Help!!! 590 in first attempt even with consistent 680-710 in Mocks

Question

Dear All,

Today, I gave my first GMAT exam. When the final score popped up, I was in utter disbelief. A very very disappointing 590 with Q45 V25 split. My first instinct was to cancel the score, and I sat there for I don't know how long, trying to make some sense out of that score.

I have been preparing for GMAT for almost a year now. I scored 550 on my first official mock with a split of Q47 and V20, and that was a year ago, without any dedicated preparation. Since then, I have heavily invested my time in learning concepts from basics as well as in understanding the exam itself. In last two months, I have taken around 10 Mocks from various prep-companies, including paid official practice test 3 & 4. My scores were always in range of 650-710 with Q score varying from 45 to 50 and V score varying from 31 to 38.

I never re-attempted any mock, so every time I was facing questions that were new. I always gave my mocks in an environment which was similar to that of actual exam centre, where I gave my exam today. I even took three weeks off from my work to completely stay in the zone of GMAT and minimise any external unwanted effect.

My last 4 scores were 670, 680, 710, & 680, both 680's in my official practice test 3 & 4. Other Mocks were from e-GMAT, GMATClub, & ExpertsGlobal. I was so confident of getting at least 680 that I didn't even opt for the ESR option while booking the test, but right now I have no idea about what is going to happen.

I was well rested and the exam centre was also very comfortable. I even went and checked the exam centre a day before to minimise any last moment surprise.

100 point drop was never expected. I am completely blank right now and I would really appreciate any feedback on how I should take things forward from here. I will be requesting ESR "if possible" (Is it possible to get ESR, if I have cancelled my score??). Also, has anyone ever seen a huge difference in Unofficial and Official Score ?

Regards,
Rishabh

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Rishabh.

I realize it's tough to see such a different score from what you expected, but you'll figure out what happened and get to your goal.

You can get an ESR even though you've cancelled your score.

You mentioned taking many practice tests. What else have you done to prepare for the GMAT?

Also, what have been your accuracies on individual practice questions?

Meanwhile, you may get some insights regarding why your score was lower than you expected from this post.

Why Was My GMAT Score Lower Than My Practice Test Scores?

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Yep, you can get it.

"If you canceled your exam score, your Enhanced Score Report will still be available. However, it will not be available if your score was canceled due to a policy violation."  - MBA website

-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm

rishabhg2712 · Answer

Hi Marty,

Thanks for your reply on this post.

I have taken up e-gmat's online course. I have been utilising it for last 6 months continuously.

My accuracy for Easy level questions is around 95%, Medium level question is around 85% and more than 70% in Hard level question for quant and for Verbal my accuracy is around 90%, 75% and 65% respectively.

I will also request for an ESR and share here.

Regards,
Rishabh

rishabhg2712 · Answer

Thanks. I will request for a ESR then.

Any take on differences in Unofficial & Official Score ?

Regards,
Rishabh

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Your Quant accuracies are where they need to be.

In Verbal, to get to 700+, you need to be at more like 90% for medium, or at least 80%, and at least 70% for hard.

Are those accuracies on OG questions as well, or just questions in the course?

rishabhg2712 · Answer

Yes Marty. In fact, slightly better.
However, there is one observation that I have made. When trying to solve questions, medium or hard, with a time constraint of 120 seconds, the accuracy drops by approximately 5%.

Posted from my mobile device

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Makes sense.

So, it sounds as if you need to practice more and increase your untimed and timed accuracy more.

Also, I'm wondering whether some of the study or practice materials you used had questions lifted from OG questions or official practice test questions. If so, your official practice test scores and OG accuracies could be inflated, and you may not have been getting the practice you need.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rishabh,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. 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. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) What type of study routine were you following? How many hours did you typically study each week (and over the last 3 weeks, how many hours were you typically studying?)?
2) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
3) What is your overall goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

Even though you were at a Test Center and cancelled your Score, you can still order an Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

rishabhg2712 · Answer

I can't agree more! This is the same conclusion that I am getting at. Solving OG questions and the official mock tests was always more easier than solving the questions on the main exam.

Now, based my the application timelines of my target B-Schools, I am planning to retake the exam within next two months. While I will work on my improving my accuracies, can you please suggest anything that I can do to mitigate the identified issue with question type/pattern?

rishabhg2712 · Answer

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC,

Thanks for responding to this post.

Here are my replies.

Studies:
1) What type of study routine were you following? How many hours did you typically study each week (and over the last 3 weeks, how many hours were you typically studying?)?

I started preparing for GMAT in May 2022. After 2 months of continuous preparation from the material that was available online for free, I felt that I would be needing a structured course to learn and understand the nuances for achieving my target score of 700+. Then, I started using e-gmat's online course. After 2 months of preparation, because of business requirement, I had to travel international for almost a month and I couldn't maintain the same pace and eventually stopped preparing by November 2022. Then, I started preparing again in January 2023. I was totally focused and made a solid time table to be ready by July End for the exam and also aligned everything with my reporting manager to avoid any hiccups. I was able to give 2 hrs daily on weekdays and 5 hrs on each weekend. I took 3 weeks off from office before my exam to stay totally focused on my exam.

2) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Following are my Mock Test Scores

E-gmat - 20 May 23 //  560 Q43 V24 
Official Mock 2. - 28 May 23 //  640 Q48 V31 
E-gmat - 11 June 23 //  640 Q47 V31 
Manhattan Prep - 18 June 23 //  640 Q44 V34 
Official Mock 3. - 25 June 23 //  680 Q49 V32 
E-gmat - 01 July 23 //  670 Q49 V32 
GMAT Club Test - 04 July 23 //  660 Q44 V36 
E-gmat - 15 July 23 //  710 Q49 V38 
Experts Global. - 21 July 23 //  640 Q45 V34 
Official Mock 4. - 23 July 23 //  680 Q50 V32

Goals:
3) What is your overall goal score?

Based on some research, I have set a target of 720+

4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

I am targeting IIMs for their 1 year MBA programs, which usually have their R3 deadline by November last week.

Regards,
Rishabh

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Use new questions. For Verbal, even LSAT questions could help since they'll be different from what you've seen before even though they don't always work like GMAT questions.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rishabh,

Since you have some specific Schools in mind, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement (and the more time that you have to act on that advice, the better). There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

I've also sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

rishabhg2712 · Answer

Thanks for your valuable feedback Marty!

rishabhg2712 · Answer

MartyTargetTestPrep   GmatTutorKnight   EMPOWERgmatRichC   AjiteshArun

I was finally able to get my ESR today. Please provide your valuable suggestions.

Regards,
Rishabh

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

For time management, consider using question/time markers. You spent 23 seconds on average during Q4 Verbal, for example. For SC, memorizing commonly tested idioms and, for RC, becoming familiar with how INFERENCE questions work could be helpful as well.

5 Verbal tips

5 Verbal tips

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