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I`m still in shock, I got a devestating verbal score

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I`m still in shock, I got a devestating verbal score

by hamidmax » Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:56 am
Hello,

I`m new in this forum and this is my first post, since I live in an underdeveloped country there is no GMAT expert here and I appreciate if you help me.

I have been studying GMAT for 10 months and used many different resources in order to get a 700+ score.

I have taken many CATs: 5 Manhattan CAT, 4 GMATprep, 6 800score, 1 free kaplan, 1 free Economist, 1 free Veritas.

During those exams, I never got a score below V28, in fact after purchasing e-gmat verbal course, my verbal skill got substantially improved.

Yesterday I took the exam and at first it went according my expectation with an easy AW, and IR questions were simple in my point of view. ( finally I got IR 6). So after the first section I was not in stress and I was in high sprite. Anyway, Quant was Ok and even though I`m not satisfied with its score, it was not really bad. ( I got Q 47).

When verbal section started, the first questions were a bit hard but not so hard that I could not answer them. during verbal test, I felt comfortable and in the middle of the exam I got a tough Bold face question which gave me this feeling that I was doing great in verbal. However, after finishing the exam on time I expected a V score over 35 but it was 21. I still don`t believe it and I don`t know what I have to do. I`m really devastated and I really need your help and advice.

is this experience odd or it is common? When is the appropriate time to retake the exam?

I still have a headache because of my score...

Thank you in advance
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by [email protected] » Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:14 am
Hi hamidmax,

When someone's Verbal Scaled score is significantly lower than "normal", it's important to look at what was "normal" during your studies and what was not on Test Day.

You mention taking many practice CATs, but I have some questions about those tests:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT every time (or did you skip the Essay and/or IR sections)?
2) Did you do anything unrealistic during your CATs (such as pause the Test, eat/drink while taking it, listen to music, etc.)?
3) What time of day did you take the CATs? What time of day was your GMAT?
4) Was there anything that was physically different about your practice?
5) How many practice CATs did you take during the week before your GMAT?

Also:
6) What did you do the day before the GMAT?
7) How did you sleep the night before?
8) Was there anything that stood out as weird or distracting on Test Day?

The good news is that Business Schools don't care if you retake the GMAT. You'll have to do some analysis to define your problem(s) and then fix it/them, but the GMAT is a predictable exam, so it can be beaten.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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by hamidmax » Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:02 pm
[email protected] wrote:Hi hamidmax,

When someone's Verbal Scaled score is significantly lower than "normal", it's important to look at what was "normal" during your studies and what was not on Test Day.

You mention taking many practice CATs, but I have some questions about those tests:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT every time (or did you skip the Essay and/or IR sections)?
2) Did you do anything unrealistic during your CATs (such as pause the Test, eat/drink while taking it, listen to music, etc.)?
3) What time of day did you take the CATs? What time of day was your GMAT?
4) Was there anything that was physically different about your practice?
5) How many practice CATs did you take during the week before your GMAT?

Also:
6) What did you do the day before the GMAT?
7) How did you sleep the night before?
8) Was there anything that stood out as weird or distracting on Test Day?

The good news is that Business Schools don't care if you retake the GMAT. You'll have to do some analysis to define your problem(s) and then fix it/them, but the GMAT is a predictable exam, so it can be beaten.

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

I`m glad that somebody is helping me.

Here are my answers to all of your questions:

1) Yes, I did entire CAT for my last 8 CATs

2)No, I did nothing unrealistic

3) the time of my CATs and the real exam were in the evenings between 5-7 PM ( GMAT exam was held at 7PM). So, the start time of my CATs and GMAT had a difference less than 1 and a half hour

4) No, the only difference was, the monitor size of the computer in the test room was larger than mine. and I used earphone in order no to hear noise.

5) I took 3 CATs the week of the exam, every 48 hours I took one exam. on Saturday: free Kaplan test, on Monday 5th Manhattan CAT, on Wednesday 4th GMATprep and on Friday the real exam.

6) I studied a lot, even on the airplane I was studying.

7) because my exam was supposed to be held in evening, I slept well the night before the exam

8) Although the test center condition was different than that of my home, it was not considerably different.

If there was something weird to me, why I did well in quant, AW and IR?????

I remember the first 5 questions of both quant and verbal were really odd and hard to me but after those ,the questions got clearer. If I did badly in the first questions, why I got Q47 ????

I look forward to hearing you soon and thank you again for helping.
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by [email protected] » Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:43 pm
Hi hamidmax,

Here are the issues that I think affected your performance; they might be enough to explain your situation, although there might be other factors.

1) Taking CATs and the Official GMAT so late in the day is normally NOT advisable. Most people do their best thinking in the first 4-5 hours of the day, so taking the Official Test so late means that you might not have been at your best. Even if you were used to taking the GMAT so late in the day, you probably would have done better if it were earlier.

2) Taking 3 CATs in the week before your Official GMAT could have "burned you out" a bit. It's possible that you were too mentally fatigued to perform at a high level.

3) The FLIGHT is a big "red flag." Airline travel can have a serious impact on the human body/brain. How long was your flight? Did you stay at a hotel before your exam? THAT also could have affected your performance. Sleeping in a strange bed and the other "different" factors of a hotel room can throw you "off" a bit, and you might not even realize it.

