My Score Dropped! Figuring Out What Went Wrong
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Stacey is a GMAT Instructor living in Montreal. Click here to read more articles from Manhattan GMAT and to learn more about Manhattan GMAT's classes. |
It’s always disheartening when we have a score drop, whether it happens on a practice test or (worst case scenario) on the real test. If this happens to you, the most important thing to do next is figure out why this happened. If you can figure out why, then you may be able to do something to prevent a score drop from happening again.
This article contains the questions to ask yourself as you try to figure out why your score dropped.
1. Official Test Conditions
Did you take your practice tests under official test conditions? Did you:
- Do both essays?
- Take only two 8-minute breaks (the first between essays and quant, the second between quant and verbal)?
- Complete the test in one sitting (e.g., you didn’t do the verbal section later that evening or the next day)?
- Pause the test, look at books or notes, eat and drink during the test, or do anything else that wouldn’t be allowed on test day
If you did not take your practice tests under official testing conditions, then your practice scores were likely inflated – possibly just a little or possibly a lot, depending upon how far you were from official test conditions. If your practice test scores were inflated, then the bad news is: your scoring level wasn’t as good as you thought it was, and your official test didn’t represent as much of a drop as you first thought (and, possibly, the official test didn’t represent any drop at all).
While this is not great news, it is crucial to know, because it tells you what the problem is. You need to figure out in which areas you’re falling short and do what you need to do (math, grammar, problem-solving skills) in order to improve. (And don’t forget to take tests under official conditions in future, so that you get a true picture of your current scoring level.)
2. Stamina
Did you prepare yourself adequately for the stamina required to perform at a high mental level for more than 3.5 hours? Did you:
- Take the tests under official conditions? (including essays and breaks – see Section 1.
- Take the practice tests at the same time of day as you took (or plan to take) the real test?
- Avoid taking a second test (practice or official) within 3 days of taking another practice test?
- Eat good “energy” food before the test and during the breaks, drink liquids to stay hydrated, and stretch or do light exercise to loosen up and get your blood flowing?
This is a long test; stamina is critical to our ability to perform well. Don’t tire yourself out in the days before the official test (don’t study too much, don’t take a practice test within a few days of the real thing, etc.). And experiment with food and liquid until you find a combination that gives you good energy without making you overly stimulated (too much caffeine is a bad thing).
In addition, many people skip the essays on practice tests and then see a substantial drop on the verbal section of the official test. People are surprised when this happens, but if you use your Critical Reasoning skills, it shouldn’t be that surprising! If you don’t take the essays, then you’re only spending about 2.5 hours on your practice tests. The real thing, with the essays, will take a bit more than 3.5 hours. Your brain is, quite simply, not prepared to last for that entire 3.5 hour period… and verbal is the last section. So, the verbal score drops.
That’s why, although nobody cares about the essay scores, I still tell my students to do the essays on their practice tests. Your mental stamina is going to affect your quant and verbal scores, and you do care (very much!) about those scores, so you have to make sure you’re prepared to function at a high level for the entire 3.5 hour length of the test.
3. Timing
Mismanaged timing can cause a lot of variability in test scores. If your scores keep jumping up and down on practice tests and you’re not sure why, your timing may be the culprit. Also, whenever I talk to a student who experiences a more than 100 point drop on a test, timing is almost always a factor.
Timing is so crucial because of certain consequences that can kill our score. We tend to make more careless mistakes when we’re rushing. We may get multiple questions wrong in a row. We may run out of time entirely before the section is over. All of these things will have a negative impact on the scoring.
There are two major categories for mismanaged timing: too slow and too fast. Some testers will run out of time before the section is over; others will finish with lots of time left. Many testers mismanage the time badly, yet actually do finish the test on time. Just because you finished the test on time does not mean that you managed your time well throughout the section.
The vast majority of students who mismanage time badly enough to experience a big score drop will do so by going too slowly at some point on the test and, consequently, being forced to move too quickly at other points. Alternatively, people sometimes do move too quickly throughout an entire section because of general test anxiety; if you finish with more than 5 minutes left, you definitely moved too quickly through that section, and likely made careless mistakes as a result.
