Huge difference in practice tests vs real GMAT

Question

Hi all,

I took the GMAT yesterday and was majorly disappointed with my score- 680. For the last 2 months, I've been preparing with Experts Global 15 test series. My lowest score among the 10 tests I took was 700, and the lowest quant score I ever got was Q47. I took the official GMAT practice test a week before the actual GMAT and scored a 740 (Q51). However, my actual GMAT quant score was a heartbreaking Q44. I have NO idea what went wrong. I booked the next test next month but don't know what to change.

I took most of the mocks in a GMAT like manner- no extra breaks, same sectional order, etc.

Can anyone help me understand what went so wrong with my test, especially quant?

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TheUltimateWinner · Answer

Q51 (in the practice test) does not guarantee you that you're going to have Q51 in the real exam. If your lowest score is q47 (experts' global test is not the real indicator) that means you got q49/q48 on average. So, q47 is a bit closed to q48/q49. There is no issue at all here, i think. So, it is better to take 2 or 3 more official gmat test to be confident about your score that you are going to have. if you get q49/q50 continuously in the official mock test, you should take the real test again within a very short time, if it is urgent. Then, you're going to have closed to q50, i guess.
All the best..

Pushkarini · Answer

Thanks, any prep material for quant you would recommend?

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Pushkarini,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out as well as hoped. A 680/Q44 is still a strong Score though, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

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 in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what 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?

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

TheModo · Answer

Question - what score differences are anticipated between GMAT Club Quant-only tests and the actual GMAT? I recently completed a GMAT Club test, and am pleased with my score; however, I do not want to get overexcited, since I am assuming there is an anticipated ~5-10 point variance that can occur.

Does anyone have experience/thoughts on this? Or, has anyone seen this topic being addressed on other threads?

Thanks!

Posted from my mobile device

Does anyone have experience/thoughts on this? Or, has anyone seen this topic being addressed on other threads?

Thanks!

Posted from my mobile device

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Pushkarini.

My guess is that the following happened.

Most of the practice tests that you took were non-official tests from one company. Because of your using those tests almost exclusively, as good at those tests may be, you may have been preparing for that company's tests rather than for the actual GMAT, which is most likely not quite the same as the practice tests you took

Next, you took a GMAT Prep official practice test and scored Q51. That score seems pretty good, but I'm guessing that part of the reason you scored that high is that, as you practiced, you saw practice questions that were based on the questions in that GMAT Prep test. So, in a sense, you had seen some, or even many, of the questions before you took the test.

So, probably you weren't quite as well prepared for the actual GMAT as you seemed to be.

Clearly 680 with Q44 is not too far from a 720+ score. So, really you just have to work on some weaker quant areas and improve slightly in verbal to hit a rather high score goal

For some insights into how to increase your quant score, you could read the following post.

How To Increase Your GMAT Quant Score

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