From 570 to 670 and 590 on my retake??? What happened??

Question

Hi!

I am looking for someone to shed light on what happened to me on the GMAT Retake.

First attempt: 670 (Q43, V39) (23 october)
Second attempt: 590 (Q38, V35) (11 december)

I started my preparation mid July with EmpowerGMAT 3 month course. I´ve also used Gmat Club forum a lot, along with the official guide and some information from Manhattan Prep.

During my first attempt i did several mocks, including all 6 gmat prep exams with results ranging from 570 (first one) to 710 (last gmat prep) Quant scores ranged from Q38 to Q46 and Verbal ranged from V35 to V42.

After my 670 on my first attempt i decided to retake. During my prepartion for the retake i realised i was lacking some core math knowledge. I think empowergmat is a great source of gmat tips and improving your score by 50-100 points (if you are under the 600 barrier). However, if you are lacking some core knowledge you won´t pass the 690-700 barrier with this course alone. I realised this after trying the target gmat prep course free trial.

During my last three weeks of the retake preparation my scores were the following:

Manhattan free mock: 640 (Q43 V35)
Gmat Club quant mocks: Q41, Q46 and Q45
Gmat prep exam 3 retake: 710 (did not remember any quant question, only two SC questions, 710 Q46, V41).

I cannot understand how i scored so low on my retake. I was pretty confident i could score between Q44 and Q46 and with my verbal from gmat preps ranging from V38 to V42 that I could get a 690-700.

When I saw the 590 I pressed the "cancel your score" button as fast as possible.
It is hard to think on a third attempt next March after this shocking result.

NewGuy12 · Answer

Hello Triple4,

I think GMAT score is a function of several things, not least are luck and mental state. Your gmat club scores are really good given that they are quite tough.

I would suggest that you continue with gmat club quant tests and work harder for your verbal as well and retake. For as Rocky Balboa said "if you know what you are worth, get up and get it but be ready to get hit"

You can do it !

Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum

BobsterGMAT · Answer

I haven't sat for the official exam yet but I have had a strong feeling i had been improving but my recent CAT's tell a different story. I suppose you need a week or two off before you apply yourself to this task and give it another go. I agree with the Newguy12, giving up aint no option!

adkikani · Answer

triple4

Does  this  article helps?

triple4 · Answer

Hi Adkikani the article does help me understand some aspects of my results.

However I am still trying to understand how I was scoring consistently in the Q43-Q45 range and I ended up scoring a Q38.

Thanks!

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi triple4,

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:

Since you've already scored 670 on your first Official GMAT, we should start with how you approached this second attempt (specifically the time immediately before 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

triple4 · Answer

Hi Rich, thanks for reading. My answers

1) I have a full time job, and I usually study 1 to 2 hours in the morning + 1 hour in the afternoon. The last day I didn't study at all, because I had to travel from my hometown to the test center (5 hours). 
2) I slept around 7 hours with no problems.
3) I booked a room at a hotel 3 blocks away from the test center. 
4) No major distractions during the test.
5) I spent the 8 minute breaks just stretching and drinking water. 
6 and 7) I had to rush in the last 3 quant questions and probably a couple at the middle. No rushing on verbal, despite being a non-native. I felt comfortable and thought I was going to get a verbal score around 38-40. 
I think the quant score is a result of missing some easy questions and not being totally calm. I remember thinking that the gmat was giving me too many easy questions around questions 16-17.

https://gmatclub.com/static/posted_from.png     Posted from    GMAT ToolKit

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi triple4,

There are some noteworthy aspects to how you took your 2nd GMAT that certainly could have impacted your performance. Before we discuss those issues, I'd like to know a bit more about your first attempt at the GMAT:

1) Did you take that Exam at this same Test Facility (and travel the day before & book a hotel room?)? 
2) What time were each of your 2 appointments?
3) Is there anything else that was significantly different about how you faced those 2 Official GMATs (re: what you ate for breakfast that day? What you did during the two 8-minute breaks? The Testing conditions? etc.)?

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

triple4 · Answer

1) yes, same test facility. I travelled the day before, arrived at around 10:00 pm. The first time I had arrived at 11:00 am. (Asked for a day off at work). I spent all the afternoon worrying about the gmat.

2) I took the exam at the same time: 8:00 am.

3)i had a light breakfast both times. I cannot think of any major differences. The second time I was familiar with the environment and the testing room. I started with quant so the first 8-minute break is the one that counted towards the score. The only thing that I did differently was talking to the guy at the testing center in order to relax a little bit.

2)

https://gmatclub.com/static/posted_from.png     Posted from    GMAT ToolKit

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi triple4,

Based on all of the information that you've provided, there are 4 likely issues that impacted your performance on this 2nd attempt (and while there certainly could be other issues, there's not enough information here to define what they might be yet).

1) Long 'travel' days can have varying impacts on people. If the nearest GMAT Testing Facility to you is 5 hours away, then there's no way for you to avoid having to make that trip. I know from my own experiences that 5 hours of driving or 5 hours of plane travel often 'wears me out' a bit - and sometimes I need a day to fully 'recover' from that type of travel. Having to take an intense, 4-hour Exam within 24 hours of that type of trip likely means that you weren't necessarily at your best on Test Day. It is interesting that on your first attempt, you would have had 21 hours of 'recovery time', whereas on your second attempt you had roughly HALF that recovery time.

2) Sleeping in a 'strange' bed (and/or staying in unfamiliar surroundings) can also 'throw off' a person's personal patterns (sleep, attitude, overall physical/mental well-being, etc.). Again, the degree to which you may have been affected by this is open to interpretation, but I would suspect that you would probably perform better after sleeping in your own bed - so sleeping in a hotel bed that you're not 'used to' likely hurt your performance on both attempts to varying degrees.

3) Your Quant Scaled Scores on these 2 Exams (Q43 and Q38) are both in the 'range' of scores that a typical 'math thinker' would earn. However, the Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test' - it's a 'critical thinking test' that requires lots of little calculations as you work through it. To score at a much higher level in this section, you need to become more of a 'strategist' and less of a 'mathematician.'

4) It doesn't sound as if you took full 'advantage' of your two 8-minute breaks. While 8 minutes is not a lot of time, those 2 breaks provide you with an opportunity to refuel (with a snack and a drink) and do some physical activity (running sprints, jumping jacks, etc.) to get the blood 'moving' so that you're pumped-up for the next section you'll face. Drinking water and doing some light stretching sounds like fairly low-level activity. While you probably can't do much about having to travel 5 hours, you CAN do something about how you choose to handle your 2 breaks.

With a bit more analysis on your part, you might be able to deduce other factors that led to that higher score on your 1st attempt. A 670 score is not something that most Test Takers can 'luck' their way into, so I have to believe that you have the skills to score at that level again. With some additional focused study, you could even score higher, but you also have to think about all of these other factors too - so that you can plan out the full Test Day "event" (including the inevitable travel) and minimize the negative impacts that clearly hurt you on this second attempt.

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

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From 570 to 670 and 590 on my retake??? What happened??

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