Scored poorly on the final mock test 3 days before the exam. Help!

Question

Hi,

I have been prepping for the test for almost a year now and have written all the 6 mocks offered by mba(dot)com.

My scores for the last 4 have been as follows. The average gap between them has been about 7 days. I will be writing my GMAT online on 7th.

Mock 3- 680 Q47 V35
Mock 4- 660 Q47,V35
Mock 5- 650 Q45 , V35
Mock 6- 570 Q42, V27

I cant fathom such a significant drop from my averge scores. I was confident enough throughout the test and had enough time for all the questions. Also, on analysing, I found I got a lot more medium level questions wrong in Quant than I usually do. For verbal, my easy questions in SC were wrong too. What should I do now so that I do a lot better on the atcual test.

Thanks!

tanveer7d · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

egmat

Experts, please advice.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi tanveer7d,

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 - and that you took your CATs in a realistic fashion that matches-up with how you will take the Official GMAT - 3 of your recent CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 660 +/- a few points). The most recent result is an 'outlier' relative to the other values, so you might just have had a bit of a 'bad day' when you took that last CAT. That having been said, if you were taking your CATs in an unrealistic fashion, then it's unclear what your actual 'ability level' is right now - and if your Exam is in just a few days, then that does not give us a lot of time to diagnose or 'fix' any of the issues that might be keeping you from scoring higher.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) What type of study routine have you been following over the last year? Over the last 3 months, how many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) You listed just 4 CAT/mock results, but you've clearly taken at least 2 other CATs. On what dates (or approximate 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?

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

tanveer7d · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the reply!

I have used TTP for quant and Verbal. I study for 2-3 hours a day. On my weekoff, that goes to 5-6hours a day. Same applies for the last 3months prep. My 1st and 2nd mocks were as -

mock1- 420 (Jan2020) Q28,V20
mock 2 - 560 Sep 2020 Q39, V28

Goal score - 700+

I am not planning to apply to any colleges as of now due to some situation.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi tanveer7d,

Can you post a screenshot of your analytical page, so I can see your TTP stats and progress? Once I have that information, I can provide some additional advice.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi tanveer7d,

It's interesting that your most recent CAT result is so similar to your prior CAT2 result (from September) - meaning that now we have 2 similar data points and 3 higher data points (that are similar to one another). This might mean that you had a 'bad day' on this last CAT and 'defaulted' to a prior way of thinking OR it might mean that you took those other 3 CATs in an unrealistic way (which led to 'inflated' score results).

While you might be tempted to do a lot of studying in these last few days before your Official Test Date, "cramming" rarely leads to great results with Exams such as the GMAT - so you should limit your studies to general practice and light review (NO CATs and NO 'cramming') - you would be better served by getting some extra rest so that you can go into Test Day calm, clear-headed and ready to work.

If you don't feel ready to take the GMAT at this point, then you might consider paying the rescheduling fee and pushing back your Test Date. There's no harm in taking the GMAT as scheduled though - and if you choose to do so, then you should plan to post back here with your results. We can then discuss that data in more detail.

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

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi tanveer7d,

As there's only a day left for your test, I'm afraid there's not much to do. Be confident and give your test. And please do reach out to me if you wish to discuss how it went. You can use the below link to get in touch with me.

Click here to schedule a call

Scored poorly on the final mock test 3 days before the exam. Help!

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