Scored 700+ in GmatPrep tests, ended up with mere 480

Question

Hi Guys,

I am a silent visitor and this is my first post on GMATclub.
I have been preparing for around 4 months for GMAT.
Instead of scoring 700+ in GMATPrep tests, I ended up with mere 480 in actual test.
I don't know what went wrong.
I am really disappointed and don't know from where to start and what to do now.
I want to re-take the test before september.
Kindly suggest me what actions should i take now to significantly improve my score.
My target score in above 680.

This is my score breakage on actual test
IR-7
Quant-32
Verbal-23

Regards.

blueseas · Answer

Sorry to hear but I know what and how you are feeling now. Scoring 700 + in prep and finally landing 480 in real is totally horrific. Guess it was not your day at all...but best part is it was not your last chance

Seeing your score it seems you need to work in both quant and verbal. In order to suggest you something it is necessary that you should provide some info regarding your prep such as... what sort preparation you did(self study///online prep///private tutor) And what all materials you covered....what all mocks you attempted..to have a better idea. You can pm me too. https://gmatclub.com/static/posted_from.png Posted from GMAT ToolKit

DesiGmat · Answer

Hi Thanks for your reply blueseas

just to brief out

I have gone through Nova for quant, Manhattan for SC, 1000 series for both SC and CR, RC from OG and Kaplan 800(quant and verbal both) and above that I have completed OG 13.

I have given only GMATPrep mocks

And now I'm thinking to go for 1on1 private tuition because i really don't understand what went wrong and i'm really perplexed.

gmathopeful25 · Answer

It would be interesting to hear more about what happened on test day. How much did your practice test scores very? Big swings up and down suggest a gap in knowledge ( performing much better on tests when they don't get many questions on topics where there is a gap in knowledge). I've also heard people doing much worse on verbal if they are basically just guessing on SC. It is much better to have a methodical process. Also some people have a strategy going in that they are going to use and panic during the test and abandon the strategy because of the pressure of test day. And to some extent you just need to execute. There is big difference between going through the problems at home and executing on exam day under intense pressure.

I personally think the best resources are GMAT Quantum for quant and e-gmat for verbal. Along with of course GMATPrep tests and practice questions. Some people need to talk to someone about test anxiety. Good Luck!

DesiGmat · Answer

Hey gmathopeful25,

I completely agree to the point that you've made in your post.

"There is big difference between going through the problems at home and executing on exam day under intense pressure."

On test day... Essay and IR were breeze.
During the first 12 questions, I've kept the clock hidden. And when I unhide the clock....boom I had only 32 minutes left for remaining 25 questions. This made me uneasy. My hands started trembling and i lost my concentration for the entire test.

Negative thoughts surrounded my mind. 
Although I was able to solve every quant question in under 2 minutes during my mocks, I was not able to do the same during my test.

Staying Calm, confident and 100% concentration are the key factors.

I will work on that and hopefully will nail the test in my second attempt.

Thanks for your reply gmathopeful25.

TheEconomistGMATTutor · Answer

If you scored over 700 in your practice exams, it's clear that you know the materials. Perhaps it's your test taking skills on which you should focus.

How are you with your timing? How about your relaxation? Knowing the problem will help us get to the bottom of this!

Regards,

Elizabeth

DesiGmat · Answer

Hi BethEconomistGMAT,

First of all, thanks for your reply.

I completely agree with you.
I am familiar with the basics and material.

I need to work on my test taking strategies and timings.

I know that first 10-12 questions are important and this made me spend way too much time on them.
And when i saw the remaining time... my anxiety went to cloud 9.

I am working on that.. I will post my progress report in a month or so...

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Scored 700+ in GmatPrep tests, ended up with mere 480

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