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16 Sep 2022, 08:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
1st GMAT test on 12th Sept- V21 Q50 (V- Q- IR AWA)
Started preparation from 3rd June onwards.
Practice material-
RC- SC Grail, Powerscore, and Official Guide- maintaining roughly 60% accuracy in Hard questions with Timed practice
CR- Powerscore and Official Guide- maintaining roughly 80% accuracy in Hard questions with timed practice
SC- Manhattan, SC Grail, and Official Guide- maintaining roughly 65% accuracy in Hard questions with timed practice
I have attempted 5 Manhattan Mock tests (V 27 to 34 Q 41 to 44) and 2 GMAC mock tests (V25 Q49, V31 Q51). The number of errors varies from 13 to 20 nos. I measure my performance with the number of errors made, not with the score.
After completing Mock tests, I never looked for the explanation of wrongly attempted questions. I re-attempt the same mock test again after several days and compare the answers. That was to ensure that I was choosing the same correct answers every time, and No correct answer chosen was just a good guess.
In almost all mock tests, I was making consecutive errors in min 5 to 8 questions in the last moments. My timing issue was majorly in SC and CR questions.
I improved my timing by 8th Sept after which I was able to complete the tests well in advance, saving almost 2-3 min in Verbal section and almost 5 min in Quant section in any test.
But after this timing improvement, I noticed a sudden drop in my SC and CR efficiency. Though RC efficiency was maintained, or even improved. Previously I was getting almost uniform accuracy of 50% in RC, 65% in SC, and 80% in CR in all mock tests.
On the GMAT day, I scored V21, Q50
I admit I could hardly rest the previous night, I was facing minor health issues and I had several disturbances on the test day as well. But I kept myself composed and attempted my best. I could score well in Quant but significantly lacked in Verbal.
I did not feel verbal section challenging at all in actual test. I had a boldface question as well on Ques no 12, which was quite hard (my efficiency with Boldface questions is around 65%). I was so shocked to see a score of 21, the lowest ever. Obviously, I would have made much more than 20 mistakes to get a score of V21.
On 14th Sept, I attempted one mock to see, whether my efficiency has actually degraded to this level. I attempted Princeton review Mock, which I felt was quite challenging, I was anyways so low on confidence, the passages and questions seemed tough, but still, I could score V25 (14 mistakes). All of the experimental questions were attempted correctly.
I could gather the following gaps in my study plan-
1. I completed my major practice very early. In the last 10-15 days, I majorly focussed on how to work on Mocks, my timing, accuracy, and strategy.
2. I practiced questions segregated with difficulty level. So mind was relaxed in easy questions and attentive in hard questions. This was the reason, I was getting much better efficiency when practicing.
3. I majorly practiced each section in isolation. Since, each section and question type needs a different level of focus/ attitude, a mix-up of questions was more of a challenge.
Though I tried to some extent, but could not improve my accuracy beyond a level. Surprisingly, I was always maintaining almost the same accuracy in RC, CR, and SC at any level of test or practice.
One last thing to add-
As I had already gone through the Manhattan and SC grail books, and Solving SC questions is majorly guided by a rulebook, I felt reading one more book may not be that helpful to improve my performance.
During my SC section preparation, for once, I had this strong determination to either solve all questions correctly or understand where I lack specifically. I attempted the questions from Manhattan mock tests which I could never solve despite several attempts. I noticed that this particular time I solved all the questions correctly.
Though I could not perform that well ever again, but this does lead me to the point of whether performing well is just a matter of attitude adjustment.
Now, I am building up my courage to restart my preparation. I need more practice but attempting some 2000 questions with similar accuracy as before may not help. I am yet to figure out how to improve my efficiency.
Looking for some expert advice.
Thanks to avigutman for helping me in RC improvement.
Thanks in advance and apologies for the lengthy post.
Started preparation from 3rd June onwards.
