Shocked. Got a 470 in my first prep exam.

Hi

Sorry for your score. The reason is definitely 6 mistakes in first 10.
Make sure your initial 10 questions and last 5/6 questions are correct, even if you have to guess few questions.

And yes, with 12 incorrect you can get Q48/49 also. So, don’t be disheartened and work on the strategy

All the Best

Posted from my mobile device

Hi EduRaya,

Many Test Takers are unhappy with their initial practice scores, but you really shouldn't be. That 470 is just a measure of your skills right now - and you'll improve on that result over time as you learn more about the content, Tactics and little 'secrets' of the Exam. Going forward, you'll likely find it useful to take your practice CATs/mocks on a more frequent basis (re: 1 NEW, FULL-LENGTH CAT every 1-2 weeks). In that way, we'll be better able to measure how well you are strengthening your skills and improving how well you 'respond' to the Exam.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?

Goals:
3) When you say that you "need" a 650+, what does that mean exactly? For example, is that the Average Score for a Program that you're interested in or a requirement for a Scholarship?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Hi!

I need to have 650+ because I want to apply to a top Master of Finance. The problem is that I have been studying for two months through the GMAT OG and I really don´t have too much time now, due to most of the universities finish round 4 at the end of april. It´s it true that some of them have decided to eliminate GMAT for the application due to coronavirus.

Whatever, what really worries me is that i didn´t have too many incorrect questions in this prep test. And I don´t know if the fail was the first 10 questions of quant or something apart from that.

I really feel as if I take another prep test tomorrow I will improve mi score a lot, but I don´t really know if someone who has a 600-700 level can obtain a 470 if he fails many of the first 10 questions.

Regards,

Eduardo

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Eduardo,

To start, each CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. You might currently have the knowledge to score higher than this 470 (and to answer your immediate question: Yes - getting so many of the earlier questions wrong in each section did significantly impact your overall Score) - but the GMAT is NOT just a test of 'knowledge.' In addition, the Scoring Algorithm for the Official GMAT considers a number of different factors (far more than just the number of correct/incorrect answers).

Raising a 470 to the point that you can consistently score 650+ will likely require at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. If you're certain that you'll "need" that type of Score, then THAT intermediate Goal has to come first - and you might need to consider pushing back your application plans. While I understand that that idea probably does not make you happy - and that you want to apply soon - your ultimate Goal is to get into your first-choice Program, so you need to plan in terms of how to best make that result more likely to happen.

1) Would you consider pushing back your applications to Round 1 (later on this year)?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

It sounds like you don’t know the GMAT well enough yet if you’re asking these questions.

Getting the many wrongs in the first ten questions means you get very easy questioned subsequently, which would explain your better performance in the latter parts.

I’m sorry to sound a little mean but 650 will not sail you into a top Finance program. You need to be looking at >700.

Also that attitude of thinking that competition ratios will go down because of coronavirus is not going to help you triangulate yourself - you need to know where you stand exactly and not convince yourself you’re ‘better than what your scores may suggest’

This is coming from someone who’s been there - gmat was an arduous for me. I was initially a chance-taker like you, thinking that I deserved more.

My advise
1. Take the test again, if you don’t get 650 or so you will not get any higher than that in the real test within a month.
2. Getting into the best program is worth the wait
3. You can build your scores up with time and patience

Hope you didn’t mind my comment. I really do want the best for you - not trying to be negative at all.

Posted from my mobile device

Thanks for your reply.

I can study about 4-5 hours each day without any problem. The problem is that I don´t really know what to study because I finished the GMAT OG. I think I will take a GMAT test again and then I will try to find my weaknesses. What do you recommend me? Taking CAT exams or another?

About my application, I think I will have two more months to study due to isolation. However, some universities told me that they have eliminated the GMAT exam from the application. But I want to do it whatever.

I will wait for your recommendations. Thank you very much.

Eduardo.

Thanks for your advices.

