preparing for 1 month after the practice test my score decreases. HELP

Question

on the 17th of last month i took MGMAT practice test 1 and I scored 510 which is sufficiently low but was better than the Gmat prep test i took 2 weeks earlier on which i scored 460.
but now on the 18th of November i.e. today i took another MGMAT practice test and surprisingly my score and decreased back to 460, i was devastated when i looked at my score, its as if I've wasted 1 complete month of my precious study time,which has lead me to nothing. i seriously dont know what is going on.
i REALLY REALLY need help with this.
Please

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hi nishantdoshi,

Before we talk about your scores, can you tell know how have you been studying for the GMAT.

1. When do you plan to take the GMAT?
2. What is your target score?
3. Did you take the full GMAT?

Are you following any preparatory course?

mbaonly2014 · Answer

It happened with me also...the real reason is that we don't revise all the concepts and sit on giving the test. We think we are studying since 1 month, so we can easily increase the score but that won't help. We must practice periodically so that in the test we could excel. Hope this advise will help you.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi nishantdoshi,

Most practice CATs will give you the score that you've EARNED, so you have to review this CAT to determine where you might have made some mistakes. Do you know WHY you were getting questions wrong? How many of those incorrect answers were because of a silly/little mistake?

A 460 isn't actually that far from a 510, so the difference might have come down to just a few correct answers (or correct answers on certain questions).

1) How long have you been studying? 
2) What resources have you been using? 
3) What is your score goal? 
4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

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

nishantdoshi · Answer

yeah i think thats what the problem is..thanks 
what you are saying is that i should practice each section daily or once in 2-3 days just to keep it stuck in my head...right?

nishantdoshi · Answer

I am not following any preparatory course at the moment but for some 20 days i followed BEAT THE GMAT 60 days study plan. 1) i WAS planning to take the GMAt on the 15th of december before i even started studying but as now less than a month is left and i am no way near my target score i dont know when to take the test now

2)target score is 700. The difference between the practice score and my ambitious score too much. 3)The very first test i took without even looking at the study material, as advised by everyone, was the Gmat prep on which i scored 460 (without studying). after studying for more than 40 days my score the same as it was (back to square one). i feel stupid. i know there is something wrong with the method of preparation, need some genuine guidance.

nishantdoshi · Answer

i did review the previous CAT i took and listed out the topics i needed to give attention to and i tried but after a month my score decreases which is very depressing as i know how much effort i had put in. Do you know WHY you were getting questions wrong? How many of those incorrect answers were because of a silly/little mistake? its because i couldnt understand the problem the same as last time. silly mistakes i am not sure about that. 1) i have been studying for about 45-50 days now. dont you think its a pretty low score for someone stuyding for such a long period of time? (i took gmat prep test before i even started studying and got 460). 2) i have OG review 16, OG quant review 16, OG verbal review 16, and MGMAT sentence correction book. 3) score goal is 700, which now i dont is achievable by me :cry:

. 4) i WAS planning to take the test on the 15th of december. i dont know now! some guidance please !

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi nishantdoshi,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +-30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your 3 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (+- a few points). By extension, this means that 'your way' of approaching the Exam would likely earn you a score right around a 500. Your 'default' approaches are keeping you from scoring higher.

Thankfully, you CAN train to score at a higher level, but you're going to have to learn to 'see' (and respond to) the GMAT in new ways. This will require that you invest in some new materials and learn/practice some new Tactics. You're also likely going to need 3 months of consistent, guided study to hit your score goals.

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

egmat · Answer

Dear Nishant,

Preparing for GMAT is a very scientific process and I want to make sure that you are following a methodical approach for the same. You are aspiring to become a manager, making decisions about millions of dollars of investments. GMAT tests whether you have the mettle to do the same – make the right decisions.

You can only succeed on the GMAT when you have the right combination of concepts and application. A student should know how to apply the learned concepts properly to get a good score. In the actual GMAT exam, tricks and shortcuts tend to fail and only students with a proper approach to questions succeed. This is what we do at e-GMAT. We teach our students a foolproof process to solve questions and make them follow the same. This is the reason for our high rate of success.

Have a look at some of the links below to understand. These folks were in your shoes at one time.

1. Richa improved from 12 percentile (V16) to 85 percentile (V38) on GMAT Verbal improved her overall score from 470 to 720. Read Richa's debrief: https://goo.gl/8Gu2oS.
2. Suren improved from 470 (V17) to 740 (V40). Read Suren's debrief: https://goo.gl/K2gUgU.

I hope the above two success stories will provide you the necessary confidence to tackle the GMAT.

Few Questions

In order to guide you properly, I need you to answer the following questions for more

1) Do you know the target Quant and Verbal split that will help you get to your target score of 700? It’s very important that you set your sights on the same.
2) Carrying on, do you know your target and current SC, CR and RC abilities?
To know your current ability, you may attempt our Verbal Ability Quiz. Please watch this video to learn how you can access the same: https://e-gmat.com/blogs/how-to-take-an-ability-quiz/.
3) Can you list down the process (in detail) you use to solve SC, CR and RC questions?

Free Trial

I would also suggest you to go through our Free Trial and see if you find it useful. Just log in here (https://e-gmat.com/login/) and start accessing.

Here are a few direct links for you from our Free Trial

1. Verb-ed and Verb-ing Modifiers: https://goo.gl/50GBms
2. Bold Face: https://goo.gl/uprgDB

Tactical Strategies Webinar

Lastly, I would suggest you to attend our Strategy Session 2 on the weekend (Sunday at 7 AM PST). Click here to register for the session: https://goo.gl/v12os8.

This session shall help you in

1. Figuring out the root cause of your performance in current mocks.
2. Get you tools that will help identify the areas that you needs to work on.
3. And correspondingly plan you preparation for your GMAT attempt.

Hope this helps.

I look forward to your response to my questions.

Regards,
Rajat Sadana

mbaonly2014 · Answer

Yes, you are 100% right, even turning the pages of sections daily will help in keeping all the concepts in mind.....the more you revise ...the more you would be confident in giving the test.

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hi nishantdoshi,

Since you said that you did not follow any preparatory course, I am doubtful how you plan on knowing the things that you do not know.
The Official guides are good for practising and getting hang of the official questions, but they do not teach you fundamentals and concepts.

In the way that you are following the Sentence Correction guide, you need to go through the concepts of RC, CR, Quants - DS and PS too.

Most of the preparatory companies including our offer a free trial period. Go through the course and see if it fits your needs.
Also, I would recommend you to postpone your GMAT. Reaching 700+ from the current level might be very difficult without concepts in place.

preparing for 1 month after the practice test my score decreases. HELP

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