The common factor in either scenario: we have to go too quickly at some point. When we go too quickly, we make careless mistakes. We also tend to choose to go too quickly on problems we think are easy (or, at least, easier than others). So going too quickly basically equates to giving ourselves lots of chances to miss lower-level problems.
The “death spiral” (otherwise known as “my score dropped in a big way!”) occurs when you start to get a lot of lower-level problems wrong that you knew how to get right – if only you weren’t rushing and making mistakes.
(By the way, think about the other side of things: the problems on which you would go too slowly. You’re going to do this on the really hard problems, right? Well, the chances aren’t very good that we’ll get those problems right, even by spending extra time – precisely because the problems are really hard!)
4. Anxiety
The test is a nerve-wracking situation for everyone, but some people experience anxiety symptoms that are strong enough to interfere with rational thinking and the ability to perform. Below are links to a couple of articles about managing GMAT-related stress. If you are experiencing physical symptoms (nausea, rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing), you should consult a medical professional.
The most important thing to remember
If you can figure out what went wrong, then you can do something to prevent another score drop in future – so please take the time to think through everything that happened. Also, use the Beat the GMAT community to help – your fellow students and the GMAT experts can be great resources in helping you figure out what went wrong and what to do next.
17 comments
Md. Abdullah Al Faruk on March 11th, 2010 at 11:06 am
How much should I score on GMATprep in order to get 600+ on GMAT test??
Stacey Koprince on March 11th, 2010 at 11:18 am
You need to take the practice test under EXACT official testing conditions (including essays). In general, you should score at or somewhat above your goal score on a practice test before you take the real test. If you want a 600+ on the real GMAT, you need to be scoring in the 600 range on GMATPrep. Ideally, you'd be scoring 630 (or higher) on GMATPrep before you take the official test.
(And this doesn't guarantee a particular score, of course. But your chances are very good if you're scoring 30 or so points higher on GMATPrep under official testing conditions.)
sid on May 30th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
This is a well written article with lots of sensible advice!
basili on June 26th, 2010 at 10:38 am
my actual gmat score dropped 100 points from the average tests i've been taking on MGMAT. My verbal saw the biggest drop, going from the 8th percentile to the 40th. I'm convinced that the MGMAT material is easier than the actual GMAT, especially on the verbal section. Please advise.
Stacey Koprince on July 5th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Most of my students have told me that they think the verbal section is fairly comparable, though some people do feel that it's easier and some feel that it's harder. Statistically, the calculated bias for our test across all test-takers (who have given us their scores) is less than 10 points (that is, our practice tests do not consistently skew either higher or lower than the official test across the pool of testers) and the standard deviation from last MGMAT test to official test is about 50 points.
If you'd like to discuss further, please start a post in the Strategy section of the BTG forums and then send a PM (private message) to me with a link to your post. We can discuss in detail there.
Did you do the analysis described in the above article? In your post, please address all four major points listed above. (If you don't, my first reply to your post will simply be to ask you to do this analysis. I need the data in order to be able to help.) Please also tell us your recent history of exam scores (Q and V subscores, dates taken, test type), your strengths and weaknesses, and anything else you'd like us to know.
Saurabh K on July 23rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Hi Stacey,
I am taking the Test on Aug31,2010.Have been following the 60Day Beat the Gmat Plan.My Score History till date is as follows:
06/10/2010 MGMAT 1 QA 40 VA 29 OA 590
06/26/2010 GMATPrep1 QA46 VA37 OA 680
07/16/2010 GMATPrep1 QA48 VA37 OA 690
Please suggest,what should be the strategy from here on to score in the 99th percentile on the test.
Stacey Koprince on July 23rd, 2010 at 6:44 pm
I'd be happy to discuss! We need to have discussions like these on the forums. Post your question in the appropriate folder, then send a link to me via PM (and to anyone else from whom you'd like to hear).
Also, you might be interested in this article: http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/04/15/the-distinction-between-a-700-score-and-a-760-score
Deepak on December 30th, 2010 at 2:19 am
Second attempt score dropped from 680 to 610.
Hi Stacey,
I gave my first attempt in Nov 21 got 680( Q-50,V 31).I messed up the timing in my first exam & felt,I could slightly better.So gave my second attempt on 29th December (just after a 5 weeks) .My score dropped by 70 points ! I got 610 (Q 49 ,V 24) .
