Need Help to Improve from 650 to 730!!

Question

Hi Everyone, I took the GMAT recently and scored a 650 (Q50, V27). Although in verbal was scoring in the mid 30's in my mocks (GMATprep & MGMAT). I fail to understand how I ended up getting a low score in verbal. :?:

For my verbal preparation I practiced questions from OG13, verbal review 1, All 3 MGMAT guides for verbal. I also practiced questions from the GMAT QP 1. In SC and RC I usually have an accuracy of around 70-77%. Whereas for CR I guess the accuracy has gone down over the last few weeks!!. Also I fail to understand that how can accuracy go down when I have already studied the concepts and practiced them! (My accuracy for CR was higher before!) One thing that intimidates me is a very complex CR argument OR RC passage, long and full of details. Ones that need a high ability to absorb complex text. I cant seem to figure out a solution to these few highlighted areas. Any help suggesting other material that I should refer, or help on how to overcome the problems mentioned would be appreciated! :-D

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Perseverance + Patience = Success Thanks & Regards, OnMyWay101

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi OnMyWay101,

First off, a 650/Q50 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so this score could help you to get into your first choice School.

Since you've described some aspects of your Verbal prep, it's worth noting that 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, listen to music, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?

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

GuptaShobhit · Answer

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC, Thank you! That helped boost my morale.. :-D

Below are the answers: 1) I took first 2 CAT's- GMAT prep, without AWA and IR GMATPrep 3 and 4 were with AWA and IR, observing strict 8 min breaks as in the test. GMAT Prep 1- 630( Q47, V30) GMAT Prep 2- 680 (Q46, V37) GMAT Prep 3- 690(Q47, V38) - Got 13 incorrect in Verbal. GMAT Prep 4 - 660! (Q49,V31)- Dunno how this happened - Got 13 incorrect in Verbal again! But a drop in score. (Maybe because of CR - had a success rate) 2)Yes I took all CAT's at home.. 3)The GMAT Prep 3 & 4. Yes same timing, same day. 4)I suppose I wanted to feel the real pressure during the CAT's so I did everything I did on test day. Just that maybe pressure may have been more on test day.(Not maybe..Definitely) 5)Yes I did reset my GMAT prep 1 & 2 CATs and retook them. I believe I did not see many repeats(Even if i saw a repeat quest, I used to wait on the timer before choosing the correct answer thus keeping right pace.) GMAT Prep 1 (Retake) - 670- Q49 V33 GMAT Prep 2 (Retake) - 680- Q46 V37 So the order was, GMAT Prep 1- GMAT Prep 2- GMAT Prep 1 (Retake) - GMAT Prep 2 (Retake) - GMAT Prep 3- GMAT Prep 4 - _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Perseverance + Patience = Success Thanks & Regards, OnMyWay101

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi OnMyWay101,

The extra information you've provided is helpful - it points to some 'red flags' in how you practiced. There were several aspects to how you took your CATs that were unrealistic (retaking CATs, skipping sections and taking your CATs at home) that likely ended with 'inflated' scores and a Test Day 'event' that you were not properly trained to face.

I have a few additional questions about Test Day itself...

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

Do you know what Business Schools you're planning to apply to?
When are you planning to apply?

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

GuptaShobhit · Answer

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC, Thanks for the reply! Okay, but I have question. If not at home, then where should I take my CAT's? 1) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home? It was around 15 mins, though I reached early and had to wait for 30 mins.(Idle Time) 2) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test? I was feeling a bit cold. 3) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks? Drank cold water + ate a chocolate. +Washed my face. 4) Did you finish any sections early? Maybe yes, Quant with 1 min to spare(If that's finishing early

) 5) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)? Yes that happened during the Verbal section. Guessed around 3 questions(1 RC passage) Do you know what Business Schools you're planning to apply to? When are you planning to apply? Im not too sure of the type of schools I should aim for with such a score EMPOWERgmatRichC, SO it would be great if you could provide me a lead on it. (Please PM if required)

Im looking forward to applying in the coming Round 1, ie: for the April-Sept 2016 intake. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Perseverance + Patience = Success Thanks & Regards, OnMyWay101

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi OnMyWay101,

I asked about the Schools that you might be considering because if you have a list, then you can gauge how 'competitive' your GMAT score would be. Without a basis for comparison, you don't even know if you should be retesting or not.

There are a variety of factors that go into selecting the Schools that you'll apply to. Here are some things to think about:

1) Is there a particular company that you want to work for or industry that you want to work in? Certain degrees are more appropriate than others if you have a specific career goal. 
2) What do you want your MBA to do for you? 
3) Do you want to go to School full-time or part-time? 
4) Are you willing to relocate? Are you comfortable with working through a program that is primarily online? 
5) Are you going to be applying for scholarships? 
Etc.

It's okay if you don't have answers to any of these questions just yet, but until you can answer these questions (and a few others), it will be tough to narrow down the choices.

Since your Testing Center is relatively close to where you live, you should be looking to take your practice CATs in a facility that is also relatively close (a library, office space, etc.).

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

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