weird: 490 (q35/v22) after gmat prep 680, 690, aim 600

Question

Hi,

today I made the GMAT the first time and received disappointing 490 - after above scores on gmat prep. However, on PrincetonReview I scored 650, 580 (after one week pause thanks to TOEFL preparation) and on this Sunday 530(!?). In total, I spent about 2 months preparation time including nearly 3 weeks of christmas holidays where I could concentrate on GMAT and TOEFL - with the focus on GMAT. If I had known this forum earlier I might have made a slightly different schedule but I thought 600 to be manageable.

The train to the test center had a delay of about an hour and also ended up in another station because there were technical problems - so I had to take some other train and a taxi in order to arrive at the test-center. The others had already begun - but I still arrived in time. At the end of verbal section, I mostly asked myself the question on which score i'm going to end instead of concentrating on the questions itself. Couldn't I concentrate any more after several hours of stress (think of the trouble with the train before) or will that issue also happen if I repeat? I don't know.

I'm quite unsure now on what to do next... I don't necessarily need the GMAT for every university since I want to do a Master of Science program, however, those universities which require GMAT and which I'd like to attend demand a score of above 600.

Have you made similar experiences? Any suggestions on what to do next?

thanks, 
macbayne

bb · Answer

Does not sound like had the right tools/materials - see these discussions and evaluate if going through books again for a month or two will help:

should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html
top-gmat-prep-books-guides-reviews-comments-77703.html

TIMURgmat · Answer

HEY, i Kind of have similar story and can't figure out what is the problem

I has my official GMAT test and I scored 430 Q32, V17) While on my practice tests Kaplna, MGMAT i was scoring 600+ .I didin;t have any problem with the traffic or pressure, in fact i wasn't even nervous! I am planning to retake my Exam at the end of April, this month, but my CAT scores are very discouraging,:( It looks like i am getting worse ins=tead of getting better. I am practicing min 5 hours per day. My last scores were: MGMAT- 650 (Q42, V33) 800Score.com- 670 (Q42, V39) MBA.COM- 540(Q40, V24) ( i never score high on MBA>COm) MBA.com- 530 ( Q37, V26) 800Score-590( Q32, V38) Mba.com Yesterday- 490 (Q35, V23 Baaad) MBA.com ( today tried to check if I can do it again) - 450 (Q26, V25) it's the lowest Quant score I\ve ever made. YEsterday I thought, OK bad day, not to worry, will do it again the next day. Here I am- doing it again, and the score is getting lower and lower !!! My BIG day is only 3 weeks away...and i am going back to basics! Does anyone have any recommendations???? Thanks in advance

macbayne · Answer

Hey guys,

After evaluating the reasons of the bad score of my first test, I decided a retake to be worth the try. Scored 670 now (q42, v40) after 490 on the first one, which is above the 600 I need and which leads to quite a good "I did it!"-feeling.

My major mistakes on the first try and how I avoided them:
- not to take a hotel room: instead of taking the risk of a possibly stressful journey to the test center, I now spent the night in a hotel which was like 100m away from the test center... after the breakfast I came to the test center quite relaxed. (Of course, it's not mandatory to take a hotel room, but especially in winter it might be usefull and in my case I didn't want to take the risk again after the bad luck on the first try)
- not doing enough full-lenght-tests before: Most of the times, didn't do the AWA in the practice sessions, BIG mistake concerning mental stamina
- relying on princeton review is indeed not that good, kaplan delivered a much more organised approach to the questions which gave much more confidence.

and 2 minor things, might sound silly but it somehow helped me nevertheless:
-I got a certain song which I only listen to before an exam or when something important is about to happen and concentration is needed ... I feel that to be a good mental "trigger". Last time the rechargable of my mp3-player was empty => I avoided that too this time.
-last time I had a big backpack which didn't really fit in the locker so I lost time in the breaks to get out my drink => now I left my backpack at the hotel and only carried a small bag to the test-center.

Now I'm really happy to have more time again, preparing for the GMAT really is a time-consuming activity.

