Should I postpone my GMAT?

Question

I have been studying really hard for the past two and a half months and have managed to increase my score from 480 to 650. I bought the Magoosh GMAT plan and Manhattan Prep Book set and have studied from them exclusively while solving OG questions here and there. 
I have my GMAT coming up in the 6 days and I have not managed to increase the score from 650, scoring +-10 in all of the tests that I have done ever since. I'm really worried that this score won't be good enough to get me into the universities that I am hoping to get into. The deadline for Round 2 is just around the corner. Should I opt for Round 3 instead or just try to increase the score in the 6 days that I have left, and if so, How?
Please help me out, I'm really anxious here!!

theyashkhare · Answer

Honestly, anything above a 680 would be fine. I believed that I could I increase the score of V32Q47, but so far I have managed to get V36 but got Q42 in the process. Essentially, the same score(650) again.

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himadeep · Answer

Please mention the mocks you have taken. If you have taken non official mocks ,then the score in the official test may go up or down. On the other hand, if you have used gmac mocks, try revising all formulae you have noted down. Either way, I believe you should give the test and decide later. I have heard from some of the ppl that they scored consistently in the range of 620-660 in non official mocks(Ex: veritas, manhattan - their quant is comparatively difficult than official test) but score 680-700 in the actual test. During the test,try not to get your thoughts occupied about what score you might get,. Wish you all the best .

Hovkial · Answer

Other than the official mocks which you should consider seriously, scores from other non-official mocks should not be taken seriously, nor should you be stressing over them. I would strongly suggest that you forget about non-official materials when you are this close to the actual exam.

You should be thinking more about whether your concepts are clear and whether you are comfortable answering the types of questions that appear as official questions. As long as you feel reasonably comfortable with them, you should consider going ahead and grappling with the actual test. Having an experience with the official test in test conditions will greatly help you should you decide to make another attempt.

theyashkhare · Answer

The scores that I have mentioned are from the official mocks. I still have one more mock to go before the actual exam. Making sure that I'm comfortable and know the foundation well seems to be like a good idea. I have been thinking about the score a lot too. I'll try not thinking about that! Thank you guys, I'll post the score as soon as I'm done!

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi theyashkhare,

Raising a 480 to a 650 is a significant achievement! You're asking a number of different questions though, so before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) Over the last 2.5 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) On what 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) What Schools are you planning to apply to and what specific application deadlines are you facing?

If you'd like to know more about that type of GMAT Score that you might "need" to apply to the Schools that you're interested in, then 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. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

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

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

theyashkhare · Answer

This is actually my second attempt, I scored 480 in my first attemp last year but I never studied for that.
I had my first M.GMAT (570) on 25Aug and then the next two on 1 Sept (590) and 6 Sept (600). Then, I gave my first official Mock on 15 Sept (650 - V32Q47), and followed that up with 2 M.GMATs each with 610 on 19 Sept and 22 Sept. After that, I had to take a 3 day break to prepare for TOEFL which was on 28 Sept. 
Finally, I had another official mock with 650 (V36Q42) on 1 Oct and two M.GMAT with 620 and 630 on 4 Oct and 7 Oct. 
I am targetting INSEAD, LSE, ESADE and ESCP for MIM for Fall21 and the first rounds are already under way.
I am already working with a very good local Admission Expert and according to her, since I already have 3 years of business experience, GMAT score of about 680-690 should be enough to get me into at least of the mentioned universities.
I have kept an error log throughout the last month after reading one of your blogs on the same. I really appreciate you helping me. Thank you!

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Hovkial · Answer

Official scores have an average variability of 40 points in either direction. You may still be able to hit your target of 680-690. Since you have been scoring consistently in the mid 600s on the official tests, you could expect a similar score on test day, unless you have an unusually good day and you score much higher than these scores. A 680/690 score is quite good for many schools.

