650 to 520! Don't know what happened.

Expert replies

lizaminelli: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 2; Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:01 am

by lizaminelli » Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:02 am

I took the GMAT on 5/24/10 and scored a 520 Q29 V32. I was very upset when my score popped up on the screen. I took the Veritas Prep course which I found to be useful because I was a GMAT newbie walking into the class. I had never cracked a book open and didn't know what to expect in terms of the class so it was helpful in getting some of the fundamentals down. In addition to doing all the problems in the Veritas workbook I did all the questions in the OG cover to cover as well as the Verbal supplement.

I took a total of about 8 CATS including the 2 GMAT Prep tests. The first GMAT Prep I took I scored a 610 Q38 V36. The last one I took I was at a 650 Q42 V38. I was happy to see the improvement in my score and was feeling more confident about the test. Although my goal was to get at least a 700, I felt the need to have a go at the test because I had been studying for quite a while and just wanted to get it out of my system.

Everything I've read says that the GMAT Prep is a pretty accurate reflection of how you'll do on the actual test but it obviously wasn't the case for me. I don't have a history of testing anxiety and I didn't feel overly anxious while I was taking the test. I did feel the actual test questions were more challenging than the practice tests but I thought it was because I was doing well. Just to make sure I wasn't going crazy I took a test yesterday on which I scored a 640 Q40 V37, so I'm really at a loss here.

Has anyone experienced this? Any feedback would be helpful as I go back to studying. thanks

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:02 am

papgust: Community Manager; Posts: 1537; Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:10 pmFollowed by: 252 members; Thanked: 653 times

by papgust » Wed Jun 02, 2010 9:53 pm

Hi liza,

Sad to hear your result. I know that it's very difficult to digest when you did not expect a score much lower than what you were getting in practice tests. I had the same experience too. I was consistently getting a 680 in my practice tests but got only 570 in my actual exam.

Fortunately in your side, your verbal score seems to be consistent with your practice tests (if not very precisely consistent!). It's always easy to improve your quant score by choosing right books and right study methodologies within 2 months. No doubt, Actual GMAT quants is much tougher and trickier compared to GMATPrep. People always used to get 2-3 points lower than their practice tests in quants.

For improving your quant score, I would strongly recommend buying MGMAT quant sets and brush up your basics religiously. Then take their 6 free online CATs (which comes with the sets). In my opinion, their quants is the best resource you can ever get. Their explanations given in CAT exams are invaluable. And practice all questions in this forum. This is the best forum you could get for the best questions with best explanations from experts.

Make sure that you do not ignore verbal. Verbal prep is always very important for GMAT. Make sure that you work a little bit harder to bring that score from 32 to 40 (atleast). Good luck!

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

Dan@VinciaPrep: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 384; Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:54 amFollowed by: 13 members; Location: Paris; Thanked: 92 times

by Dan@VinciaPrep » Thu Jun 03, 2010 1:49 am

papgust wrote:Hi liza,

Sad to hear your result. I know that it's very difficult to digest when you did not expect a score much lower than what you were getting in practice tests. I had the same experience too. I was consistently getting a 680 in my practice tests but got only 570 in my actual exam.

Fortunately in your side, your verbal score seems to be consistent with your practice tests (if not very precisely consistent!). It's always easy to improve your quant score by choosing right books and right study methodologies within 2 months. No doubt, Actual GMAT quants is much tougher and trickier compared to GMATPrep. People always used to get 2-3 points lower than their practice tests in quants.

For improving your quant score, I would strongly recommend buying MGMAT quant sets and brush up your basics religiously. Then take their 6 free online CATs (which comes with the sets). In my opinion, their quants is the best resource you can ever get. Their explanations given in CAT exams are invaluable. And practice all questions in this forum. This is the best forum you could get for the best questions with best explanations from experts.

Make sure that you do not ignore verbal. Verbal prep is always very important for GMAT. Make sure that you work a little bit harder to bring that score from 32 to 40 (atleast). Good luck!

I agree that you should look the the MGMAT math stuff. Also, it should be noted that people generally do better the second time they take the test at the same testing location because they are more comfortable with their surrounding and they know what to expect. Finally, make sure that you have learned from all of your past mistakes- it's not enough to just do problems

If my post helped you- let me know by pushing the thanks button

I'm a private tutor in Paris, I provide online and in person consulting for the GMAT and MBA application essays.
GMAT tutor paris
Prepa GMAT

Like this post

avaluxe: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 38; Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:55 amFollowed by: 1 member

by avaluxe » Fri Jun 04, 2010 8:14 am

I wanted to chime in because my story is similar. I took the Veritas Prep program (classroom course) and just took the GMAT with disappointing results - 590 / 31 Q / 40 V. This was even after taking a number of MGMAT practice tests where I scored 36-39 on quant. I'm looking into retaking the course through Veritas for free, then retaking the GMAT in a couple of months.

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

560 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review