I hope these points help someone,
macbayne

bb · Answer

- that's impressive improvement with just a month. Congratulations! 490 to 670 is pretty darn amazing!

amma4u · Answer

wow...nice. Congrats!

well I had a similar story as your first attempt:
during my verbal had a guy next to me who coughed and sneezed the entire verbal section.
I gave much attention to him than my Verbal and landed with v19.

I am going back to my basics and starting it all over again, using many recos from pple on this forum.
I hope to have a similar story as your's but not in a month's time, but few month's time.

Good luck with your application process.

NehaJoshi · Answer

I too am sailing in the same boat.. need to get to 600 from a disappointing 460 in few weeks (need to take it in mid May) ! In my practice tests I was always around 600 but in the actual test..

( I was considering buying 800score or GMAT Club but Thanks to your suggestion I think I should go with Kaplan. Thanks for sharing your experience.. it's very inspiring !

rano2991 · Answer

Hi Friends!

i have a similar story too...
Although I prepared for only 3 weeks, as i was desperate to apply for R1 of ISB, but stumbled big time...i scored 490 (q-43, v-15, I-5, AWA-5)....????
Although on mocks I was scoring an average 620++.

I couldn't answer 15 questions on verbal, and still fail to understand what actually went wrong with my timing? My timing was generally ok on the mock tests, i used to miss 2-3 questions at the max...
I dont know if I can get the system accessed by any chance...as it got hanged twice in the begining of the test...

Can anyone help me understand how is the penalty levied for unanswered questions?

amjet12 · Answer

This is remarkably similar to me in terms of the score and its encouraging to see the massive improvement you were able to achieve. I just took my GMAT about a week ago (an incredibly disappoint 470 Q21 V32 IR6 AWA 6 - only thing I was happy about was IR and AWA which ironically I barely looked at). I think part of the reason I did so poorly was nerves on the quant. I have never been confident about my quant and even after 3 months when I thought I was doing ok, the test proved me wrong. Now I am back at it and hopefully will be able to right my own debrief at the end of August! Thanks for sharing your experience and the encouragement!

atish2589 · Answer

Similar Story .

But i know my weak areas

Verbal :

Sentence Correction : Basics ( Noun / Adjective / verb ) not clear - hence a low conversion rate.

Quants :

Probability / PnC / Inequalities / Functions / Geometry - Concepts not clear .

Can someone please guide me in this.Specifics as to refer what and how to get about it.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi atish2589,

Since you have defined your 'weak areas', it sounds like you've been studying for some time. Before I can offer any advice, I'd like to know more about the work that you've done so far:

1) What is your goal score?
2) What resources have you been using during your studies?
3) How have you scored on your practice CATs (and/or the Official GMAT)?

4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
5) When are you planning to apply to School?
6) Have you thought about which Schools you'll be applying to?

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

atish2589 · Answer

Hi Rich

My Goal Score is 700 . Planning to give my Gmat in the month of September.Planning to apply for the year 16-17.Not thought of any schools as yet.Notes that i have are some notes given by a friend of a local class - 4gmat. Havent given a practice CAT my second time running ie.The first time i gave the GMAT was in Jan.Then had a break and have just started revisting the books.I have been working, so planning to study daily for an hour or so,weekends probably 3-4 hours.As i have highlighted in my earlier post, those are my basic weak areas that i believe i need to work on . I need specifics on what to refer and how to go about it.I understand what is an apple for someone can also be an orange for someone else,so thr are no definite rules, but any help is appreciated.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi atish2589,

Based on the situation that you've described, you have to get started with your studies soon (and do some serious work). I have a few follow-up questions based on your prior post:

1) When you took the GMAT in January, what were your scores (including your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
2) Which practice CATs did you use the last time that you studied?

We need to assess your current skills as soon as possible, so I highly recommend that you take a NEW FULL CAT (including the Essay and IR sections) sometime soon and report back with your scores. That data will give me a better sense of what you need to work on.

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

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weird: 490 (q35/v22) after gmat prep 680, 690, aim >600

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