Took the GMAT- scored a lot lower than I expected. Advice?

Question

Hi all, I'm feeling rather disappointed with my progress over the last several months.

I have been studying since late november and decided to give my first attempt at the real Gmat back on the 10th of march. I was fairly confident in most subject areas with the exception of some of the more complicated SC in verbal and counting questions in quant. Unfortunately come test day, I don't know what happened. I ended up scoring substantially lower than I have ever scored on a practice test.

I'm having trouble determining what went wrong. I have been through all 6 GMAT prep exams, and generally had been scoring in the lower 700 range. I ended up scoring a 530 21Q, 32V on this test. This score is lower than the initial diagnostic exam I gave before starting studying in November. I don't feel as if I was stressed out during the exam. More so, I felt as if I hadn't seen any of the questions before, they tested concepts I was really weak in.

I could really use some advice. As for my method: I have been active on GMAT club for the past several months, completed all of the manhattan books (for the fundamentals), done all the exam packs, and done question pack 1 on GMAT prep. I've also used Magoosh to do practice, completed over 1000 practice questions there as well. I've put hundreds of hours in and am quite frustrated with myself that I came to not have anything to show for my efforts.

I even have tried 1-1 tutoring. I honestly feel like I know at least 700 level concepts and have tackled a reasonable amount of these questions, however I feel like I'm having a lot of trouble processing the actual exam.

Is there any advice someone can give me on how to correctly assess myself, I'd like to give this exam another shot soon. I was planning on making an application deadline in april, however that seems far fetched now. So I'll be shifting my focus to J term entry at columbia, in June.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi brashid91,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve 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 the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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

brashid91 · Answer

1.) I took probably 3 of the GMATprep exams with completely uncompromised testing conditions. However I did take breaks on a couple of them, and then upon reviewing/repeating the tests I didn't keep time.
2.) I took all the tests in my home, however I varied the location/desk.
3.) I took all of them roughly between 11 am and 2 pm starts. I ended up taking the exam at a 4pm time slot.
4.) I paused the cat sparingly on some tests, when I completely didnt understand the question. For example, I would give myself 2 minutes, if I didnt have any idea what to do after two minutes. I would pause and try to figure it out. I would work the question out and then mark it wrong before proceeding. Never took more than the given 8 minutes between sections.
5.) I took them each once, then used the 6 tests as question banks for practice afterward.

I'm concerned that I may have wasted the material on the practice tests. I do feel as if I know a substantial amount of material/concepts, at least low 700 level. Though writing this all out makes me think I am severely lacking in my timing.

HKD1710 · Answer

Hi brashid91 , I am not sure if you're aware about the ESR. But i had the same situation. i could not guess what really i messed up in the exam. ESR helped cleared my doubts and showed me the weak areas. To be sure about what all ESR could help you with then please have a look at the following thread. and after receiving your ESR, please post it there. You should get experts' review on that. https://gmatclub.com/forum/information-on-new-gmat-esr-report-beta-221111.html Also, if you think you've gone through most of the GMAT questions then please re-do them and try to figure out the common traps and patterns and concepts that are presented with some twist and layer of difficulties on them. Always lookout for one more question that is based on a particular pattern or reasoning and then try to look for another and go on digging out official questions. you will realise that same concept is tested with different level of complexity, using different words. but what GMAT tests remain same. Standardised test you see. Please let me know if you have any doubt. we can discuss. I am in the same boat :D Hope this helps

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi brashid91,

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your practice scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, pausing the Exams, etc. you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.' In addition, taking the Official GMAT so late in the day likely impacted your performance.

Thankfully, this is a relatively easy set of problems to fix. The big question now is "how long will it take you to properly get 'used to' taking the full GMAT under realistic conditions?" You'll certainly need a new set of practice CATs to work with and you have to put in the necessary time to train your brain (and body) for the FULL GMAT. You might also need to invest in some new GMAT training materials.

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

JeevesAsk · Answer

Hi  EMPOWERgmatRichC !

I have experienced something very similar to user brashid91. I wrote my test today and was crushed when i learned that I scored a 500 Q31, v27, IR 4. Quant was the biggest disappointment for me as I usually scored around Q37, which would've gave me the 600 score I needed. You have previously responded to one of my posts at  https://gmatclub.com/forum/1-5-month-left-advice-needed-on-studying-to-increase-by-50-points-232208.html  . I took your advice and simulated my practice tests as close to the actual test place (taking the regular limited 8 minute breaks, writing at 12pm, writing in a silent study library). I even visited the exam place 2 days before to get a feel for it. I felt relaxed writing the exam and realized that I finished my verbal section quick than expected.

My question now, similar to Brashids, is where do we go from here? 
I have done almost all the videos and 80% of the questions provided by Magoosh. I went through 90% of Brents course except the extra questions provided.  GMATPrepNow  course. I have went through the GMAT 2016 official guide and both GMAT Quant and Verbal 2016 books. I created error logs and went through my biggest weakness (SC). Do I try the Quant Focus product provided by GMAC to figure out where my weaknesses are? I heard the Manhattan strategy bundle is really good so I was considering to purchase that to really understand the fundamentals. My schedule is currently free and I can, as i have been, continue to dedicate up to 6+ hrs a day for studying. Please let me know how I should go about this as I really want to achieve a 600 score before June. My apologizes for posting in this thread but i think we have very similar problems.

Appreciate your response!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi JeevesAsk,

First off, it would make sense for you to start your own thread, so the conversation/advice can stay focused on your specific situation. If you read my prior post in this thread, then you already know that there's an immediate issue with how you took most of your CATs that you listed - you skipped the Essay portion on almost every one of them. By extension, you took a shorter Exam each time that required less effort and energy from you. The one FULL CAT that you appear to have taken is the 2nd of the two Free GMAC Exams - but considering how long you've studied, I find it difficult to believe that you had never taken that CAT before (or that you had never seen any of the questions on it before).

Based on your recent Official Score result, your scores dropped in ALL of the sections, which hints that there might be other factors (besides how you took your CATs) that impacted your performance, so I have a few additional questions about the lead-up to Test Day and Test Day itself:

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

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

vikasp99 · Answer

i think you should use official material for practice.

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi brashid91,

I was in your shoes a couple of months back. I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in quant; taking a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them. They complement the MGMAT guides very well. Further taking multiple mocks might help. Are you timing yourself? Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have good Quant and verbal section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas.

Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that.

Hope this helps. All the best.

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Took the GMAT- scored a lot lower than I expected. Advice?

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