I think that your score drop is probably based on physical/environmental differences more than anything else. You were able to perform well on the first 3 sections, but you were too mentally fatigued to do well on the Verbal section. Properly planning for those variables will be a must before you take the GMAT again.

You didn't state your Official GMAT nor your practice CAT scores. What were they? You mention your goal to score 700+, but how close were you?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by hamidmax » Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:54 am
[email protected] wrote:Hi hamidmax,

Here are the issues that I think affected your performance; they might be enough to explain your situation, although there might be other factors.

1) Taking CATs and the Official GMAT so late in the day is normally NOT advisable. Most people do their best thinking in the first 4-5 hours of the day, so taking the Official Test so late means that you might not have been at your best. Even if you were used to taking the GMAT so late in the day, you probably would have done better if it were earlier.

2) Taking 3 CATs in the week before your Official GMAT could have "burned you out" a bit. It's possible that you were too mentally fatigued to perform at a high level.

3) The FLIGHT is a big "red flag." Airline travel can have a serious impact on the human body/brain. How long was your flight? Did you stay at a hotel before your exam? THAT also could have affected your performance. Sleeping in a strange bed and the other "different" factors of a hotel room can throw you "off" a bit, and you might not even realize it.

I think that your score drop is probably based on physical/environmental differences more than anything else. You were able to perform well on the first 3 sections, but you were too mentally fatigued to do well on the Verbal section. Properly planning for those variables will be a must before you take the GMAT again.

You didn't state your Official GMAT nor your practice CAT scores. What were they? You mention your goal to score 700+, but how close were you?

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

I arrived the city where I wanted to take the test one day before the date of GMAT exam.
I took a siesta during the day so I did not feel so tired during verbal, or maybe I could not feel that my brain was not able to work well.

My recent CATs scores in order are here :

Veritas free test 710
Economist free test 580
GMATPrep 690
GMATprep 640
Kaplan free test 690
Manhattan 5th CAT 690
GMATprep (48 hours before the exam and I had a headache) 590 ( V31 Q41)
the real exam 560 ( AW 6, IR 6, Q 47 and V 21)

Even in my worst CAT score, I did not get a verbal score below 28

maybe taking 4 exams, including real exam, in one week caused I got that shocking verbal score.

What do you think? and what is your suggestion for taking the exam again? What should I do in order to prepare well for the exam?

Thanks in advance
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by hamidmax » Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:46 am
[email protected] wrote:Hi hamidmax,

Here are the issues that I think affected your performance; they might be enough to explain your situation, although there might be other factors.

1) Taking CATs and the Official GMAT so late in the day is normally NOT advisable. Most people do their best thinking in the first 4-5 hours of the day, so taking the Official Test so late means that you might not have been at your best. Even if you were used to taking the GMAT so late in the day, you probably would have done better if it were earlier.

2) Taking 3 CATs in the week before your Official GMAT could have "burned you out" a bit. It's possible that you were too mentally fatigued to perform at a high level.

3) The FLIGHT is a big "red flag." Airline travel can have a serious impact on the human body/brain. How long was your flight? Did you stay at a hotel before your exam? THAT also could have affected your performance. Sleeping in a strange bed and the other "different" factors of a hotel room can throw you "off" a bit, and you might not even realize it.

I think that your score drop is probably based on physical/environmental differences more than anything else. You were able to perform well on the first 3 sections, but you were too mentally fatigued to do well on the Verbal section. Properly planning for those variables will be a must before you take the GMAT again.

You didn't state your Official GMAT nor your practice CAT scores. What were they? You mention your goal to score 700+, but how close were you?

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

I arrived the city where I wanted to take the test one day before the date of GMAT exam.
I took a siesta during the day so I did not feel so tired during verbal, or maybe I could not feel that my brain was not able to work well.

My recent CATs scores in order are here :

Veritas free test 710
Economist free test 580
GMATPrep 690
GMATprep 640
Kaplan free test 690
Manhattan 5th CAT 690
GMATprep (48 hours before the exam and I had a headache) 590 ( V31 Q41)
the real exam 560 ( AW 6, IR 6, Q 47 and V 21)

Even in my worst CAT score, I did not get a verbal score below 28

maybe taking 4 exams, including real exam, in one week caused I got that shocking verbal score.

What do you think? and what is your suggestion for taking the exam again? What should I do in order to prepare well for the exam?

Thanks in advance
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Posts: 10392
Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pm
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by [email protected] » Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:01 pm
Hi hamidmax,

Your story makes me think that your thinking and GMAT abilities were hampered by "environmental" factors. An airline flight can impact your sinuses, lead to dehydration, swelling of the body and a number of other physical factors that can make you tired, cranky, unhappy, etc. You also mention that you slept before your test; I have to assume that it was on a bed/couch/etc. that you were not used to sleeping on. This can also "throw you off."

It sounds like this is what you'll have to deal with the next time you take the GMAT, so there's no way to change these factors. However, there is a way to decrease their effects. If possible, plan to fly into the area a couple of days earlier, so that you can have time to "reset" physically before your Test. Also, be mindful of dehydration - most people don't even realize it's happening until it's too late. Drinking plenty of water/juice on the flight and after will help you to recover quicker. You can drink a little soda, but NOT alcohol. Sodas and alcohols actually INCREASE dehydration.

As far as your continued studies, you were doing well in practice and your description makes me think that you were doing everything properly, so I'd suggest that you stick to what you were doing.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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