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Shocking test day experience

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believer
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Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   18 Feb 2011, 08:38
So, my goal for the GMAT was/ is 600... In my last prep test I scored a 570 with verbal 36 and quant 32. When I finished the test I saw the shocking score of 480... The crazy thing about it is that my quant was 33 (one up from my last test score) and the verbal was 23... A 13 point drop in verbal. WHAT HAPPENED. I am in total disbelieve and utter shock. What can I do? I am planning to re-take the test (obviously) in a month. What can I do to bring my verbal back to its usual level? I admit, I didn't study much for verbal, I didn't really think one can improve in that area very much, either you have it or you don't mentality.

Any advise and encouragement is appreciated.
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   18 Feb 2011, 08:49
believer wrote:
So, my goal for the GMAT was/ is 600... In my last prep test I scored a 570 with verbal 36 and quant 32. When I finished the test I saw the shocking score of 480... The crazy thing about it is that my quant was 33 (one up from my last test score) and the verbal was 23... A 13 point drop in verbal. WHAT HAPPENED. I am in total disbelieve and utter shock. What can I do? I am planning to re-take the test (obviously) in a month. What can I do to bring my verbal back to its usual level? I admit, I didn't study much for verbal, I didn't really think one can improve in that area very much, either you have it or you don't mentality.

Any advise and encouragement is appreciated.


There's your answer.

Pretty much anything in the world can be improved with practice--why wouldn't verbal on the GMAT fall into that category?

Pick up some study guides (like the Manhattan SC, CR, and RC books) and hit them hard before your next test.

What brand practice tests were you using? Some are known for being more consistent with the real GMAT than others are.
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AMUSE
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   18 Feb 2011, 11:25
Hi.

I'm in a similar situation. My quant score was always around the 33-35 on practice exams, but on test day it dropped to 22, 5 more than the first GMATPrep where I had not studied AT ALL. My verbal score, however, was around what I scored on practice CATs. Like you I didn't study much for verbal, but I was sure I could do at least 50% on verbal w/o much studying. I think its all about getting used to the GMAT and its format. I know I walked out knowing that I could a lot better the second time w/o even studying simply because I now knew what's it like to sit down for 3.5 hrs.
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   18 Feb 2011, 12:04
hi believer, just like any other test, GMAT requires your diligence before you can tackle it successfully. It seems to me that your verbal needs improvement. Have you done any practice CAT? If so, how was your breakdown within the verbal section? Are you doing better on SC, but got killed on the readings? Look at your breakdowns within the verbal section and see where you can improve on. Personally speaking, if you're gearing up for it within a month, pick up a ManhattanGMAT sentence correction book and study it up. SC is probably the easiest to improve since most of the questions follow a stringent set of rules (whereas CR and RC can be more subjective).
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   19 Feb 2011, 02:13
Believer, the past is the past, focus on the road ahead. You can do much better than your current performance if you study from the right books. Look up the Self Prep menu in this forum and find links for Best GMAT books. See some of the recommended study plans and chalk out your own target test date.
For inspiration look up older posts in GMAT Experience forum. A lot of people have shrugged off disappointments and come off stronger from the experience.
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   19 Feb 2011, 17:03
Don't worry you'll do better next time.
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   19 Feb 2011, 17:22
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believer wrote:
So, my goal for the GMAT was/ is 600... In my last prep test I scored a 570 with verbal 36 and quant 32. When I finished the test I saw the shocking score of 480... The crazy thing about it is that my quant was 33 (one up from my last test score) and the verbal was 23... A 13 point drop in verbal. WHAT HAPPENED. I am in total disbelieve and utter shock. What can I do? I am planning to re-take the test (obviously) in a month. What can I do to bring my verbal back to its usual level? I admit, I didn't study much for verbal, I didn't really think one can improve in that area very much, either you have it or you don't mentality.

Any advise and encouragement is appreciated.



Wow, that's a pretty significant difference.
Sometimes it happens and it may take as little as a break and mental rest.

Also, take a look at this plan for verbal: study-plan-for-verbal-gmat-98342.html
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   20 Feb 2011, 12:36
believer wrote:
So, my goal for the GMAT was/ is 600... In my last prep test I scored a 570 with verbal 36 and quant 32. When I finished the test I saw the shocking score of 480... The crazy thing about it is that my quant was 33 (one up from my last test score) and the verbal was 23... A 13 point drop in verbal. WHAT HAPPENED. I am in total disbelieve and utter shock. What can I do? I am planning to re-take the test (obviously) in a month. What can I do to bring my verbal back to its usual level? I admit, I didn't study much for verbal, I didn't really think one can improve in that area very much, either you have it or you don't mentality.

Any advise and encouragement is appreciated.


Sorry to hear about your experience. Dont worry too much, just practice again, identify where you went wrong and do it all over again. On any given day verbal can go wrong.

You can definitely improve verbal in the sense of the gmat. SC has a few items to lookout for and CR has a methodology to approach each qn. Get the Powerscore bible for the CR and MGMAT SC. these two will help you

Good luck
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink] New post   20 Feb 2011, 16:28
Thats rough but we all have off days... I would say that you should drill it as hard as you did for quant and retake!
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Re: Shocking test day experience [#permalink]
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