630 to 480 & 4 days to go until G Day - plz help!!!!!

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Hi,
G-day for me is tuesday next week. I took my first GMAT CAT 2 weeks ago and scored a 630. I was surpised by this score because I had 18 wrong math problems and 12 wrong english ones. Anyway, I took the GMAT CAT II practice test yesterday and scored a 480. This time I had 18 wrong math questions and 15 wrong english ones. So i am in a strange dilemma. Can someone please help me explain the following 2 issues:-

a) How can the score drop so significantly if i got almost the same questions correct?

b) When I sat down to revise my exam, I noticed that there were only 3 problems in the quant section which i actually couldnt solve. I got 18 wrong because I was rushing and made stupid and dumb mistakes. I have been really struggling with the timing. Does anyone have a solution for this? Is it a good strategy to try and spend extra time and get as many questions correct as possible and maybe guess on a few remaining ones toward the end???

Any quick reply will be greatly appreciated. I am in severe panic mode right now.

thanks
Source: — GMAT Strategy |

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by lagomez » Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:30 pm
what was the quality of the questions you got that were incorrect? Don't focus on the number correct but figure what what you are doing wrong on those that are incorrect.


is it imperative that you take the gmat in 1 week? is there a deadline you need to meet? it sounds like you might be trying to rush things. i think extra practice to build confidence is what you need. If not, as I was told, know the fundamentals very well.

the strategy of spending extra time on the ones you know is not a good strategy. how do you know how many questions of the 37 are going to be the ones you know well? for example, what if the 1st question comes up and you think you might not know how to do it....so you guess on it...then you guess on the 2nd..and guess on the 3rd..in other words...what if you end up guessing on more questions that you think you can get right

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by goal700 » Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:46 pm
I think maybe the questions i got wrong this time were relatively easy and i just messed up due to stupid mistakes. Would that lower the score this much?

Unfortunately, I do have a deadline. i have been conditionally admitted to a top school if i improve my gmat scores. When I took the exam 5 years ago, I scored a 610. So the school didnt want to use those scores and only gave me 30 days to improve my scores. So I have ony had 1 month to study while working full time. And I cant push the exam date any further. Its a bummer!!

I think I can improve quite a bit if i can somehow fix my timing. I usually can solve almost every question correctly when I am revising.

thanks for the reply...

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by lagomez » Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:54 pm
have you tried taking the practice exams from manhattan gmat

try this link

https://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitems ... 81&catid=4

spend $39 for 6 practice exams...i like these exams because it gives a breakdown of what you got right and what you got wrong by level..for example...it will tell you what you got wrong from questions at the 500-600 level...600-700...700-800...break it down by problem solving and data sufficiency..then break it down by topic..perhaps your geometry is weak and you algebra is strong...this way you can focus on certain topics until test day

afterwards..review the questions and review their explanations...

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by goal700 » Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:10 pm
Thanks. I already have access to the tests but didnt take them yet because people have stated that their quant is harder than the actual gmat and i just didnt want to get depressed any further.

But i think if it breaks it down, I will definitely take an exam tomorrow and focus on the weak areas.

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by lagomez » Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:31 pm
read stacey's post (the 2nd post) for a perspective on timing..

https://www.beatthegmat.com/wow-this-is- ... t9123.html