You may need more time for preparation if you are aiming for even higher scores. Cutting down on needless errors and answering some higher difficulty questions while making sure you correctly answer questions of easier level may help you on test day.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi theyashkhare,

A 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. In addition, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically shouldn't take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day.

From what you described, you've taken far too many CATs recently (and you are likely starting to 'burn out') - and since you are less than a week away from taking your Official GMAT, taking more CATs at this point would likely NOT be beneficial.

"Review" is an exceptionally important part of the GMAT training process; your ability to define WHY you're getting questions wrong is essential to defining the areas that you need to work on (and the specific things that you need to 'fix'). As such, I'd like to know a bit more about your last CAT. While a full Mistake Tracker would provide a lot more information, there are some basic questions that you should be able to answer (and the more EXACT you can be with your answers, the better):

After reviewing each section of this recent CAT, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?
5) How many Verbal questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

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

theyashkhare · Answer

Understood! I'm glad that you told me that, I was about to buy 2 more CATS to solve this week before the exam. I have postponed the exam to 17 Oct from 15 Oct to squeeze in some more time. Based on the questions that you've posted, I don't believe that I have been doing the review with that kinda accuracy. I have been looking for the ones that were too hard or the ones that I had to guess. I tried to look for a patterns in the questions that I got wrong, but funnily enough, It seems to be random here and there. Also, I usually review the CATs by going through the entire sections again without time and then comparing solutions. I usually get some of the questions right doing it that way and then I review the topics of the questions that I got wrong even without a time constraint. That isn't the right way to review, is it?
Given that I have another week to study, should I be solving any more questions for Quants and Verbal at all or should I just focus on reviewing the ones that I've already solved?

theyashkhare · Answer

I'll be happy with 680-690 for now since the Round 2 is creeping in. I'll focus on cutting out the needless errors. That seems to be a more doable approach given the time.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi theyashkhare,

I see that you have 5 more days until your exam. In addition to reviewing questions from past GMAT practice exams, to further improve your quant and verbal skills (at least for the next few days) you could engage in focused practice of each individual quant topic. For example, let’s say that you want to practice Number Properties. You can do so by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant and verbal topics.

Lastly, I wrote an article that you may find helpful that has some more advice regarding  how to treat the final week leading up to your GMAT as well as some tips for test day .

Let me know how things end up, and please reach out with any further questions.

Good luck!

theyashkhare · Answer

Thanks! The tips on the blog are really insightful. I have started solving questions based on individual topics for both Verbal and Quants. I appreciate your help.

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ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

My pleasure!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi theyashkhare,

Continuing to put in some light practice with new questions is fine - but if you're finding that you're getting lots of 'gettable' questions wrong on your CATs, then THAT's why you have not scored higher yet. By extension, you don't necessary need to be working through lots of additional questions (and certainly not in areas that you find difficult); you need to be working on your 'precision' (your organization, how you take notes, etc.) and making sure that you are correctly answering the questions that you are capable of correctly answering.

At this point, you likely have the knowledge to score in the high-600s (if not higher), so you have to be careful about trying to do too much studying. In the last few days before your Exam, you would be better served by getting some extra rest so that you can go into Test Day calm, clear-headed and ready to work.

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

theyashkhare · Answer

Thank you guys! I managed to score a 730(V41Q49) in my last attempt. Surprisingly, I was able to improve the score by a 110 points by following through on your tips. Thank you! Now, I'm working on my applications for MIM, any tips there?

bb · Answer

Wow! Awesome! Congratulations. Was that at the test center or online (not sure it matters though).
How much time passed in between your attempts? Do you feel you really improved or do you feel you had an unlucky and luckier test experiences?

Thanks for coming banc and reporting!
B

theyashkhare · Answer

Thank you!!
The exam was at the test center and the two attempts were about 30 days apart. Honestly, I didn't feel anything, I was like in the zone or something, definitely felt that I was a whole lot more focused and that it most certainly had to do something with luck. P.S working out and meditation helped a bunch too.

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