Was this just luck?Can i improve more?

Question

Hello everyone!! i've been lurking around for a while now reading all the useful stuff you guys write.Congratulations for inspiring people and making them believe they can do it!!!

Ok,so about a month ago i decided i had to take the gmat this year for reasons there is no need to discuss.Just a sudden change of plans.I need your help in evaluating me and my potential because i am a bit confused.I will continue by presenting my preparation along with CAT scores and the actual GMAT score,which i took today.I will try to make it as short and comprehensive as possible.

So i began preparing.I bought the OG review along with the extra 2 books(verbal and quant).I studied the theory for the quant(how to calculate the surface area,volumes etc which i had completely forgotten) and worked on about 70% of the quant questions and 80% of the verbal questions from the extra 2 guides(I didn't touch the big one which included everything)

Then i took my  first GMATPREP Practice test: 600(Q 43, V 29)

After the debacle i studied 2 out of the 5 Manhattan Gmat Quant guides(Number properties and Word problems).NO verbal practice or studying.

Took the  second GMATPREP practice test(after 14 days that is): 640(Q 45,V 34)

Then for 8 days i read less than 30% of the verbal Manhattan GMAT guides which were really of no use since i didn't have time to practice anything.I didn't even adhere to one simple guideline during the proper exam.I also solved some of the extra questions i hadn't practiced from the extra Verbal guide.

Today (8 days after 2nd cat) I went in for the  REAL exam: 690 (Q 44, V 40)

I know it is not the super-duper score that will get you into Harvard(or Imperial since that is what I am aiming at :D ).But i was pretty shocked from my performance.I was DREAMING of maybe scoring 650 due to my CAT results.

So,what do you guys think happened?Was i just lucky?How lucky can you get in this exam(particularly in the verbal)???
Or,to rephrase it,how much improvement do you think is possible?

P.S: I really messed up the quant.I still can't believe how this happened.The questions up to around 15-17 were easy and i solved them quick,so i was taking my time afterwards and just forgot to start rushing again.All in all i would say i answered at lest 4-5 questions by guessing and some were easy as well....

Thank you sooo much in advance.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Panavee,

First off, a 690 is a great score (it's just shy of the 90th percentile overall), so you should apply to any Business School that you want to.

I'm hoping that you can clarify some things. You stated that you HOPED to score 650 on Test Day; were you planning to take the GMAT more than once? If so, then why did you rush through the process?

Since you seemed to move through the study process rather quickly, it sounded like you were on a shortened schedule. Now that you have a 690 (which is higher than what you had hoped to score), why are you thinking about retesting?

To answer your questions about the score differences, your score improvement could have been based on a bit of 'luck' (maybe you were just really comfortable with the subject matter that appeared in the Verbal section). 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 practice CATs function, your Official Score and your 2nd CAT score are 'in range' of one another.

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

namip · Answer

Wow given your verbal score in the practice tests, a 40 in the real test appears phenomenal. Congratulations!

Panavee · Answer

Thank you both for your kind words and sorry for the late reply.I also took the IELTS today so i pretty much needed some sleep :D

EMPOWERgmatRichC: Yes,I will clarify some things.First of all i didn't plan to take the Gmat because i wasn't thinking of applying anywhere this year.Things changed though and i needed a GMAT score to make my profile more attractive.When i registered for it i hadn't taken any CATs and didn't know what my level was.Also i had to take it soon to meet the application deadlines(I am talking about MSc not MBA).So i had to do my best in the limited time that I had.

Now,about retesting...First of all I plan to study more before taking it again.I am not just going to go in and take it with no extra preparation.There are two reasons i plan to do this:

1)Even if i do get admitted to a great MSc program with my profile as it is,i have heard that good companies emphasize your GMAT score and do not consider you for an interview if your score is below 700.

2) IF this wasn't luck(I am talking about the verbal only since i messed up the quant significantly....) why not study more and take some CATs to see if i have improved?That's my reasoning.

So,to sum things up,I was on a strict schedule due to some application deadlines but even if I get accepted i want to improve my score if it is possible.

