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510 to 520 in one month on actual test!

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510 to 520 in one month on actual test!

by varung79 » Tue May 20, 2014 4:21 pm
One of my biggest GMAT concerns is my score disparity between my practice tests and the real test remains unknown. I score well on practice tests but I see a score difference of 100 points on the actual test. I took complete course too(Of course there is a whole new story about my experience with a test preparation company)

MGMAT1: 620
MGMAT2: 580
MGMAT3: 580
MGMAT4: 580
MGMAT5: 590
GMAT Prep 1: 580
KAPLAN CAT 1: 570
MGMAT6: 620 IR: 2.33
Real GMAT: 520(Verbal 19; Quant 44; AWA: 4.0 IR: 4.0

Here's an explanation of what cannot go wrong:
---------------------------------------------
a) Whenever I take my practice tests, I never skip AWA and IR
b) I took complete course with one test preparation companies followed by private tutoring
c) Always scored around 33 in verbal prior tutoring; one can imagine where my projected scores should go after tutoring!
d) I am well versed with the time management techniques(timing is not an issue to me after taking those many practice tests)

What else can go wrong? Any analysis from experts?
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by Mike858 » Tue May 20, 2014 4:49 pm
Interesting stuff man. I too am experiencing score disperity. I prepped last summer with Veritas private tutoring scored 500,490 on practice exams then took the real deal and scored 400. I had no time crunch on the score so I sat on it for 6 months and got started back up with Private tutoring in January, this time with Manhattan. I must say, I think Manhattan is significantly better than Veritas. Veritas did not even provide me with OG13 lol. Anyway, with Manhattan I scored 500, 460 and then 530 on practice exams. Crammed for a few more weeks and took the real thing today.....

Scored 450 Q29 V21. Totally nowhere near any of my practice exam scores and I have no idea why. The standard deviation must be pretty big for the practice exams these companies create.
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by [email protected] » Tue May 20, 2014 5:07 pm
Hi varung79,

What were your Scaled Scores for the Quant and Verbal sections on your practice CATS?

Since you claim to have taken each practice CAT in its entirety, we should focus on the physical and environmental factors behind your CATs and official GMAT.

1) What time of day and day of the week did you take your CATs and GMAT?
2) What did you do during the last 2 days before your GMAT?
3) Was there anything different about Test Day? Did you sleep less? Eat different food? Drive a long distance to the Testing Center? Etc.

A V19 means that you were losing significant points on all 3 Verbal categories (SC, RC and CR), so something was clearly "off" there. How often were you "narrowing it down to 2 choices and then 'guessing'"? That approach can lead to big swings in your Verbal score as it's based on 50/50 probability. You'll probably get half of them correct, but on a "bad day", you'll get more wrong than right. This could also explain the disparity.

The good news is that Business Schools don't care if you retake the GMAT. Also, since the GMAT is standardized and predictable, you CAN train to crush it. Before retaking the GMAT, you might need to invest in some new resources.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by varung79 » Wed May 21, 2014 5:48 am
Hi Rich & Mike, thanks for your responses!
What were your Scaled Scores for the Quant and Verbal sections on your practice CATS?
MGMAT4: Quant 40 & Verbal 31
MGMAT5: Quant 42 & Verbal 31
MGMAT6: Quant 42 & Verbal 33
1) What time of day and day of the week did you take your CATs and GMAT?
My Real test was on Wednesday 9:00AM; I mostly took my CATs during the same time(9:00AM) on weekends
2) What did you do during the last 2 days before your GMAT?
This time I was confident and relaxed; the day before my test, I did little bit of reading - mostly basics;
3) Was there anything different about Test Day? Did you sleep less? Eat different food? Drive a long distance to the Testing Center? Etc.
Nothing different; after all, it was my fourth attempt at the same test centre - My first two attempts, in which I scored 390 and 450 respectively, were a year ago;
I slept well, ate what I used to regularly have for breakfast; No traffic while I drove to test centre; Overall, I felt relaxed and kept my energy levels high throughout my test;
A V19 means that you were losing significant points on all 3 Verbal categories (SC, RC and CR), so something was clearly "off" there. How often were you "narrowing it down to 2 choices and then 'guessing'"? That approach can lead to big swings in your Verbal score as it's based on 50/50 probability. You'll probably get half of them correct, but on a "bad day", you'll get more wrong than right. This could also explain the disparity.
Well, narrowing down to two options has been one of my biggest takeaways from my initial two attempts. It is evident from my CATs as well - my verbal scores were consistently above 30. Moreover, no single section in verbal was my week point. So, I think this should not be the reason. One point I can specify is that my verbal section was not so tough that I should have scored below 30.
The good news is that Business Schools don't care if you retake the GMAT. Also, since the GMAT is standardized and predictable, you CAN train to crush it. Before retaking the GMAT, you might need to invest in some new resources.
Here is what I did with my preparation after my initial two attempts:
I registered for Manhattan GMAT full course. Later, the course required that I take a CAT in which I scored 620 even before the classes begun. Finally, after my course completion, I took my GMAT almost after 4 months to witness this score decline to 520.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Totally agree!
a) Certainly few assassins are 'Time Management' and 'Experimental questions' that open scope for multiple interpretations irrespective of how well you perform on the test!

