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niteshwaghray
13 Dec 2016, 05:18
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Hello All,
I took the GMAT today and scored 640 (Q45/V33). IR-7.
I have been prepping on and off for about a year. I have gone through all the MGMAT books (even advanced sections) and practiced all the questions available in them. I also practiced all the questions on the GMAT OG - 12th edition and have been using the gmatclub tests to prep as well.
I have been scoring in the range of 36-41 in quant CATs and 38-41 in the verbal CATs on gmatclub.
Official GMAT prep software CAT 1: 690 (Q45/V40)
Official GMAT prep software CAT 2: 690 (Q47/V38)
The gmatclub CATs i took were one at a time and i didn't emulate the actual testing conditions. However, the gmat prep software CATs i took were taken under as realistic a condition as can be emulated at home. (including AWA and IR)
Although the quant on the official GMAT is comparable to the scores i have been getting in the gmat prep software, the verbal score was way too low.
As per my evaluation of the GMAT test questions, i was constantly getting tough questions on the real test. So i was under the impression that my official gmat score would be in the 680-710 ranges (lowest sectional scores and highest sectional scores in both gmat prep software cats).
I was pressed for time in both the quant and verbal sections. In quant, i ended up guessing the last 4 questions. But in verbal, i lost track of time and i had just 2 min for the last 5 questions. I guessed the 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th questions, but i am not sure if i marked my response for the 41st question. (had just ~4 seconds left for the 41st question.) The only reason i think that resulted in a score drop could be that i didn't manage to finish the verbal section on time.
But i'm wondering if not answering 1 question can lead to such a substantial drop in the score like the one i have experienced today.
Also, any other explanations that could explain the score drop on the real GMAT are highly welcome!
I took the GMAT today and scored 640 (Q45/V33). IR-7.
I have been prepping on and off for about a year. I have gone through all the MGMAT books (even advanced sections) and practiced all the questions available in them. I also practiced all the questions on the GMAT OG - 12th edition and have been using the gmatclub tests to prep as well.
I have been scoring in the range of 36-41 in quant CATs and 38-41 in the verbal CATs on gmatclub.
Official GMAT prep software CAT 1: 690 (Q45/V40)
Official GMAT prep software CAT 2: 690 (Q47/V38)
The gmatclub CATs i took were one at a time and i didn't emulate the actual testing conditions. However, the gmat prep software CATs i took were taken under as realistic a condition as can be emulated at home. (including AWA and IR)
Although the quant on the official GMAT is comparable to the scores i have been getting in the gmat prep software, the verbal score was way too low.
As per my evaluation of the GMAT test questions, i was constantly getting tough questions on the real test. So i was under the impression that my official gmat score would be in the 680-710 ranges (lowest sectional scores and highest sectional scores in both gmat prep software cats).
I was pressed for time in both the quant and verbal sections. In quant, i ended up guessing the last 4 questions. But in verbal, i lost track of time and i had just 2 min for the last 5 questions. I guessed the 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th questions, but i am not sure if i marked my response for the 41st question. (had just ~4 seconds left for the 41st question.) The only reason i think that resulted in a score drop could be that i didn't manage to finish the verbal section on time.
But i'm wondering if not answering 1 question can lead to such a substantial drop in the score like the one i have experienced today.
Also, any other explanations that could explain the score drop on the real GMAT are highly welcome!
13 Dec 2016, 08:14
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niteshwaghray
I was pressed for time in both the quant and verbal sections. In quant, i ended up guessing the last 4 questions. But in verbal, i lost track of time and i had just 2 min for the last 5 questions. I guessed the 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th questions, but i am not sure if i marked my response for the 41st question. (had just ~4 seconds left for the 41st question.) The only reason i think that resulted in a score drop could be that i didn't manage to finish the verbal section on time.
This statement right here can be the explanation of the score drop. When you are guessing, you can never be sure of the answers marked. And yes, there is a penalty for not marking the answer, however no one can really tell how big that penalty is.
If you reappear for the GMAT, I would recommend you to practice more CATs.
In addition to the preparatory material, buy the Official Guides(both the Official Guide and the Verbal Review), Question Pack 1 and the 4 official mock CATs. They should be an indispensable part of your preparation.
1. Understand the concepts and fundamentals before jumping into problem solving
2. Solve full length CATs including AWA and IR. You can get two free GMAT Prep mock CATs and can purchase two more from mba.com
3. Make sure you solve the official questions from the Official Guide
13 Dec 2016, 17:32
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Hi niteshwaghray,
First off, a 640/Q45 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:
ask-admission-consultants-124/
GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your various score results aren't as vastly different as they might appear. Your score 'range' is likely in the high-600s (with a high around 700 and a low around 640). That having been said, there are a variety of factors that could have impacted your performance on Test Day - 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? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
Having to guess on the last 4-5 questions in each section could very easily have hurt your scores (especially if you got all of those questions wrong). Any questions that are left unanswered are 'penalized' (and that penalty is worse than just simply getting the question wrong). However, leaving just one question unanswered would only have impacted your Verbal score a little (if at all, 0 - 10 points off your overall score) - and if you actually bubbled one of the answers, then you were credited with answering the question (so you would not have been penalized).
1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?
4) Have you considered purchasing the ESR for this Exam? While the ESR doesn't provide much information, the data might help to point out some areas that you need to work on to score higher.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
First off, a 640/Q45 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:
ask-admission-consultants-124/
GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your various score results aren't as vastly different as they might appear. Your score 'range' is likely in the high-600s (with a high around 700 and a low around 640). That having been said, there are a variety of factors that could have impacted your performance on Test Day - 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? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
Having to guess on the last 4-5 questions in each section could very easily have hurt your scores (especially if you got all of those questions wrong). Any questions that are left unanswered are 'penalized' (and that penalty is worse than just simply getting the question wrong). However, leaving just one question unanswered would only have impacted your Verbal score a little (if at all, 0 - 10 points off your overall score) - and if you actually bubbled one of the answers, then you were credited with answering the question (so you would not have been penalized).
1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?
4) Have you considered purchasing the ESR for this Exam? While the ESR doesn't provide much information, the data might help to point out some areas that you need to work on to score higher.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
