Low score, even after preparing for 3 months

Question

Hi Experts,

I have been preparing for GMAT for the past 3 months, but I'm always facing low scores. In my first GMAT mock test without any preparation, I have scored a 540. Later on after preparation, when I gave the mock test again, I have scored a 610. After continuous preparation for a month later on, I have scored 670 in Kaplan free mock. But sadly after a week, when I gave the official mock, I have scored 600. I don't know if there is anything wrong with my preparation, please suggest your inputs here.

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sivatx2 · Answer

It depends on several factors, MBA.com has 2 official tests for free and not sure if you took it. That maybe a good indicator of your real score. Mileage varies depending on mindset, sleep, strengths to cope entire 3:23 m, screen size, whiteboard practice etc. You may provide more information so that Experts can answer.

Jahnavi2021 · Answer

Hi sivatx2,

Yes I have taken the official mock, as mentioned above, I have scored a 600 for the second mock and 550 on my first mock.

Posted from my mobile device

XSatishX · Answer

Jahnavi2021 
Seeing your mock scores, I can clearly see you lack some basic concepts. Maybe you are not going in the right direction. 600 is a score that you get when you are weak at both quant and verbal. you need to focus more on your concept building. Trust me gmat is difficult than official mocks. you need to consistently score target+50 in mocks to be sure of getting your target in the exam. What i would advice is analyze your mocks are you struggling in all the sections or some particular sections. what is that topic which is bringing your score down. Do dm me if you need some help with this analysis.

Please drop a kudo if this reply helps.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Jahnavi2021,

I understand how it feels to not be able to feel confident about yourself being on the right track for prep inspite of 3 months' prep. The key to scoring well on GMAT is to focusing on the right aspects. If your score doesn't improve even after months of prep, then it means that there's something wrong with the preparation strategy. First let us understand the right way to prepare for GMAT.

How to prepare for GMAT in the right way? 
Before you start preparing for any test, it's important to understand the structure of the test, what is tested on it and then prepare accordingly. In this case, GMAT is a test which focuses on your application skills along with the conceptual knowledge. So, just learning the concepts and practicing questions without focusing on the right methodology will not do any good. So, I suggest you to first focus on the methodology to solve questions of a particular topic and only then move to practicing questions of that topic.

So, the right way to prepare would be to first

learn the concepts of a topic,  
 learn the right methodology to solve questions of that topic 
 practice a few questions of that topic to solidify your learning and then move to the nest topic 
 Repeat the process for all the topics

And working on weak areas is equally important. You move to the next topic only if you get a decent accuracy in the previous topic. If not, you revisit the concepts, fill the conceptual gaps and then move to the next topic only when you are 100% confident. There are a couple of articles which you might find helpful.

How to effectively plan your studies for GMAT    
    How to score 700+ on GMAT    
    How to start preparing for GMAT

And you can go through the recording below to understand how to strategize your GMAT prep in an effective way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65n8_LIbPIM

Also GMAT Official mocks are believed to be the most reliable and closest one to the actual GMAT exam. It gives you a true picture in terms of your status of prep and helps you analyse where you stand. So you should go for the official ones.

What might have gone wrong? 
As we have understood the right way to prepare, now let's analyze what could have gone wrong. You must have learnt the concepts of the topics and you must have practiced questions as well.  But did you focus on the methodology part? Did you focus on working your weak areas?

These two could be the major reasons for you not scoring well on GMAT. So, this time make sure you do your prep in the right way by focusing on all the above parameters. And regarding the resource, choose a resource which can help you with not only the concepts, but the methodology as well. And the questions to practice and their detailed solutions are equally important as the solutions help you understand where exactly you are making the mistake. And a study plan would be an added advantage as you will have clear deadlines.

You can check out the free trial of GMATWhiz online course if you are looking for one. And regarding pacing yourself on the test, you can go through the recording below to understand a few test taking strategies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9dZN-MHK0I

And regarding how to proceed further and the study strategy, I think it would be better if we can get in touch over a call and discuss the same as I would like to ask a few questions about your current preparation strategy and your weak areas. You can use the below link to get in touch with me.

Click here to schedule a call

EducationAisle · Answer

You have told us nothing about your preparation, except for your mock scores. Even in mocks, you have not given any glimpse of what your sectional splits look like.

So, if you could let us know in detail about the resources (books/courses) that you've been using, your areas of weaknesses etc., it will help us provide a more contextual reply.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Can you also provide some more information on what exactly you have been doing to study

-- what resources have you been using?

-- for how many hours a week do you study?

Once I have that information, I can provide some advice.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Jahnavi2021,

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 3 months? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? 
3) 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

Low score, even after preparing for 3 months

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