep pack (3-6).
My scores are as follows:
Exam Prep 1- 590 (Q 45, V 27, Date- 16 May 2021- 1st attempt)
Exam Prep 2 - 640 (Q 47, V 33, Date- 27 jun 2021)
Exam Prep 3 - 630 (Q 48, V 28, Date- 04 jul 2021)
Exam Prep 4 - 690 (Q 49, V 35, Date- 11 jul 2021)
Exam Prep 5 - 610 (Q 48, V 27, Date- 16 jul 2021)
Exam Prep 1 - 640 (Q 48, V 28, Date- 21 jul 2021- 2nd attempt)
Exam Prep 6 - 640 (Q 48, V 29, Date- 25 jul 2021)
Prior to these tests, I had also attempted the MGMAT mocks, where I was scoring V 30 consistently over 3 tests.
CONCLUSION
I have narrowed down my weakness to the fact that I tend to panic when I see big question stems or a bit complex passage (I cannot pinpoint a way I differentiate b/w an easy to comprehend passage and a complex one but I guess my brain just takes over). Just minutes before my exam, I had told my wife that if the question stems are a bit easy to comprehend (I know this is subjective, but my brain has a way), then I will do well (i.e., reach my target score at least). And, I guess the GMAT bot sensed this fear and hammered me again and again till I started panicking and picking up random options. So much so, that even during the quants section, I started feeling that the DS stems were quite large and difficult to comprehend.
Right now I feel that I have let down a lot of people including myself. Additionally, I feel hopeless because I had targetted R1 applications but now even R2 seems far-fetched.
HoneyLemon
03 Aug 2021, 10:11
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Bookmarks
sarbot
I am sorry to hear the bad test experience. I also felt that our brain works in a fixed pattern and it panics when we ask it to process info out of its comfort zone. We need to train our brain to break that pattern so that it can think rationally in a any given pattern.
I believe you can take help from Powerscore GMAT Reading Comprehension Bible for developing a sustainable RC attitude and thought process that will work in exam condition.
In case you haven't already got, you can consider getting Target Test Prep course which is kind of cheaper as of now than other courses. It has really cool questions with deep conceptual analysis, an activity that will help in building the skill and regaining the confidence .What I like about TTP is the method of solving the questions . You may give a try ,it may help you as well.
Wishing you luck for your next attempt. Keep in touch in GMAT club. People and experts are really helpful here.
03 Aug 2021, 22:02
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Bookmarks
Hi sarbot,
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:
1) Over the last 3 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) Most of the CATs/mocks that you listed were from the last 5 weeks - but what about the OTHER CATs that you took? On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of those other CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) There's no 'harm' in pushing back your applications to Round 2, but what are the exact Round 2 deadlines for the Programs that you are interested in?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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:
1) Over the last 3 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) Most of the CATs/mocks that you listed were from the last 5 weeks - but what about the OTHER CATs that you took? On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of those other CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) There's no 'harm' in pushing back your applications to Round 2, but what are the exact Round 2 deadlines for the Programs that you are interested in?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