I guess this answers my own question really.I will have to study more and take more CATs to see if I got lucky on the real test.I just wondered how an expert would interpret this score difference really.

Thanks for your input.I didn't know about the +-30 point difference so that was definitely helpful.

damyanti · Answer

I read your entire post, but couldn't understand you meant by "messed up the quant", since from your CAT scores, it looks like you were scoring in the 43-45 range in quant consistently.

I couldn't find in your post, any mention of the specific quant material you used for building up concepts (surface area etc.). If you could let us know, experts can perhaps advice you on specific material that might help you.

Panavee · Answer

Thank you very very much for replying and for your interest!!

I do realize my quant score is consistent with my CAT scores,however due to spending much extra time on some easy questions i ran out of time and had to guess 5-6 questions near the end.The reason i did this is because i had planned to be up to question 19 by the 40th minute and i was at question 23-24 if i remember correctly so i relaxed more than i should have.Also,the extra time i spent on early questions didn't really result in me changing the answer to them.The answer i first chose was the same as the final answer so i pretty much wasted my time.That is why i consider i messed it up.All my fault really for bad time management.

As for the material used,i did mention reading 2 manhattan quant guides(Number properties and word problems).Of course i also read the math section of the official guide and became familiar with it by solving questions from the same book.

P.S 1:Something just came to my attention.I realized that when i was taking the practice tests i was REALLY really nervous.I was thinking that soon enough i will find out the number that will probably define my future etc....I kept drinking coffee through the test which also made me more nervous over time.I didn't do anything of that on exam day.I thought i was done for so i just though i'll do my best and i don't care what happens.I'll retest one day.Maybe that actually helped.

P.S 2: After i take a break for one or two days i plan to take another CAT and see how i do.I was thinking about the free Manhattan Gmat CAT but i have one question:is the free test you get from their website the same as one of the tests you get when you purchase one of their guides???

damyanti · Answer

ok then it seems that just be doing time management, you can prop up your score by at least a couple of points on Quant. Also, I did notice that you read 2 manhattan quant guides(Number properties and word problems), but couldn't find any reference of where you read rest of the topics from (surface area calculation etc.).

Basically I am trying to say that perhaps going thru all the manhanttan quant guides might be a solution. A great thing I found reading your post was that you got nervous while giving the mocks, but did not get nervous on the actual exam! In my case, I was fearing the other way round, though thankfully it didn't happen.

Lastly, I don't know if you are already aware that there is now an option to "buy" two additional GMATPrep exams. That is something that you might want to consider.

Panavee · Answer

arjunbeswal i wish you all the luck in the world man!!! i hope you do the best!

damyanti:yes that is what i will do.I will have to read them all.You never know what might be useful.Also,i have noticed some people saying they have taken 3 or 4 GMATPREP CATs.Do you (or anyone else of course) know if the questions that appear on those 2 tests are also included in the OG review?or are they completely different?

Thank you all very much again.

damyanti · Answer

Actually that's a good question; I did give GMATPreps, but did not do all the OGs; so I am not very sure whether there is any repetition.

Does anyone know for sure? However, one thing is for sure. If we browse forums such as GC, then obviously a lot of questions that you find here on these forums would be repeated on GMATPrep. There is no escaping that;).

Panavee · Answer

Thank you very much for your input!!! I really appreciate it.

Good luck to everyone else taking the test :D

damyanti · Answer

Sure. Do keep us informed of the progress at your end.

Good luck to you too!

Panavee · Answer

I certainly will do so! Since i have gained so much from this site i will give back as much as i can

Talk again soon!

Panavee · Answer

Hello everyone!!! I decided to inform you on my progress for what it's worth.... I guess it wasn't luck after all. Just took it again today. 720 (q47 v42) I will do a proper debrief tomorrow or the next day(or whenever I become sober :D lol) just in case I can offer some motivation for others like a lot of people have offered me

For the record,I NEVER scored above 660 on any mock exam(including GMATPREP) besides a 730 on a retake.More to come on this in the debrief.. Thank you all and I hope you find my future debrief useful!!!

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Was this just luck?Can i improve more?

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