But I dind´t want to sound chance-taker when I said that some universities have eliminated GMAT from the application process. In my case it is a fact.
Second, I know that I have to improve my skills with the exam, and my worries were precisely referred to that. Because I think that I have a good knowledge (as I said, I was having like 8 out of 10 corrects in hard quants). Now, with your replies I know that I have to learn how to do the test instead of improving my knowledge (that I have to do it anyway).

What do you really recommend me to improve my score? Anything in particular?

Thank you very much!

Eduardo.

If you are scoring 80% on hard quants on the OG Question Bank you’re doing pretty well and there must be something obviously wrong with your approach to the first 10 questions.

I suggest taking a very close look at those 10 initial questions - how much time did you spend for each question? What was the mistake and what caused the mistake? Is there a common theme to it? Is there a particular type of question you are not very good with?

Also getting many wrongs in the beginning will set you up for ‘easy questions’ instead of ‘medium ones’, my advise is that there’s no need to analyze the latter questions, focus on the first few you got wrong to find quick answers.

My sixth sense is this - you haven’t gone through the most basic GMAT math concepts and went straight to trying to solve OG problems, is this right?

I think definitely my problem was not to spend more time on the first 10 questions. At the end of the quant section I had 10 minutes left, so I´ll have to improve my time management.

I´ll focus on the first 10-15 questions, try to analyze my errors and then try to do another prep test focusing and spending more time on the first 10 questions of each verbal and quant.

I looked wrong at my scores. I took the percentiles instead of the subscore. I still have a 470 but with 33Q and 22V. Now I know that I have to improve my verbal a lot, and quant of course.

Hi Eduardo,

Many Programs (and especially Finance Programs) view an Applicant's Quant Scaled Score as an indicator of how that Applicant might handle the 'academic side' of the Program - and a Q33 would be seen as a 'red flag' at most Programs. That score implies that you did okay on many of the "math" questions that you saw in the Quant section, but you made a lot of little mistakes while working through that section and you missed out on LOTS of 'strategy-based' points. This is meant to say that beyond working on your note-taking and organization (so you can eliminate those little mistakes from your work), you should also focus on Quant Tactics, so that you'll be better able to increase your GMAT Score AND better impress how Business School Admissions Officers will view your potential to handle their respective Programs.

There's a limit to the number of points that you can pick up in the Quant section though, so with an overall Score Goal of 650+, you will also need to make some significant improvements to how you handle the Verbal section. With a V22, you would have lost significant points in ALL 3 major Verbal categories (RC, SC and CR).

A CAT/mock is essentially a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. As such, you really shouldn't take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

If you are interested in Top Masters of Finance Programs, then I'm going to assume that those Schools will require that Applicants submit a GMAT Score. If an Admissions Officer specifically tells you that you can apply without a GMAT Score, then that's fine - but I would not expect that to be too common amongst the higher-level Programs.

Based on everything that you’ve described, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Total Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in under 2 months, but you would likely need some additional time afterwards to continue to hone your skills. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an Account.

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

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

Hi EduRaya,

’m sorry to hear how things have been going with your GMAT preparation. First off, I think that right now you are focusing your energy in the wrong places. While it is true that you missed a number of the first ten questions that appeared on the quant section of the practice test you took, and so, clearly, you missed some medium and easier level questions early in quant section, given the pattern of your answers after the first ten, you probably remained in the medium range for the rest of the section, and missed more questions as the section progressed. So, given your overall performance, your main focus should be on the fact that you scored Q22/V33 on your practice exam rather than on how you performed on the first 10 questions, right? The reason you scored 470 is likely that you have many quant and verbal weaknesses that were exposed when you took the practice test.

So, honestly, to improve your score by 180 points, you are going to need to adjust how you have been studying. Rather, than just sticking to doing practice questions, you should follow more of a linear and structured study plan that allows you to learn each GMAT quant and verbal topic individually and then practice each topic until you’ve gained mastery. By studying in this way you’ll methodically improve your GMAT quant and verbal skills. Certainly, if you want more specific advice on how to improve those skills, feel free to reach back out. Also, you may find it helpful to read the following articles:

The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT

Should You Spend Extra Time on the First 10 Questions?