Hi
Aceofhearts1,
1. Yes, the actual exam feels a notch up than mocks. The reason for this is that the GMAC mocks have been out for many years now and a lot of material we refer to has used and made sure to cover the concepts that the mocks test upon. Hence, unknowingly, stuff feels a little different in the actual exams as you may not really be familiar with a particular type/ concept used in a question. So, it feels 'tougher' at the moment because you need to figure things out, which is the real test.
In objective terms, quant may be slightly tougher in the actual test but verbal is more or less the same as GMAT in a standardized test.
2. Now, coming to variation from one attempt to the other. For Q and V, I found the difficulty level to be similar in both attempts. The second attempt was tougher for Verbal, as predicted because it adapted to my performance.
In my first attempt, yes, I underperformed in Verbal but when I prepared for the second attempt, that's when I realized there were a lot of bases I am yet to cover and I understand in retrospect that even if I hadn't underperformed, I was not prepared for a V44 level anyway. Even if I had the best day the first time, I believe I was more at a V39/V40 level. While after being shattered after the first attempt, my mocks made me believe my score drop was completely attributable to underperformance, the insight that it was attributable to both comes in hindsight,
So, performing better + greater conceptual clarity and accuracy in preparing the second attempt, both collectively played a part.
3. For IR, I would have to agree with you. It wasn't good for me the first time but was a breeze the second time around. I had not practiced for it, as such between the two attempts and I clearly remember the dense convoluted mind-boggling multi-source question I saw the first time. I hadn't seen anything like that before and after wasting a lot of time on it, I realized it's best to just guess and move ahead. So, I skipped all three questions pertaining to this multi-source. Everything else was pretty standard. The next attempt around, there were no curvy balls like the first time and hence I moved easily through it.