Completely missed the mark, retake worth it?

Question

Hi guys,

Long time reader, first time poster. I'm writing this as I've just resat my GMAT for the 3rd time and completely missed the mark, receiving a 590 (Q41, V28). I'm very disappointed in myself, given that I have been consistently scoring above 700 in the GMATclub tests and the official mock. 
Initially both my studying and understanding of what was required for this exam was quite low, but after my results in April, I began studying 3 hours a day until the next exam. I worked with both TTP and eGMAT. I was stuck at V34 for almost a month, but finally broke through it in June.

Exam #1  Online 7/4/2020: 620 (Q42,V34). At this point I wasn't too concerned, I understood that I had conceptual flaws and I think at this point I signed up for the TTP course. I decided that simply dedicating a month wouldn't cut it and that I will need several months of prep to really see a score difference. I put in a lot of time and effort in between this exam and the next - a lot of hours on general concept improvements and answering as many questions as I could on this forum.

Mock Exams (sorry, I didn't take note of the dates initially)

Official Mock #3 660 (Q45, V34)
Official Mock #4 700 (Q48, V37)
Official Mock #5 710 (Q49, V37)
Official Mock #6 730 (Q47, V44)

Exam #2  08/09/2020: 640 (Q47,V31). I was quite upset with this result as I thought I would break the 700 mark. I ran out of time for the last 12 questions, only having 12 minutes to answer them, and panicked and started choosing those that 'sounded right' (I'll attach ESR where you can clearly see it). I also scored awful in CR, which is an area I have considered to be my strongest, usually it's SC that gets me. I cancelled the score. I chose to sit the exam again, being sure that I could break the 700 mark with more time efficiency.

GMATClub mock 750 (Q50, V42) This one I was quite lucky in the Quant section, several lucky guesses paid off. I felt as tho I was ready to go for it again.

Exam #3  24/09/2020: 590 (Q41,V28). I was completely flummoxed, this result was gut wrenching for me. I've essentially regressed to the level I was at before I even began studying and I have no idea why I had such a score drop. At this point I'm contemplating throwing in the towel.

If anybody can provide me with any suggestions, or how I can improve I would really appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

chrtpmdr · Answer

Hey - don't get discouraged too fast! What I see in your scores is that they are quite volatile. You jumped from a V37 to a V44 but never replicated such high verbal score again, am I right? Same goes for the quant part.

Were you super nervous during the test? I feel like you are jumping too fast into tests, considering that your first test day was only in July.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

How did you feel during the test itself? Was it any different from when you gave any of your recent Official Mocks?

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  andrekh98 , by any chance, did you get  repeat  questions when you were giving official mocks (and hence, your scores in official mocks might have been  inflated )?

The kind of score drop that you witnessed in your exam is just phenomenal. I can only imagine what you are going through right now. As others have also asked, were you extraordinarily nervous in the exam? What, according to you, went so amiss in the exam?

andrekh98 · Answer

Hey thanks for your response! With regards to verbal, I scored a 42 on the GMATclub test (don’t know how comparable it is to the real exam) after the mock. For quant I typically score from 47-49, I think anything above that I can attribute to repeat questions or luck.

I think my nerves were quite steady for the third exam, probably boarder line cocky. For the second exam I was definitely incredibly nervous. If I’m honest, I booked my last exam because I was certain I would improve my score and was also sick of studying.

Do you think I should give it another go soon? Or wait a few months?

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MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Given the difference between your actual scores and your score goal, getting to your score goal is probably going to take a few more months.

Also, what you are doing to prepare for verbal has not been working. Something has to change, or you won't see an increase in your verbal score.

One thing you should be aware of is that some verbal preparation materials prepare you for the GMAT Prep practice tests but not for the GMAT itself. So, the difference between your practice test scores and your actual scores may be the result of that phenomenon.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi andrekh98,

I understand why you are frustrated but the good news is that if you can do such great things on official practice exams, I KNOW you can do the same thing on the actual GMAT. I'm going to PM you now, so we can chat and get you on the right track moving forward.

andrekh98 · Answer

How would you recommend I study going forward? I've burned through all my official mocks, all I have left are the GMAT Club mocks.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi andrekh98,

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. In addition, the 'swings' in your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on your last two attempts imply that you might be 'winging it' during your Tests (meaning that you do not utilize a series of consistent Tactics and you're treating a certain percentage of the questions on a case-by-case basis). 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) Over the last 3 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the two courses that you mentioned?
3) Over the last 3 months, on what 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?

If you took your most recent 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

andrekh98 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your questions, I appreciate the help

1) I typically studied 2-3 hours a day in the months leading up to the exam, several weeks prior to the exam I decreased it to about 1-1.5 hours as I was constrained with work

2)Yes I’ve actually used quite a few study materials. After my first GMAT I used Powerscore for CR, and OG 2020 for practice questions. I also downloaded the error log from this website.

3) Each of my mocks and CATs are listed above, from memory they were spaced 2 to 3 weeks apart from one another.

4) My goal score is a minimum of 720, with a minimum quant score of 48.

5) Good question and the answer to that depends on graduate recruitment this year. If I can land a job in the banking/financial services area, then I will be making applications in about 2 to 3 years. However, if I strike out with graduate applications then I’ll be applying ASAP. Ideally it would be the former. My target Business Schools are Imperial College London, HEC Paris and LSE.

I have the ESRs to both my test centre scores, I’ll attach them once I’ve reached my 5 post minimum

Thanks again!

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