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Hello all,
I need some advice urgently. I appeared for GMAT exam on August 3 and got a 650 (Q50, V28). My score in verbal was substantially lower than what I was getting in my mocks and I am completely stumped as to why this happened. I had taken 8 mock tests leading up to the final day and I took these in as similar conditions to the real test as possible – wrote the essays, did IR section, took the prescribed breaks, and gave most of these exams at the same time as my actual slot. The only reason for the discrepancy may be that I got a few repeat questions in GMATPrep mocks (more details available below), which would have led to a slightly inflated score. However, sometimes I got these repeat questions wrong as well which reduces the advantage of these familiar questions.
Details of these mocks are as follows:
1. Jul 10: MGMAT3: 620 (Q41, V34)
2. GMAT Prep1: 750 (Q50, V40) (retake of a test I took last year hence I believe this to be significantly inflated)
3. GMAT Prep3 [Exam Pack 1]: 700 (Q50, V34) (new test purchased) – 1 repeat, got it right
4. Jul 23: MGMAT4: 680 (Q46, V37)
5. Jul 25: Veritas Prep: 710 (Q48, V39)
6. Jul 27: MGMAT5: 680 (Q47, V36)
7. Jul 30: GMAT Prep4 [Exam Pack 1]: 720 (Q49, V38) (new test purchased) – 2 repeats, got both right
8. Aug 2: GMAT Prep2: 710 (Q49, V37) – 6 repeats, got 3 of these right
While I think that the mock results would have been inflated to some extent, I doubt this would explain the wide difference in verbal score between mocks and the actual test.
During the actual exam, I did not feel any anxiety, nerves or fatigue. The only thing which I can put my finger on is that I had about 1.5 cans of Redbull during my breaks and this is something that I had not followed in my practice tests. However, I did not feel any lack of focus or unnatural symptoms.
Prep methodology and materials:
I put in 1.25 months of concentrated prep this time and 3-4 months of on and off studying.
Materials used: OG10, OG11, OG 13, Manhattan SC strategy guide, Topscore pdf’s, online forums
I also gave GMAT last year in September 2013 and scored 640 (Q49, V28). I had put in one month of prep on and off for this attempt. My mocks this time were a significant improvement over this last score and also over what I scored in mocks in the past but the actual test day result was a let down.
My questions are:
1. Is a retake warranted?
2. What can explain the dip in my verbal score?
3. Given the earliest I can retake is after a month, what can I do improve my gaps in the meantime? I have some long days coming up ahead at work and will be able to invest only limited hours in GMAT.
4. What is the best strategy to retain my momentum without investing too many hours as I do have limited time to devote to prep now?
Thanks
I need some advice urgently. I appeared for GMAT exam on August 3 and got a 650 (Q50, V28). My score in verbal was substantially lower than what I was getting in my mocks and I am completely stumped as to why this happened. I had taken 8 mock tests leading up to the final day and I took these in as similar conditions to the real test as possible – wrote the essays, did IR section, took the prescribed breaks, and gave most of these exams at the same time as my actual slot. The only reason for the discrepancy may be that I got a few repeat questions in GMATPrep mocks (more details available below), which would have led to a slightly inflated score. However, sometimes I got these repeat questions wrong as well which reduces the advantage of these familiar questions.
Details of these mocks are as follows:
1. Jul 10: MGMAT3: 620 (Q41, V34)
2. GMAT Prep1: 750 (Q50, V40) (retake of a test I took last year hence I believe this to be significantly inflated)
3. GMAT Prep3 [Exam Pack 1]: 700 (Q50, V34) (new test purchased) – 1 repeat, got it right
4. Jul 23: MGMAT4: 680 (Q46, V37)
5. Jul 25: Veritas Prep: 710 (Q48, V39)
6. Jul 27: MGMAT5: 680 (Q47, V36)
7. Jul 30: GMAT Prep4 [Exam Pack 1]: 720 (Q49, V38) (new test purchased) – 2 repeats, got both right
8. Aug 2: GMAT Prep2: 710 (Q49, V37) – 6 repeats, got 3 of these right
While I think that the mock results would have been inflated to some extent, I doubt this would explain the wide difference in verbal score between mocks and the actual test.
