Need Advice

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Need Advice

by amirzoyan » Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:10 am
Hi,

So as many on this forum I had high aspirations of acquiring a high GMAT score. I started studying in June and probably put in more then 150 hours of studying. The first two months I spent working on concepts and understanding strategy. From August though December I spent working on problems. I predominantly used three sources which included the Official Guide, Magoosh, and Target Test Prep. Collectively, I went through over 1500 problems, and by the end of it was getting 70-90% of questions right (I only practiced medium and hard question) for both quant and verbal. I do admit, I didn't do as many CATs as I should have. Before starting my studies, I installed the GMATPrep Software and took a practice test. I ended up scoring a 610. That was somewhat promising since at that point I haven't put any effort and did not get an "awful" score. Before taking the actual exam in December, I took two more CATs. Scored 700 on one and 680 on the second. I felt I was ready to achieve my goal. Took the test, and to my surprise got an abysmal 560...that was fairly devastating after months of work and never scoring below 600. I ended up canceling the score and rescheduling the test in 3 weeks (given I am applying for round 2 and need an unofficial score before I submit my application). Looking at the analysis of the test, I did poorly on the verbal section, specifically SC but also should have done better on quant. I kind of froze and had a mental block a few times throughout the test.
So I'm looking for any advise on what I can do differently for the next 3 weeks to achieve something in the 660-700 range. I've put in a lot of time and know the material, but feel like my strategy is lacking. Should I hire a tutor or use different material. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!!

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by [email protected] » Sat Dec 12, 2015 9:27 am
Hi amirzoyan,

First off, you'll likely get more of a response if you post this in the General Strategy Forum:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-strategy-f3.html

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?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by amirzoyan » Sat Dec 12, 2015 10:02 am
Thanks Rich. I will certainly also post it in the forum you suggested below. So here is the answer to your questions.

1) Yes, I did this two out of three times.
2) Two of the three I did at home
3) Close. My official test was at 3:00pm, I took the CATs around noon
4) when I took my second CAT, I did pause twice
5) No, all three of the CATs I took were different.

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by [email protected] » Sat Dec 12, 2015 4:31 pm
Hi amirzoyan,

The accuracy of CAT results depends heavily on how YOU choose to take the CATs. The more realistic and 'test-like' you make those experiences, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. If you deviate from the standard Test Day 'event' (skipping sections, pausing the CAT, taking it at home, taking it at a different time of day from your Official Test time, etc.), then your scores will often deviate too. The choices that you made almost certainly impacted your practice scores and led to 'inflated' results - as such, you weren't properly ready to face the Official GMAT and your score dropped.

Thankfully, all of this can be fixed, but you have to be more strict with the choices that you make.

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