Throughly confused about my GMAT score- Please help!

Question

Hello,

I gave my GMAT today after many months of intensive preparation and got a 670 (Q49, V33). While this may seem like a decent score, my target score was in the range of 740-760 based on my practice test scores through my study period.

MGMAT Test 1: 630 (Q36, V40)
MGMAT Test 2: 710 (Q49, V38)
MGMAT Test 3: 730 (Q47, V43)
MGMAT Test 4: 760 (Q51, V43)
GMAT Prep Test 1: 760 (Q49, V44)
GMAT Prep Test 2: 760 (Q50, V43)
GMAT Prep Test 3: 770 (Q50, V45)
GMAT Prep Test 4: 740 (Q49, V42)

The unnerving thing about my experience was that I was under the impression that my verbal section had gone better than my quant during the exam! I was utterly shocked to see a score of 33 in verbal despite having significantly higher scores in my practice tests. I'm completely crushed that this has happened to me.

I did my best to simulate the actual exam conditions while taking the GMAT Prep Tests- taking the full exams including AWA, restricting my access to food and water and even scheduled my practice tests for the same time as my actual GMAT slot!

I'm confused as to why this happened and want to ensure this doesn't happen again when I re-take the GMAT. Looking for some advice and general comments! Thanks

KarishmaB · Answer

If you don't mind taking another full length test, I request you to try out our free practice test within the next 2 days. You can make a free account and take the test here: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/free-gm ... tice-test/ Once you do, let me know your score and pm me your login details. Perhaps, I could get back to you with some useful feedback.

rdhmasen · Answer

Thanks so much Karishma. Will take the Veritas test and get back to you.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rdhmasen,

The Verbal score drop that you experienced on Test Day is likely due to one of two likely "causes": either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day.

If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take them at home?
2) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, listen to music, etc.)? 
3) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?

On Test Day:
1) How did you sleep the night before your GMAT?
2) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
3) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
4) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
5) Did you finish any sections early?
6) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?

It's possible that you just had a "bad day"; but if we can figure all of this out quickly, then you shouldn't wait too long to retest.

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

rdhmasen · Answer

Thank you for your response, Rich.

To answer your questions,
When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take them at home?  Yes, I did 
2) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, listen to music, etc.)?  I tried to simulate the exam environment as much as possible- no breaks, music etc. 
3) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?  No

On Test Day:
1) How did you sleep the night before your GMAT?  Not very well but I got about 4.5 hours which is usually sufficient for me  
2) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?  A little less than 1.5 hours 
3) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?  Not really. The test centre offered us ear plugs, which helped greatly. 
4) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?  I drank some water and ate a bar of chocolate since my exam was scheduled during lunch time 
5) Did you finish any sections early?  I was done with the AWA and IR sections (got a score of 7) about a minute before the clock-stop. I finished verbal with about 3.5 minutes to spare 
6) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?  I did find that midway through my quant section, I was running behind time so I may have rushed a little to catch up. Finished this section with 30 seconds to spare.

One thing I would like to add is that I did one full length exam a day, for four straight days, just before giving the test. I'm wondering if this could have impacted my ability to perform on the actual test.

Thanks,
Riddhima

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Riddhima,

The extra information you've provided is helpful - it points to some significant factors that impacted your performance on Test Day:

1) Taking 4 FULL CATs in the 4 days leading up to your Official GMAT likely led to some 'burn out' - even if you didn't realize it on Test Day itself, your performance in the Verbal section makes me think that you were too tired to perform at a high level.

2) Taking your CATs at home, but having a 1.5 hour car ride to get to the Testing Center. Long travel periods can be tiring, and there might not be any way to avoid one on Test Day. By taking your CATs at home, you were NOT factoring in that aspect of Test Day, so you weren't physically trained to handle it when it occurred. This also could have contributed to the fatigue you experienced during the Verbal section.

All things being equal, this is all relatively 'good' news - it means that you can make the necessary adjustments to your studies and train for the specific Test Day "event" that you're going to experience. As such, you probably do not need to wait long to retest. With the remaining 4 weeks or so, you should continue to study to keep your skills sharp, but the big change has to be in how you take your practice CATs. You should plan each "CAT day" to include 1.5 hours of travel before you start the CAT and take the CAT somewhere other than your home (if possible). You should also plan for no more than 1 CAT/week.

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

Throughly confused about my GMAT score- Please help!

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