Practice material-
RC- SC Grail, Powerscore, and Official Guide- maintaining roughly 60% accuracy in Hard questions with Timed practice
CR- Powerscore and Official Guide- maintaining roughly 80% accuracy in Hard questions with timed practice
SC- Manhattan, SC Grail, and Official Guide- maintaining roughly 65% accuracy in Hard questions with timed practice
I have attempted 5 Manhattan Mock tests (V 27 to 34 Q 41 to 44) and 2 GMAC mock tests (V25 Q49, V31 Q51). The number of errors varies from 13 to 20 nos. I measure my performance with the number of errors made, not with the score.
After completing Mock tests, I never looked for the explanation of wrongly attempted questions. I re-attempt the same mock test again after several days and compare the answers. That was to ensure that I was choosing the same correct answers every time, and No correct answer chosen was just a good guess.
In almost all mock tests, I was making consecutive errors in min 5 to 8 questions in the last moments. My timing issue was majorly in SC and CR questions.
I improved my timing by 8th Sept after which I was able to complete the tests well in advance, saving almost 2-3 min in Verbal section and almost 5 min in Quant section in any test.
But after this timing improvement, I noticed a sudden drop in my SC and CR efficiency. Though RC efficiency was maintained, or even improved. Previously I was getting almost uniform accuracy of 50% in RC, 65% in SC, and 80% in CR in all mock tests.
On the GMAT day, I scored V21, Q50
I admit I could hardly rest the previous night, I was facing minor health issues and I had several disturbances on the test day as well. But I kept myself composed and attempted my best. I could score well in Quant but significantly lacked in Verbal.
I did not feel verbal section challenging at all in actual test. I had a boldface question as well on Ques no 12, which was quite hard (my efficiency with Boldface questions is around 65%). I was so shocked to see a score of 21, the lowest ever. Obviously, I would have made much more than 20 mistakes to get a score of V21.
On 14th Sept, I attempted one mock to see, whether my efficiency has actually degraded to this level. I attempted Princeton review Mock, which I felt was quite challenging, I was anyways so low on confidence, the passages and questions seemed tough, but still, I could score V25 (14 mistakes). All of the experimental questions were attempted correctly.
I could gather the following gaps in my study plan-
1. I completed my major practice very early. In the last 10-15 days, I majorly focussed on how to work on Mocks, my timing, accuracy, and strategy.
2. I practiced questions segregated with difficulty level. So mind was relaxed in easy questions and attentive in hard questions. This was the reason, I was getting much better efficiency when practicing.
3. I majorly practiced each section in isolation. Since, each section and question type needs a different level of focus/ attitude, a mix-up of questions was more of a challenge.
Though I tried to some extent, but could not improve my accuracy beyond a level. Surprisingly, I was always maintaining almost the same accuracy in RC, CR, and SC at any level of test or practice.
One last thing to add-
As I had already gone through the Manhattan and SC grail books, and Solving SC questions is majorly guided by a rulebook, I felt reading one more book may not be that helpful to improve my performance.
During my SC section preparation, for once, I had this strong determination to either solve all questions correctly or understand where I lack specifically. I attempted the questions from Manhattan mock tests which I could never solve despite several attempts. I noticed that this particular time I solved all the questions correctly.
Though I could not perform that well ever again, but this does lead me to the point of whether performing well is just a matter of attitude adjustment.
Now, I am building up my courage to restart my preparation. I need more practice but attempting some 2000 questions with similar accuracy as before may not help. I am yet to figure out how to improve my efficiency.
Looking for some expert advice.
Thanks to avigutman for helping me in RC improvement.
Thanks in advance and apologies for the lengthy post.
16 Sep 2022, 08:41
Kudos
Bookmarks
Sure, you must restart your preparations. You have worked hard all through for the past six months !!
Please try attempting questions using Forum Quiz. Expert explanations therein will surely assist.
Please try attempting questions using Forum Quiz. Expert explanations therein will surely assist.
16 Sep 2022, 15:36
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Spgmat23,
I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. 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 many hours did you typically study each week?
2) 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:
3) What is your overall goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
If you took your Official GMAT at a Test Center, then 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
Contact Rich at: [email protected]
I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. 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 many hours did you typically study each week?
2) 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:
3) What is your overall goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
If you took your Official GMAT at a Test Center, then 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
Contact Rich at: [email protected]
