Score wwwaaayy off on exam day

Question

Hi friends, my first time posting here but unfortunately not a happy post

I'm curious to see if anyone else has had a waaayyyy off score during GMAT testing day, as I'm sitting in the test center parking lot, baffled by what happened. A bit of background - STEM major, fairly analytical, studied for my GMAT pretty hard and methodically, and I've done 4 of the official practice exams, scored around 49-50 on Quant and 40-43 on Verbal for all of them, totals around 720-760. And coming exam day - I just took my exam this afternoon, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Verbal was a 27, I think that's the lowest score possible? I'm so confused and frustrated. I knew I got a bit unlucky cuz I got 4 RCs, two short and two long so it messed up my pace a bit, but in practice exams I rarely missed any questions on RCs or CRs. I think my GMAT dashboard says Expert for both of them. I honestly didn't think those passages in the exam were too hard. I'm just soooo confused by what happened. I wasn't nervous or anything, I typically don't get nervous easily. I did feel myself. Quant was a 50, actually better than I had hoped. I've already booked my retake (first thing I did coming out of the test center), but does anyone have similar experience? Any advice for recovery? Tbh I'm a bit traumatized by this cuz it's soo surprising. Also should I cancel my score? I'm really embarrassed by it, but at the same time I'm curious to see the detailed breakdown. Posted from my mobile device

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi victoria0217.

It's tough to see such a score drop, and a bit mystifying as well. At the same time, there's generally a reason for a score drop that can be found and addressed. So, I think you'll figure out what caused you to get an average Verbal score rather than the high score you expected, and in any case, you'll get to your goal score.

One thing to be aware of is that you can get an ESR even if you cancel your score. So, there's no reason not to cancel your score if you want to.

Once you get your ESR, I'd be curious to see it.

Meanwhile, what have your accuracies been on individual Verbal practice questions?

Also, it's possible that you'll get some insights regarding your score drop from this post.

Why Was My GMAT Score Lower Than My Practice Test Scores?

bb · Answer

Sorry about this experience 😖

This is a huge difference send a very surprising one…

I can tell you it’s very hard to judge your performance because until you get an ESR, you will not know what went wrong. My guess is you may have missed a couple questions in the beginning of the verbal section and paired with rushing on a few passages, That may have pushed your score down.

Freak incidents happen so retaking in 15 days or so is probably the best approach unless for some reason those practice scores were not representative which I don’t think we have any reason to believe that…

Posted from my mobile device

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider getting the ESR. Perhaps you did better than you thought on RC but didn't on SC, for example. If you're confident you won't be applying with this current score, you could go ahead and cancel it. You will have the option to reinstate it (for a fee) in case you change your mind in the future.

Using question/time markers may help your time management a bit.

Time management - Time currency

-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi victoria0217,
 
V27 (42%) is not the lowest score possible, but I get what you mean. You should, however, absolutely expect to see 4 RC passages (1-2 long passages) on the GMAT.
 
If the questions in those tests were "fresh" (that is, you weren't already familiar with them), you are capable of getting similar scores on the GMAT.

All the best for the retake.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi victoria0217,

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. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) On what dates (or approximate 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:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

Since you took your Official GMAT at a Test Center, then you might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi victoria0217,

The good news is that you crushed Quant. How did you feel while taking the verbal section? Do you think you were overly nervous?

victoria0217 · Answer

Just in case someone stumbles upon this post in the future - I just the GMAT again today (17 days after my first test) and got a 750

My Quant score was only a 49, a bit disappointed there but I'll take it. What I did differently: 1) In practice tests before my first exam, I never really figured out a preference for the section order, I thought it didn't matter much to me. During my first exam, I did Quant first then Verbal, and I found myself losing focus here and there during the Verbal section (and I got really hungry), so during my practice tests after the first test I stuck to doing Verbal first then Quant, and that's what I did today. And maybe that's why my Quant score was lower today

also I ate a bit more before the test today than last time cuz I still didn't really want to snack in between, I never like eating right before when I need to something hard/stressful. 2) I kept track of time better during Verbal - I never really paid attention to time management before the first exam cuz I was always able to finish the practice tests with a min or so to spare (sometimes even 5), but my first test experience was very different and I kinda freaked out while taking the test. So after my first try I looked at this awesome post and practiced time tracking during my practice exams. I think I managed it much better this time. 3) I never really believed in meditation but I gave it a try, and I guess it worked, at least a bit. I figured since I was losing focus towards the end of my first real test, I could see if meditation would hep. So I tried a few sessions using the app Balance and did a focus related meditation session every time before I started my practice session/practice test, and I meditated in my car before going up for to the exam center today. I guess it helped a bit. Also about prep materials: 1) I watched all GMAT Ninja's videos on Verbal and Quant in the very beginning, before I did any questions. 2) OGs - I did most of the Quant questions in the OG and the separate quant book, and all the Verbal questions in the OG and the separate verbal book. 3) Advanced questions - I did all the questions in the Advanced questions 300 book (Quant accuracy around 80%, CR and RC around 90%, SC around 60%) 4) CR Bible - After my first attempt, I thought I should bring some structure to my CR and RC approach even though I was pretty good in practice, so I read the CR Bible. It definitely helped a lot more for understanding the questions. Prior to reading that book, I sometimes felt like I understood the article but get confused by the questions and options. 5) Practice tests - I took all the official practice tests. I did all of them in an exam like settings - never paused the question, did all sections in one setting, never re did exams, never took breaks in between etc. I guess the only difference was I did them at home vs. somewhere unfamiliar. Just for reference, here are my scores for those tests: Practice test 1: 710, V40, Q47, IR8 - taken before the first attempt Practice test 2: 760, V42, Q50, IR8 - taken before the first attempt Practice test 3: 720, V38, Q50, IR8 - taken before the first attempt Practice test 4: 760, V41, Q50, IR7 - taken before the first attempt Practice test 5: 740, V42, Q49, IR8 - taken before the second attempt Practice test 6: 770, V46, Q50, IR8 - taken before the second attempt (I definitely felt test 4 and test 6 were especially easy) I just want to share my experience in case someone else will be in the same boat. You know you can perform, just go get a re-match

AjiteshArun · Answer

750 is an amazing score! And don't worry about the Q49. That's a very good score as well.

All the best for your applications.

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Score wwwaaayy off on exam day

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