My horrible GMAT experience ! I got 420

Question

I am a faculty in an engineering college and seeking career transition so i planned to prepare for GMAT. I was studying for GMAT for past 2.5 months. I have scheduled my daily routine in such a way that i prepare for my college lectures in daytime and at night 8pm-12 am, i use to prepare for my exam. I gave mocks in which i scored 480-> 510-> 550-> 590(last mock), and in all my mocks my quantitative score was between 45-48. I had to work hard on my verbal because my verbal was 21->25->27 respectively. During last 4-5 days i put all my efforts on verbal and was confident that this time-- in actual test, i will score above 600. Then arrived the D-Day, the computer screen displayed which exam pattern do i want to go for, quant or verbal? I chose verbal first since it was my weak area, i thought i should utilize my maximum energy on it.

At the end, when the result displayed....Oh my god! 420 V13 Q35 , i was in shock ! I felt that my entire hardwork of past 2 and half months and my money has been wasted in a moment. And worst of all, it was very difficult for me to go back to my home and face my mother after blowing up the exam.

At the end, when the result displayed....Oh my god! 420 V13 Q35 , i was in shock ! I felt that my entire hardwork of past 2 and half months and my money has been wasted in a moment. And worst of all, it was very difficult for me to go back to my home and face my mother after blowing up the exam.

Gnpth · Answer

Hi Himanshu,

Sometimes the test anxiety creeps in and that may be the reason for scoring below your mock tests.

Normally many experts say that if your target score is 600, you need to score consistently above 630+ in mocks. Since mocks doesn't have any experimental questions.

Also, I would suggest you to follow the below.

1. Go through GMATclub quant book for Quant basics. And solve the 500 to 600 level questions in OG. And try to get the accuracy of 80%. 
2. For verbal- I would suggest you try either egmat or empowergmat, they are really good for learning the concepts.
3. Maintain an error log to note down the mistakes you make. And spend atleast 15-20 mins in analyzing why your selection is correct and other options are wrong etc.
4. Try to do quality preparation. If you have only 1 hour a day. Spend about 15 mins solving 5-7 questions. And rest 45 mins analyzing the questions for verbal. 
5. Quant- Irrespective of the outcome in questions- look for pattern and find ways to solve the question in less time.

So based on your score. Quant- You need to brush up all the basics. And get your score consistently between 45-47. Then you can solve tough questions to improve that score.

Verbal- You need involve in reading a lot. GMAT style writing. Read economist, the NY times, and The Atlantic for business or arts related topics to ace the RC and CR. And also getting to know the skills needed from the source I mentioned for verbal.

All the best..

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi himanshu1105,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as hoped. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. 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) What study materials have you used so far?
2) What time of day did you take your CATs?
3) Did you take the FULL CAT (with the Essay and IR sections) each time?

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

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

himanshu1105 · Answer

I used MGMAT, OG, Veritas Prep Online question bank.
I generally take full CATs on weekend mornings (9-12).
Target score = 690+
I planned for Indian B-schools but now deadlines has been passed, except for 1 which is on 2 Dec 17.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi himanshu1105,

To start, raising a 420 to a 690+ will likely take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Before we can talk about a proper Study Plan for this next phase of your studies, we have to do a bit of analysis regarding your prior studies.

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 when you took 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? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: in an online forum or in a practice set)?

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

himanshu1105 · Answer

1) Yes ! I gave 4 full mock tests (inc.essay and IR) but i was usually exhausted during AWA and IR so i took them lightly.
2) Yes ! All mock tests were given from home.
3) Timings were different, i gave some mocks in the morning (8-12) and some at night (8-12).
4) In one mock i had to take longer break because of some urgent work.
5) I think, no questions were repeated. I gave i mock of Veritasprep, 1 kaplan, 1 Varisity Tutors and 1 gmat prep.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi himanshu1105,

From your prior post, there were some 'red flags' in terms of how you took your CATs. Before we discuss those issues, I have a few additional questions about the lead-up to Test Day and Test Day itself:

1) What did you do in the 3 days before your GMAT?
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
6) Did you finish any sections early?
7) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?

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

himanshu1105 · Answer

1) In the last 3-4 days, i concentrated only on verbal section since it was my weak area and apart from that i brushed up all the concepts of QA but didn't practiced any question because i was confident that i would easily score 44+.

2) Test center was nearby my home, so i visited my home a day before exam. I slept, but i don't think it was a peaceful sleep because this exam meant a lot to me. I wanted to apply for Indian b-schools but now I have missed the deadlines. Now i have to wait for 1 more year.

3) It took 30-35 mins to reach the test center.

4) Test facilities were good, there were no distractions.

5) In 8-minute break, i had a light snack (an apple+energy drink). I didn't felt exhausted during AWA and IR at the end.

6) VA, i wasn't able to finished completely. There were still 9-10 questions left when the time was about to over. In QA, i don't know what happened, i stuck in the first question even though it was not difficult, and i spent more than 5 mins on it. On the half way through QA, i saw that there was plenty of time left. I realized that something is not right, i finished QA before time.

7) I rushed and guessed for VA.

tiger66 · Answer

To be able to score 600+ on actual exam you should score at least 690-700 on your mocks. If that doesn’t happen then you are not ready

Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi himanshu1105,

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your practice scores can become - and that's what happened here. By taking the CATs at home, taking them at different times of day, taking longer breaks, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

In addition, a poor night's sleep would likely impact most Test Taker's performances - so that factor shouldn't be overlooked.

Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. In addition, now that you've faced the Official GMAT, you can use this experience to better prepare for your next attempt (especially by taking your future CATs in a way that 'matches up' with exactly what you faced when you took the Official GMAT). Unfortunately, if we assume that your current skill level is a bit higher than the low-400s, it will still take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study for you to get to the 690+ level. In addition, you would likely find it beneficial to invest in a GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led).

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

himanshu1105 · Answer

Hi Gnpth,
 Thanks for your reply ! You are right, I got nervous when i wasn't able to solve 1st question in quant. I know that first few questions are very crucial for maintaining score but I can perform better in QA. In VA, CR and RC are my weakest sections. Can you plz suggest some reference material for CR and RC?

My horrible GMAT experience ! I got 420

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