I was slightly tensed midway but not sure how could I screw this badly.SC correction were more vague than I saw in OG12,MGMAT guides.
I'm totally shattered.Schools tell they take best of the scores,will 610 be a black mark on my score ?Should I need to take third attempt or mention about this in my optional essay.
Stacey Koprince on January 4th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
I'm sorr you're having a tough time with the test.
In terms of whether to take it again, you'll get the best advice from an admissions consultant. It's my understanding that schools really do look at your highest score, but admissions is not my area of expertise. An admissions consultant would be better able to advise you as to whether the lower score is likely to be a handicap, whether you should address the topic in your optional essay, etc. (There are some consultants who answer questions here on the forums - go ahead and ask them there! Give them as many details as you can, including the specific schools to which you plan to apply.)
Poorvank Purohit on August 26th, 2011 at 3:26 am
Hi Stacey,
I am writing on behalf of my husband as he is very upset because of his GMAT Score which he gave on 25th August 2011 and his score was 510 ( Verbal 22 and Quantitative Section 36).
his Score history:
23/07/2011 GMAT Prep1 700(QA 48 VA 39)
30/07/2011 MGMAT 720( QA 49 VA 40)
6/08/2011 MGMAT 680 ( QA 49 VA 37)
13/08/2011 MGMAT 700 (QA 48 VA 390)
17/08/2011 MGMAT 640 ( QA 46 VA 32)
21/08/2011 GMAT Prep2 700 (QA 48 VA 39)
His target score for GMAT is 720 to 740. Request you to tell us why he scored very low in real GMAT.
He did the analysis, as per him he doesn't have any answer why he scored very low. He doesn't know what went wrong in GMAT.
And also would like to seek your guidance for his target score.
Poonam on August 26th, 2011 at 5:22 am
Hi stacey please delete these two blogs.
Stacey Koprince on August 26th, 2011 at 7:18 am
I can't, unfortunately - you'll have to send a PM to the moderator team at Beat the GMAT in order to delete any posts here.
Poonam on August 26th, 2011 at 3:33 am
Hi Stacey,I am writing on behalf of my husband as he is very upset because of his GMAT Score which he gave on 25th August 2011 and his score was 510 ( Verbal 22 and Quantitative Section 36).his Score history:23/07/2011 GMAT Prep1 700(QA 48 VA 39)30/07/2011 MGMAT 720( QA 49 VA 40)6/08/2011 MGMAT 680 ( QA 49 VA 37)13/08/2011 MGMAT 700 (QA 48 VA 390)17/08/2011 MGMAT 640 ( QA 46 VA 32)21/08/2011 GMAT Prep2 700 (QA 48 VA 39)His target score for GMAT is 720 to 740. Request you to tell us why he scored very low in real GMAT.He did the analysis, as per him he doesn't have any answer why he scored very low. He doesn't know what went wrong in GMAT.And also would like to seek your guidance for his target score.
Poonam on August 26th, 2011 at 5:23 am
HI stacey please delete these two blogs
Deepak on October 30th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
I am practicing regularly on GMAT since past 3 months (16hrs/week). My score just hovers around 420. I always end up getting 30Q & 20V. I am referring to MGMAT prep books, OG 12, Kaplan books and powerscore for CR and SC. Can you suggest some good strategy to get me in the range of 610 - 640.
Stacey Koprince on October 30th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
I can give you links to some articles here, but the place to discuss specific cases in depth is on the forums. I no longer participate on the BTG forums, but I do on the MGMAT forums. I'd encourage you to post in both places. At BTG, send a PM request to any teachers whom you would like to respond (the two MGMAT teachers who participate on BTG are Whit Garner and Ron Purewal - but you don't have to limit yourself to our teachers!). If you post in the General Strategy folder in the Ask An Instructor section on the MGMAT forums, then you'll get an answer from me.
Here are a couple of general articles about setting up a study plan and evaluating your tests:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/16/developing-a-gmat-study-plan/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/23/evaluating-your-practice-tests/
If you have any timing problems:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index.php/2011/06/21/everything-you-need-to-know-about-time-management/
(It's often the case that stagnant scores are a result of timing problems - if you keep studying and studying but don't get better, chances are timing is at least part of the problem.)
Deepak on October 30th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Thanks for a prompt response. I will review the articles.