A VERY VERY BAD GMAT DAY HELP

Question

Hi all,
I just gave my second attempt after 3 months and got 570(Q47,V22). This is the least i have ever got in any test. My first attempt gave me a score of 660(Q48,v33). The least score i have got in GMATprep was 600, a year back before i even started any prep. I was shell shocked today. I slept well the previous night as well. The kaplan test gave me a score of 690. GMATprep gave me a score of 710 though some questions i was familiar with. However, the words in verbal just didnt get together and i tried to make sense of what i read multiple times. I stressed out because i wasnt able to understand the questions. I request the experts to please help me. My target score was 700 and i felt i really could do it. Any idea what might have gone wrong today? My mind literally got blocked. I am usually able to solve GMAT QOTD with 90 percent accuracy. My SC accuracy was 75%+, CR accuracy was 85%+ and same goes with RC. I randomly started to guess the answers today. Can i believe its just a "bad gmat day"? How do i keep my cool?

billionaire · Answer

Hello shravan Ram Yes it was absolutely a "bad GMAT day". And yes you can absolutely score next time on your target of 700. I am sensing you are non native speaker, based on everything you described. However, if you are from India then you are at least partially native speaker, if not in full, based on education system settings there. Obviously you dont have any problem with quant, you just blocked on verbal part on test day. Best strategy for RC always was reading...and especially reading outside of GMAT, like Economist, Scientific American, Bloomberg, National Geographic, New York Times, WSJ etc. Seems like you had problem with vocabulary and putting things in context. Reading is best cure for that. Read, read, read and then read some more

For SC and CR, work on official questions and for SC be sure to recheck grammar theory, from any book or online course you used for prep so far. GMAT Club grammar book and Manhattan verbal guides are good way to go, if you need recommendations. Now, keep in mind that GMAT test is also psychological game and on test day there is a lot of pressure, involved with fear, costs etc. However you need to be mentally prepared for that, knowing in advance that whatever may happen during exam, you must not panic and must remain cool and give your best in given circumstances. That is only mental attitude that you can afford, knowing that you can and you will meet target if you remain cool and focused. Always remind yourself that GMAT is only one aspect of application, and only purpose of GMAT for admission officers is that you can prove you have capabilities in their desired range, which is their average score of previously admitted students. If you meet that, you are in consideration for admission and your overall profile and interview will decide, in another words GMAT score solely does not make admission decision, not even close. These insights, should give you some relief and mentally prepare for your next try. Of course your official mocks will be somewhat inflated, but you should continue to do them to make sure you are familiar with vocabulary and style of writing. Good Luck !

Arro44 · Answer

Based on your description it seems much more like a bad day rather than a lack of knowledge.

Now that you are familiar with the Testcenter experience I am positive that you will be able to keep your cool the second time around

u1983 · Answer

Hello  shravan  Ram ..... really sorry to hear that. And as  billionaire  &  Arro44  has mentioned  you definitely will reach your target score the next time . Bad days happen to the best of us . So, just try to forget the past ...... it cannot be changed now anyway. Keep your cool(if possible take a week off)...... Get the ESR ......compose yourself........analyse and find the weak areas....... start working on them....You will definitely be there ............................... And last but not the least ..........All the best for the next attempt  .

souvonik2k · Answer

Hi
Sorry to hear that you didn't score well on the Gmat. It appears that you had a bad day. But I would not be sure of a 710 since you had some repeat questions on the Gmatprep, still 570 is way below. 
i would suggest to order an ESR and analyze it thoroughly. Maybe you need to work on Verbal. Practice questions from the OG and Gmatprep questions on the forum. 
Hope it helps. All the best.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Shravan Ram,

I’m sorry to hear how things went with your GMAT. To better determine whether your lower GMAT score was due to a bad day or something else, you may consider taking a fresh MBA.com practice exam under realistic testing conditions. Once you complete that practice exam, please report back here with your score breakdown, and I can provide some further advice.

You also may find it helpful to read this article about 
 how to score a 700+ on the GMAT .

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Shravan Ram,

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 each time (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 when you plan to take 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? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: on a prior CAT, in an online forum or in a practice set)?

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

TheGraceful · Answer

Hi Shravan,

Since your mock scores are evident that yiu have a good potential, you start a fresh and try for another attempt. Just, Do not hurry for the next attempt.
Read the recent debrief(GMAT success stories), posted in last 3-4 days on this forum, most people have taken twice or thrice and succeeded.
Start reading, Wall street journal and Economist. This will be helpful not only in cracking GMAT but much beyond that.
Also, on a personal experience, I would suggest to use Aristotle GMAT books for verbal: RC grail, CR grail, SC grail (along with Manhatten SC guide). And then practice verbal questions from OG.
Prep4GMAT mobile app also a good to have mobile app.
 After tha t, Additionally try free trials and choose an online course.

Hope this helps.
Thanks
 
The Graceful

Shravan Ram · Answer

Hi.
I purchased the GMATprep Exam pack and took 3 of the 4 mocks.
The scores are as follows:
GMATprep#3 - 730
GMATprep#4- 720
GMATprep#5-700
All the tests were taken under realistic conditions.

Please advice.

egmat · Answer

Hi  shravan  Ram,

It could be a bad day for you especially since your latest mock scores are in the 700 range (assuming you did not have any known questions). You must revise all that you have studied and then take the test again. I would additionally recommend that you take Ability Quizzes in Scholaranium (  Verbal Ability Quiz   |   Quant Ability Quiz  ) to identify the exact topics in which you may be weak and revise those topics well before going for your next attempt.

All the best!

Regards,
Aditee

Shravan Ram · Answer

I just wrote my final GMATprep and I got a 660. Thats a huge drop.
I made just 7 mistakes in Quant and 9 mistakes in Verbal but got a score of 47 and 35 respectively.
This is really confusing and has put me on the backfoot again. I understand that the number of mistakes is not an indicator of your scores but with just 7 and 9 mistakes, i felt the score was too less. The last half of the Quant was too easy.
The questions wrong in quant were:
1,7,8,12,14,17,20
Verbal:
1,2,8,14,15,28,30,31,33

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A VERY VERY BAD GMAT DAY HELP

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