GMAT Verbal Score Went Down 11 Points

Question

Hi All,

I took the GMAT for the third time yesterday, and I scored a 650 Q48 V31. I don't know why I scored so low, and I am really confused because the second time I took the GMAT, a month ago I scored a 710 Q48 V42, and the first time I took it in December I scored a V37. 
 I've read that a V42 means I understand the Verbal material, so I'm not really sure why the score dropped 11 points, and I don't know where to go from here. I'm almost at burnout because I've been studying for almost 8-10 months now, and I'm aiming for a 730-750. After the 710, I focused more on Quant, but I still practiced CR, SC, and RC questions everyday. I cancelled yesterday's score, and I want to take the exam 1 more time, maybe online this time because the previous 3 attempts were at a testing center. But I really don't know what went wrong. I would really appreciate some advice because this just feels so weird to have my score drop 11 points but do about the same on Quant. I was a normal amount of stressed out and not too worried about the exam and thought I was prepared but now it feels like the V42 might have been a fluke and I just got lucky.
Thanks.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Do you have any Official Mocks left that you have not done? You could see how you fare on Verbal in one of them.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi sejalmali,

Sorry about how things went with your GMAT. But do not get disappointed. When you have scored V42 once, it means that you have the capability in you. It's just that there are various factors that can affect your GMAT score on that particular day. You can definitely improve your score by identifying what went wrong and working on it this time. Let me help you here.

There could be two reasons for the drop in the score:
   Test day pressure : It's common to feel tensed on the test day. But as you say that you were not really tensed, I'm ruling this out.   Inconsistent application skills : This can be a probable reason if you haven't used the right methods and strategies to solve questions previously. But it would be immature to conclude this without the right information.

Any previous mocks you have taken should ideally help us assess the situation. So,   did you take any official mocks before this attempt? If yes, were the scores aligned to the scores of your second attempt? 
 Did you follow a specific approach to solve questions? (Mainly verbal) 
 And what was your preparation strategy?

If you have an ESR, it will be much more helpful. Answers to above questions can help me assess the situation and I can guide you in a better way. You can write back to me here but I feel it would be a lot more better if we can get in touch over a call and have a detailed discussion on the same. That way,  I can analyze your approach of solving questions and see if there's any flaw in your approach . We can even analyze your ESR during the call, if you have one. You can use the below link to get in touch with me.

Click here to schedule a call

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

I’m sorry to hear how things went with your GMAT. The good news is that you scored really well on quant, right? That said, I understand that you are not satisfied with your verbal score, so the question we need to ask is why you scored so high on your practice exams but lower on the real GMAT.

Based on how you have done on past GMATs it's clear that on a good day, you are capable of scoring higher than V31. Thus, it’s quite possible that nerves, stress, tiredness, or a combination of all three negatively affected your test-day performance. However, it’s also possible that you have some lingering weaknesses that were exposed on test day. Although I’m unsure of how you prepared, it’s possible that, in your preparation, particularly in verbal, you did not really learn to do what you have to do in order to score high on the actual GMAT. Rather, you picked up on some patterns that were effective in getting you relatively high scores on practice tests. So, for you to hit your score goal, your preparation, particularly for verbal, probably needs to be more complete, meaning that you have to go through the various types of GMAT questions carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills.

For verbal specifically, you have to become more skilled at clearly defining the differences between trap choices and correct answers. Otherwise, you will get stuck guessing between two choices or be surprised to find that you incorrectly answered questions that you thought you answered correctly. Becoming more skilled in this way takes carefully analyzing all of the answer choices to lots of verbal questions to develop an eye for the logical differences between the choices. In other words, you have to go beyond answering practice questions and reading explanations to doing deep analysis of questions to learn to see everything that is going on in them.

In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant  and  verbal courses .

You also may find it helpful to read the following articles:

how to score a 700+ on the GMAT

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

vamshikaithi · Answer

Hi sejalmali, When you practiced Verbal questions after scoring 710, were you doing well in them or did the accuracy vary? Because, only when your application skills are strong, your score will be consistent. I'm not sure how you prepared but if there isn't any proper structure to your process of solving questions, then you are dealing with trouble here. Or might have know how to apply but may be on the test day, you were not able to do it perfectly. So, there could be many reasons. The way you prepared till now and your approach of solving questions can only answer the questions. Nonetheless, remove the baggage and start learning Verbal concepts again. I understand that it feels lethargic but it's for the best. This time, spend time on analyzing the solutions of the questions. For example, you might come across many SC questions which you can solve using grammar. But, do not use grammar. Make sure to solve them using meaning based approach because that's the real way of solving them. So, focus more on learning the right methodology and give the next attempt only if score well on mocks consistently. You can get in touch with me if you need any more help. All the best

Saransh123 · Answer

I hope you know that bschools considers the highest score, and your highest score is 710 which is enough for getting admission in a top 50 bschools in the world. Just work on your essay now, well It's your life, you have the right to decide, I was just giving my opinion. All The Best

RetaketheGMAT · Answer

You're looking for what I call "shock absorbers" -- consistent processes and strategies for verbal questions. When clients experiences large variations in their scores in verbal, it's always about process not knowledge.

We offer a FREE no obligation 90 minute diagnostic session that helps unearth your process shortfalls in verbal. It will answer the WHY question -- all you know know is the WHAT (if you got your ESR).

The answer to WHY your score fell will create extreme focus, new confidence and combat that burnout you're experiencing. And a highly experienced performance coach who specializes in short, focused retake prep wouldn't hurt either!

Let me know if you're interested in the FREE diagnostic session. It's online and anytime you're free.

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GMAT Verbal Score Went Down 11 Points

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