Varun
Last edited by varung79 on Wed May 21, 2014 11:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed May 21, 2014 10:01 am
As you've noted, the Verbal section was your undoing. This is not uncommon. Sometimes a ridiculously long and difficult RC passage can knock you off your game (both in timing and in confidence). Unlike the quant section, where you can easily pass on a question, the verbal section has RC passages with up to 4 questions, so you really can't skip the passage altogether. Esoteric science topics (e.g., string theory) can really kill one's confidence, especially if you've never enjoyed science. In these instances, it's crucial that you engage 100% in the passage. Rather than approach a new passage with dread ("yeesh, this is going to be a killer"), try to feign interest ("Excellent! This passage is about protozoa!!"). The greater your engagement, the better your results. You'll find additional tips to help you better engage with the passage in this free video: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... on?id=1123

If you're interested, we have a free set of videos that cover all sorts of Reading Comprehension strategies: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... prehension

If I were you, I'd conclude that you were somewhat unlucky with the passages you received. I have a feeling that if you wrote the test today, your score would be MUCH HIGHER. So, put all of this behind you, schedule another test, and keep doing what you've been doing. It sounds like you're on the right track.

Cheers,
Brent
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by [email protected] » Wed May 21, 2014 6:57 pm
Hi varung79,

Your last post includes some new information that I'm hoping you can clarify:

You mentioned that this is your 4th time taking the GMAT. What materials did you study with previously? What practice CATs did you take? The practice CATs that you listed - had you taken them before? Have you ever seen a question on a practice CAT that you saw during your studies (or in this Forum) BEFORE you took the CAT?

Why did you wait until 4 months after your Course ended to take the GMAT? Your skills could have "faded" a bit during that time. A 520 isn't that far away from 580 (which was far more common than 620 in your set of scores); too many silly mistakes could easily account for that score drop.

What techniques do you use to make sure that you're "on time" during the Quant and Verbal sections? Did you finish either section early?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by varung79 » Wed May 21, 2014 11:39 pm
Hi Rich
You mentioned that this is your 4th time taking the GMAT. What materials did you study with previously?
Materials I studied before:
1) Manhattan Prep all strategy guides
2) OG 13
3) OG Guide for GMAT Quant, 2nd Edition
4) OG Guide for GMAT Verbal, 2nd Edition

Materials I studied after:
1) Above four remain same
2) Got access to online content from MGMAT
What practice CATs did you take? The practice CATs that you listed - had you taken them before?
Previously (before I signed up for complete course), I practiced with GMATPrep. I took my CATs after I registered for complete course.
Have you ever seen a question on a practice CAT that you saw during your studies (or in this Forum) BEFORE you took the CAT?
Never!
Why did you wait until 4 months after your Course ended to take the GMAT? Your skills could have "faded" a bit during that time.
My course ended around mid-December, last year. After my course completion, I took a pre-exam assessment from Manhattan Prep, told them that my target is 700+, and was advised to spend few more weeks to achieve my target score. I decided to take up advanced sessions for Quant & Verbal (SC). In order to practice with and get used to those advanced problem types, it is suggestible that I spend some more time on each of those sessions. All these attempts were to score high that required that I take my time and prepare well before I take the GMAT.
A 520 isn't that far away from 580 (which was far more common than 620 in your set of scores); too many silly mistakes could easily account for that score drop.
Assuming that a 60 to 120 point score difference, which actually is huge, is acceptable, I think my projected verbal scores on the real test should be even higher. If you discern my scaled scores, compared to my practice CAT scores, my actual test scores are high on quant and low on verbal.
What techniques do you use to make sure that you're "on time" during the Quant and Verbal sections? Did you finish either section early?
No. I finished either of the sections on 75th minute.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made
b) All CATs are online!

Varun
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by varung79 » Wed Jun 04, 2014 7:52 am
Hi Brent/Rich

Considering my situation, what do you suggest would be the ideal time to schedule my next GMAT test?

I intend to apply for upcoming R1 and to gain my spot into 700+ GMAT league.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Jun 04, 2014 8:17 am
It's hard to predict the best time to schedule your next test. I typically suggest that students achieve their target score on at least 2 practice tests before they take the official test. So, the question becomes, "How long will such an improvement take?" It's hard to say.

One could just keep working on GMAT prep until the target score is reached (at least twice), but it's important to note that some students need the incentive of a scheduled test day to keep them motivated. So, how much motivation do you need?

If you need the incentive of a scheduled test, I suggest that you schedule it for 2-3 months from now, but recognize that you may need to reschedule (for a $50 fee) if you're not where you need to be when test day nears.

Next comes the part about HOW you go about improving. Since you've already covered the GMAT content, I suggest that you begin taking regular practice tests. This will help you build your test-taking skills, and it will help you identify any remaining area(s) of weakness.

While analyzing your practice test results, 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 for BTG: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/09/ ... n-the-gmat

Cheers,
Brent
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by [email protected] » Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:38 am
Hi varung79,

I agree with Brent that you'll probably need at least another 2 months of study time - you need to hone your skills so that you can remove the inconsistency that occurred on your last Official exam.

I have a suggestion that you might find helpful to your improvement. Open up your last CAT and go through the entire exam, question-by-question. For the questions that you got correct, write down HOW you solved it (math, Number Property, TEST IT, grammar rules, guess, etc.). For the ones that you got incorrect, write down WHY you got it incorrect (silly mistake, 50/50 guess but still got it wrong, too hard, etc.). Those stats will give you a sense of how you perform under pressure - and a series of actionable steps for areas that you need to work on.

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