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Declining practice test scores - how to turn around?

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Declining practice test scores - how to turn around?

by h.mel » Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:31 am
Hello fellow GMAT enthusiasts,

I am in a dilemma because I started studying about a month ago and started a Princeton Review class 3 weeks ago, but my practice test scores have declined each time now. After increasing my studying for the last month (about 8-12 hours a week) I would have hoped to see my scores significantly increasing. Here are my results:

Kaplan Cat1 Diagnostic: 600 (Q36 V41)
Princeton Cat1: 570 (Q34 V35)
Princeton Cat2: 520 (Q35 V27)

Has anyone had a similar experience or do you have any suggestions for how to approach my study plan/strategies?

Thanks in advance for any help!!
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by [email protected] » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:18 am
Hi h.mel,

Most Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) on their studies to hit their "peak" scores. Since you're early on in your studies, you're trying to learn new material, tactics, etc. and so it's normal for Test Scores to fluctuate a bit.

When you took these CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?

1) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
2) What is your score goal?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by h.mel » Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:13 pm
Thanks for the response, Rich!

I am scheduled to take the exam late June, just under 2 months from now. I have taken the full CAT each time, but probably with longer than 8 minute breaks. I will work on getting to the real break times in the next couple of exams.

My score goal is 710-740, and looking to apply as early as this fall.
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by [email protected] » Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:07 pm
Hi h.mel,

A full review of each of these practice CATs is probably warranted. What questions did you get wrong and WHY. If you're making silly mistakes, then you should focus on eliminating those mistakes from your work (the solution almost always involves taking more notes). If you're getting questions wrong because you don't know the material yet, then you have to wait until you see that material during your studies (or become more familiar with it).

You should post back here with your next couple of CAT scores. If you're still not seeing any progress in the next 2-3 weeks, then we can talk through some potential adjustments to your study plan.

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Rich
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:40 pm
I totally agree with Rich. A full review is crucial after each practice test. While CAREFULLY analyzing your practice tests, there are four main types of weakness to watch out for:
1. specific Quant skills/concepts (e.g., algebra, standard deviation, etc.)
2. specific Verbal skills/concepts (e.g., verb tenses, assumption CR questions, etc.)
3. test-taking skills (time management, endurance, anxiety etc.)
4. silly mistakes

For the first two weaknesses, the fix is pretty straightforward. Learn the concept/skill and find some practice questions to strengthen that weakness. To focus on one topic at a time, you can use BTG's tagging feature to isolate one concept. For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.

If your test-taking skills are holding you back, then you need to work on these. For example, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244.

Finally, if silly mistakes are hurting your score, then it's important that you identify and categorize these mistakes so that, during tests, you can easily spot situations in which you're prone to making errors. I write about this and other strategies in the following article: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/avo ... teaks-gmat

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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