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16 Sep 2022, 04:39
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Background
I started preparing for GMAT in June using the following materials:
1. Official Prep (OG + Review + Practice Questions)
2. Power Score CR
3. Manhattan SC
Following were my official mock scores:
PT1 20/06:660 (Q49,V31) (no prep)
PT2 09/07:690 (Q49,V34)
PT5 25/08:660 (Q50,V29)
PT6 31/09:720 (Q50,V37)
PT3 09/09:710 (Q51,V35)
As I scored 710-720 in mocks (Extremely similar testing environment), I booked the test date for a week later. I thought I was hitting my peak last week and was confident of getting a score above 700.
The Nightmare
I wont lie, I was crazy nervous on the test day. Three months of prep and having a lot riding on the exam definitely weighed on me. Moreover, being aware of the horrible drops in scores from practice tests to official GMAT for a number members of this forum, made me more cautious. Nevertheless, I tried to be as cool and calm as possible and started the test.
As I was comfortable in quant, I started with verbal first, maintaining the pattern in which I took my official mocks. During the Verbal section, I thought I was getting difficult questions, which made me happy thinking that I was doing well. But in my attempt to get some difficult questions right, I lost track of time, leaving me only 10-11 minutes for the final 9 questions.
I somehow scraped through and closed the verbal section by guessing the last three questions. Thereafter, I took my break, relaxed and started the quant section. I read the first question on Time speed and distance, a type of question which I have probably practiced more than 100 times, and got right more than 95% of the time. I formed the equation of the question and BANG, I completely froze. Crushed and unable to do very simple math like 30/8 in my head I was completely blank and helpless, sinking under the weight of a ticking clock and the depraved rhetoric - 'I have practiced this so many times, I will be able to solve this'. The next thing I know, 6 minutes have passed without me answering even one question. Still, I tried to hold myself together and power through the remaining paper. I somehow reached a comfortable position, and had 17 minutes for the last 10 questions. Though I completed the questions, I was not happy with the fact that I had to rush through the latter questions in both sections.
After finishing IR and AWA, reality kicked in. I scored a dismal 650 (Q49, V31), which was lower than my lowest mock. I was disappointed but was expecting such a bad result. I knew that the sins I committed during early parts of the exam would come back to haunt me, and they certainly did. Moreover, I understood that the verbal questions I deemed difficult, were actually medium or easy level questions.
I have attached my ESR, which certainly indicates how bad I performed in the final quarter of both Verbal and Quant. Although I am disappointed, my ESR has given me some good insights about my weaknesses.
Way Forward and guidance
I plan to take a break of a week or two before resuming my preparation. In the meantime it would be great if someone can have a look at my ESR and point out the things which I can improve on. I want to analyze my performance asap as the test taking experience is still fresh in my mind.
Thanks,
DM
I started preparing for GMAT in June using the following materials:
1. Official Prep (OG + Review + Practice Questions)
2. Power Score CR
3. Manhattan SC
Following were my official mock scores:
PT1 20/06:660 (Q49,V31) (no prep)
PT2 09/07:690 (Q49,V34)
PT5 25/08:660 (Q50,V29)
PT6 31/09:720 (Q50,V37)
PT3 09/09:710 (Q51,V35)
As I scored 710-720 in mocks (Extremely similar testing environment), I booked the test date for a week later. I thought I was hitting my peak last week and was confident of getting a score above 700.
The Nightmare
I wont lie, I was crazy nervous on the test day. Three months of prep and having a lot riding on the exam definitely weighed on me. Moreover, being aware of the horrible drops in scores from practice tests to official GMAT for a number members of this forum, made me more cautious. Nevertheless, I tried to be as cool and calm as possible and started the test.
As I was comfortable in quant, I started with verbal first, maintaining the pattern in which I took my official mocks. During the Verbal section, I thought I was getting difficult questions, which made me happy thinking that I was doing well. But in my attempt to get some difficult questions right, I lost track of time, leaving me only 10-11 minutes for the final 9 questions.
