Need motivation and advice on improving score

Question

A disaster GMAT 540 (Q41 V24)

Latest Mocks

GMAT prep-4 660(Q49 V31)

GMAT prep-3 (2nd attempt) 740 (Q49 V41)

GMAT prep-3 (1st attempt) 600 (Q43 V30)

MGMAT latest 610

I was expecting atleast a score above 600 for having studied more than 6 months. and hitting 600 mark three months back.

and now i feel that all the hard work for these months has gone waste getting back to 540 in the Real GMAT.

My aim is to reach upper 600s ( Eg 680 690)

Will i be able to achieve my target score in the second attempt?

What should my approach for the second attempt be ?
when should i retake to achieve my target score though it is a bit extended? as of now i know i cannot apply for apply for 2016 intake.
Should i give myself a break and resume studies again?

Would not mind investing in some prep companies.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi viper1991,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as hoped. Since some of your practice CAT scores were so much higher than your Official Score, it's likely that either something about your practice was unrealistic or something about Test Day was so "off" that your performance suffered.

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?

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)?

It's possible that you just had a "bad day"; but we really need to nit-pick these details and fix whatever issues need to be fixed before you go in to retest.

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

viper1991 · Answer

Hi Rich,

1. Yes i always took full length CATs.
2. Yes i always took them at home.
3. Yes the last few ones at the same time as the real one but the cats the beginning were of different timings.
4. Yes i had paused the CATs once or twice.
5. Yes i took GMAT prep 1 to 4 twice.

On the test day.

1. Ride to the test center was less than 15 mins.
2. There were not many distractions during the test but i dont know why i was sweating during the verbal section. May be because of the AC not being so effective or i was worrying too much.
3. During the breaks I used the washroom and grabbed few energy bars which i use during the practice CATs.
4. No unfortunately i was lagging in both the sections. I had to guess a bunch of questions in Quant and Verbal.

I would also like to give you my analysis and inputs regarding this failure.

I feel i did not approach in a structured way. i did not have a detailed study plan and guidance to review and analyze the CATs. And during the PREP i had seen lot of questions here and there which were very familar in the CATs and the real GMAT was something different. Also , i feel i should have realized where exactly i stand. for the Retest i feel i should hit the GOAL score constantly with the CATs having no repeat questions. Though i scored a 660 in EXAM PACK 2 which had no repeats but may be that was an outliner.

So , this time it should be a structured and a detailed approach.

I would also like to hear from you the things i need seriously fix this time to score above 650 in the next attempt.

Please let me know if you want to know anything more ?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi viper1991,

The extra information that you've provided is helpful - it helps to point out a number of aspects of your studies that were not realistic. Test Day is a specific "event" that you CAN train for, but the more you deviate from the reality of Test Day, the more likely that your practice scores will be off (and often "over-inflated"). That's likely what happened here.

By taking the CATs at home, taking CATs more than once and pausing the CATs, you were not properly training yourself for the Test Day event. Seeing ANY repeat questions during a CAT also almost always throws off the scores. So, part of your studies this time around MUST focus on the reality of Test Day. If you can't do something on Test Day, then you shouldn't be doing it when you take your CATs. Any CATs that you do take now MUST be "new" CATs.

On the plus side, you've experienced the real GMAT, so you can use that knowledge to your advantage. You also are familiar enough with the material tested and you have some tactical knowledge already, so you won't need to start from scratch.

Given your situation, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Total Score Booster quite beneficial. Most of our clients can finish that Study Plan in under 2 months, so you wouldn't need to invest that much more time into the process. You don't need to make any big decisions about all of this right now. You should take a few days off, then come back after the weekend ready to work.

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

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

GMATPill · Answer

Yes, you can reach your target score. In fact, we've had many students make the same improvement that you're trying to make. The fact that you have studied for so long, and have seen fluctuations in your scores might indicate a problem with your study habits. As you study, we recommend that you focus on quality over quantity. Try going back to previous questions and seeing if you can answer them with ease. The more you can answer correctly, the more likely it is that you understand the material. If you are not getting the desired results, having a video explanation may help guide you along the way. As you study the official GMAT guide book, use these video explanations to aide your studies: https://www.gmatpill.com/official-guide-gmat/

RichEconomistGMAT · Answer

Hi viper1991,

Rich has given you some excellent advice here. I'd just like to add that once you've taken a handful of practice CATs under more realistic conditions, take some time to comb through all of them and see if you can identify any patterns in your test taking. You'll likely find that a concept is giving you more trouble than you realized, which can affect your timing on the entire exam (or vice versa).

Please feel free to try Economist GMAT Tutor for 7 days as well. You'll find its adaptive technology will adjust your study plan to best suit your specific needs: https://bit.ly/1aKYX0U

Best of luck,
Rich

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

A disaster GMAT 540 (Q41 V24)

Latest Mocks

GMAT prep-4 660(Q49 V31)

GMAT prep-3 (2nd attempt) 740 (Q49 V41)

GMAT prep-3 (1st attempt) 600 (Q43 V30)

MGMAT latest 610

I was expecting at least a score above 600 for having studied more than 6 months. and hitting 600 mark three months back.

and now i feel that all the hard work for these months has gone waste getting back to 540 in the Real GMAT.

My aim is to reach upper 600s ( Eg 680 690)

Will i be able to achieve my target score in the second attempt?

What should my approach for the second attempt be ?
when should i retake to achieve my target score though it is a bit extended? as of now i know i cannot apply for apply for 2016 intake.
Should i give myself a break and resume studies again?

Would not mind investing in some prep companies.

Hi Viper, 
Did you take your mocks under real exam conditions? A lot of times people know the material cold and can score really well but when it comes to exam day, haven't managed to get ready for the demand of the real test, the whole one. In your second round of studies I would incorporate full length exams 1-2 months ahead of the real thing. I would also look into the areas and question types that I tend to get stuck on and see if there's a new approach to those questions. I hope that helps!

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