Scored 175 points less than average CAT tests

Question

Hey everyone,

Throughout my months of studying I've read countless of forums on this site and decided to submit a question because I'm desperate now!

I got accepted into my dream school with a conditional offer pending with an acceptable score of 550 and a minimum score of 500 and the IR section is not even counted. My first diagnostic test was a 470 so I knew I wouldn't have a problem getting those scores.

I signed up for Kaplans online demand course and studied for 3 months. I was averaging a score around 500 on practice CATs from Kaplan and GMAC. But on test day today I scored a 350. I have no idea what happened, I'm bewildered on how I scored more than 150 points less than all of my cats averages combined. I'm clueless and don't know on what to do. I'm planning on retaking the test in one month and a half. I just don't know where to begin with all of this. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi winkwink1314

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.

If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?

6) On Test Day, did you have trouble finishing any of the sections on time? Did you have to rush through questions just to finish?

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

winkwink1314 · Answer

Yeah, each time I practiced an exam I put myself under the same testing mode experience. Additionally, I had used the Kaplan online demand course. The course offers the opportunity to experience taking a practice Kaplan CAT at a Pearson Center. I had utilized that opportunity and took a practice CAT at a live Pearson center under exact testing conditions and still received a 480. Which is why I'm bewildered, I've been through the same process before but now scored 150 less on the actual test day. I'm not sure whether to question how accurate these practice tests are or if the more I study the worst I do

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi winkwink1314

You didn't actually answer any of my questions. Until you provide the necessary information, there won't be any way to determine WHY your score dropped.

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

winkwink1314 · Answer

Oh my apologies! Thank you for your help with this, here I responded to each of your questions. Thanks again for the help!

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
-yes, I completed the whole CAT. My school doesn't count the IR portion so I only used that portion as a warmup. Yes, I would complete the essay, IR, Quant and Verbal.
2) Did you take them at home?
-yes I've taken each CAT either at my house or at the library. I tried the best to make it fit the actual testing conditions. In addition, I took a Kaplan practice CAT at an actual Pearson Center and scored a 480.
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
- Yes, I took them around the same time as my official GMAT. My official GMAT was at 12:00pm, and I studied and took the practice tests during that time because it's the best time for me to study.
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
-not really, when it came to the Quant and Verbal section, I didn't pause the test. I was primarily focused on building my mental stamina.
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?
- no I never retook a certain CAT, and my total amount of CATs I've completed during my study's were 5 CATs that averaged out to 480. 
6) On Test Day, did you have trouble finishing any of the sections on time? Did you have to rush through questions just to finish?
- on test day I completed every section on time. I did have to rush through a few question on the Quant sections towards the end. The problems towards the end were time consuming and I was short on time and ended guessing On them because I didn't have time to solve them.

Overall, from my research and other forums state that the Kaplan CATs are typically harder than the actual GMAT test. To my dismay I scored lower and usually test takers say they score higher on the actual test. Maybe the stress got to me or I probably didn't manage time.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi winkwink1314,

From the information in your last post, there weren't any big 'red flags' (but there were a few minor ones). I have a few additional questions about the lead-up to Test Day and Test Day itself:

1) What did you do during the last 3 days before your GMAT?
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?

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

winkwink1314 · Answer

1) What did you do during the last 3 days before your GMAT?
-i was studying during the three days leading up to the test. The day before the test I didn't study just spent the day reviewing verbal grammar and math.
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
-I had slept 11 hours the night before. However, two nights before the test, the stress had got to me and I ended up only sleeping 3 hours.
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
- the drive was 12 min, very short. I had taken an Uber and got to the test center 1 hour early.
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
-actually, there was a distraction. I had used the noise cancellation headphones, but there was this loud vibrating noise from the air conditioner. It was distracting but I didn't know if they could've done anything about it? And due to the test being timed, I didn't want to waste precious time trying to resolve the noise so I worked through it.
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
- I didn't use the first break, as I had used the IR section as a warm up because my MBA program doesn't count that portion. I used the second break, drank some Gatorade and then continued the test.

WayneHam · Answer

based on a majority of the forum, it's pretty clear that you score about 50 lower on the real test than the prep. If you were scoring 500 on the prep then you most likely would not have met your goal. It's not like you were doing great and then you completely bombed.

Basically what I'm saying is rather than focusing on whether or not you at whole wheat or white bread the day of the exam and what time you did your practice exam, you should focus on getting your scores higher. Also did you skip a ton of questions or run out of time? Your score would indicate that you did not get the easy questions right. I got a 35th percentile on the quant and ran out of time, guessing on the last 10 possibly.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi winkwink1314

After rereading all of the information that you've provided, there are enough 'red flags' that can account for your score drop on Test Day. You have to remember that Test Day is a rather specific 'event', which you CAN train to face. The more details/factors that are not accounted for though, the higher the likelihood of a bad Test Day performance.

1) From what you described, there were some pacing 'issues' on Test Day - if you were spending too much time on certain questions (and ended up getting them wrong), then you ALSO would have likely lost points by guessing on a bunch of questions (especially the 'gettable' questions that appear at the end of each of the Quant and Verbal sections). The net effect could have been a considerable point drop.
2) No matter how much any Test Taker might try, taking CATs at home will never truly mimic what they'll face on Test Day. There are too man little details that will be 'off.'
3) Keeping your studies light the day before your Exam was a good idea, but if you were 'cramming' during those other few days, then you might have 'burned out' a little before Test Day. This ties into...
4) The inconsistent sleep you described. While this is an area that is tougher to 'control', if you're not going into Test Day relatively calm and well-rested, then your performance could suffer.
5) Getting to the Test Center an hour early likely cost you (depending on how long you had to wait at the Facility before you were officially allowed to begin your Exam). All of that 'nervous energy' is best used working on the Exam - if you were burning that energy waiting in the lobby, then you would have been less energetic in the latter part of the Test (the latter part of the Quant and the entire Verbal) and more apt to make little mistakes.
6) The two 8-minute breaks are exceptionally important to a strong overall Test performance. Skipping a break, for any reason, is a BAD idea.

The good news is that the GMAT is still the same predictable Exam that it's always been, so you can train to score at a higher level. Since Business Schools don't care if you retest, and you can always cancel a score that you don't like, this result doesn't cause any real harm. You'll just have to make sure to properly adjust your study routine for your next attempt.

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

winkwink1314 · Answer

Okay thank you so much for this advice! Your post had helped a lot and makes sense as to why I underperformed. Unfortunately, my school that offered me the conditional offer pending an acceptable GMAT score deadline is in less than a month. I don't think I'll achieve that score in that short time. From your experience, will it look bad as an applicant if I ask to apply for the September intake so Ill have time retaking the exam?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Hi winkwink1314,

You're ultimately asking an Admissions question, so it would probably be best to ask an Admissions Expert it. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

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

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Scored 175 points less than average CAT tests

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