I somehow scraped through and closed the verbal section by guessing the last three questions. Thereafter, I took my break, relaxed and started the quant section. I read the first question on Time speed and distance, a type of question which I have probably practiced more than 100 times, and got right more than 95% of the time. I formed the equation of the question and BANG, I completely froze. Crushed and unable to do very simple math like 30/8 in my head I was completely blank and helpless, sinking under the weight of a ticking clock and the depraved rhetoric - 'I have practiced this so many times, I will be able to solve this'. The next thing I know, 6 minutes have passed without me answering even one question. Still, I tried to hold myself together and power through the remaining paper. I somehow reached a comfortable position, and had 17 minutes for the last 10 questions. Though I completed the questions, I was not happy with the fact that I had to rush through the latter questions in both sections.
After finishing IR and AWA, reality kicked in. I scored a dismal 650 (Q49, V31), which was lower than my lowest mock. I was disappointed but was expecting such a bad result. I knew that the sins I committed during early parts of the exam would come back to haunt me, and they certainly did. Moreover, I understood that the verbal questions I deemed difficult, were actually medium or easy level questions.
I have attached my ESR, which certainly indicates how bad I performed in the final quarter of both Verbal and Quant. Although I am disappointed, my ESR has given me some good insights about my weaknesses.
Way Forward and guidance
I plan to take a break of a week or two before resuming my preparation. In the meantime it would be great if someone can have a look at my ESR and point out the things which I can improve on. I want to analyze my performance asap as the test taking experience is still fresh in my mind.
Thanks,
DM
Attachments
File comment: Please have a look at my ESR
DesiMozart ESR.pdf [485.99 KiB]
Downloaded 98 times
16 Sep 2022, 06:04
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Hi DesiMozart.
While it's drag that you didn't achieve your score goal, you'll probably achieve it next time by doing a few key things.
One is that you need to do more verbal prep and practice, and you need to achieve super high accuracy in your verbal practice even if, to do so, you need to spend 10 minutes or more on a verbal question sometimes. The reason I'm saying this is that your verbal score was fluctuating a lot when you took the practice tests. So, given your current verbal skill level, anything could have, and did, happen on test day.
For some tips on how to practice for the GMAT for best results, see this post.
The Best GMAT Practice Methods
Another move that could help with verbal is simply warming up by doing some practice questions before the test. The reason I'm saying this is that, you missed a few questions in the first quarter of verbal, and thus dragged your score down from the beginning. So, it appears that you'd benefit by getting into game mode before the test rather that as you answer the first questions of the test.
Meanwhile, for some tips on how to speed up in verbal, see this post.
How to Get Faster at GMAT Verbal
Regarding quant, your quant skills appear to be pretty strong, but you didn't translate your quant skill level into a score that matches it. So, one thing you could do to improve in quant is take more practice tests, including several third-party tests, to become more experienced at handling the quant portion of the test.
While it's drag that you didn't achieve your score goal, you'll probably achieve it next time by doing a few key things.
One is that you need to do more verbal prep and practice, and you need to achieve super high accuracy in your verbal practice even if, to do so, you need to spend 10 minutes or more on a verbal question sometimes. The reason I'm saying this is that your verbal score was fluctuating a lot when you took the practice tests. So, given your current verbal skill level, anything could have, and did, happen on test day.
For some tips on how to practice for the GMAT for best results, see this post.
The Best GMAT Practice Methods
Another move that could help with verbal is simply warming up by doing some practice questions before the test. The reason I'm saying this is that, you missed a few questions in the first quarter of verbal, and thus dragged your score down from the beginning. So, it appears that you'd benefit by getting into game mode before the test rather that as you answer the first questions of the test.
Meanwhile, for some tips on how to speed up in verbal, see this post.
How to Get Faster at GMAT Verbal
Regarding quant, your quant skills appear to be pretty strong, but you didn't translate your quant skill level into a score that matches it. So, one thing you could do to improve in quant is take more practice tests, including several third-party tests, to become more experienced at handling the quant portion of the test.
16 Sep 2022, 06:26
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MartyTargetTestPrep
Thanks for the reply Marty!
I had actually given a few quant GMAT club practice tests. The highest I was able to score on those was Q48.
Any suggestions on the frequency of CATs? What should be the gap between 2 practice mocks to keep my test taking abilities under check?
Thanks,
DM