During the actual exam, I did not feel any anxiety, nerves or fatigue. The only thing which I can put my finger on is that I had about 1.5 cans of Redbull during my breaks and this is something that I had not followed in my practice tests. However, I did not feel any lack of focus or unnatural symptoms.
Prep methodology and materials:
I put in 1.25 months of concentrated prep this time and 3-4 months of on and off studying.
Materials used: OG10, OG11, OG 13, Manhattan SC strategy guide, Topscore pdf’s, online forums
I also gave GMAT last year in September 2013 and scored 640 (Q49, V28). I had put in one month of prep on and off for this attempt. My mocks this time were a significant improvement over this last score and also over what I scored in mocks in the past but the actual test day result was a let down.
My questions are:
1. Is a retake warranted?
2. What can explain the dip in my verbal score?
3. Given the earliest I can retake is after a month, what can I do improve my gaps in the meantime? I have some long days coming up ahead at work and will be able to invest only limited hours in GMAT.
4. What is the best strategy to retain my momentum without investing too many hours as I do have limited time to devote to prep now?
Thanks
getsunny
Joined: 08 Sep 2013
Last visit: 21 Jul 2023
Posts: 101
Status:Planning to retake
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Healthcare
Schools: S.P.Jain Institute (A)
GMAT 1: 660 Q48 V33
GPA: 3.24
WE:Management Consulting (Consulting)
padce
Hi Padce,
I faced a similar situation to you. I gave my GMAT on 3rd August and got a 660 (Q48 V33). While the Quant score was in line & in fact better than my mock performances, the verbal was much lower. Towards the end of my preparation, my verbal scores were declining and I realized that it was due to RC. My SC and CR had improved a lot, but at the cost of RC which had a greater impact on my scores.
Now to answer your questions specifically:
1. Yes, definitely give a retake. Your mock scores, even though presumably inflated, indicate that you can cross 700 with some effort.
2. Only you can analyse this. Go through the performance on CR, SC and RC for all your mocks and see which section is your weak area. Then you can target that area and improve your score.
3. Develop a strategy. This is exactly what I intend to do myself. Develop a strategy for every question type which you can repeat without fail evey time regardless of the difficulty level. This step should follow once you have identified the weak areas in point 2.
4. Like I said, develop strategy and work on execution. At this stage, you basics and fundamentals are clear. The only thing missing is a strategy that works every single time. Just focus on developing that and you should be fine.
All the best!
P.S - Consider giving Kudos if my post was helpful.
ajay2121988
Joined: 08 Feb 2016
Last visit: 27 Nov 2017
Posts: 47
Location: India
Concentration: Technology
Schools: AGSM '20 (A)
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V30
GPA: 4
getsunny
Hi.
I have a strange pattern on the paid GMATPrep tests. Could it be that the scoring algorithm is flawed ? Please review.:
1. 650(q47,v34); Q-15 incorrect, V- 17 incorrect
2. 690 (q47,v37); Q - 15 incorrect , V- 9 incorrect
3. 710 (q48,v40) ; Q - 15 incorrect , V- 9 incorrect
4. 650 (q48, V31) ; Q - 9 incorrect , V- 9 incorrect
These are all GMATPrep paid tests given in chronological order, within 2 weeks.
Progression from 1-3 is understandable, but what I don't get is when only 9 are incorrect in both Q & V, how can score be 650?
Even the 710 had 15 incorrect in Q.
Are these results reliable ?
Please help in understanding these.
Do you have the enhanced score report from your previous attempt? It will tell you a lot about what happened on the test day, and if you post it here, we'll be able to help you analyze it and give you more specific advice.
The number of questions you get wrong doesn't mean anything unless you know how difficult those questions are.
The number of questions you get wrong doesn't mean anything unless you know how difficult those questions are.
ajay2121988
Joined: 08 Feb 2016
Last visit: 27 Nov 2017
Posts: 47
Location: India
Concentration: Technology
Schools: AGSM '20 (A)
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V30
GPA: 4
HiLine
Thanks HiLine,
Please have a look at the attachment.
Does this help ?
Thanks,
Attachments
File comment: mock ESRs
mock ESRs.zip [714.35 KiB]
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