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Bombed the GMAT...today.

by redmark » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:25 pm
Don't know what went wrong I actually felt like I was doing ok. Leading up to the test I got a 700 (47Q/39V) on my GMATPrep test just a couple days ago.

I got a 580 today (39Q/31V). I felt like the test was extremely similar to the GMATPrep software so I don't know what went wrong.

My practice test scores

MGMAT 1 - 590
MGMAT 2 - 580
MGMAT 3 - 660
MGMAT 4- 640
GMATPrep 1- 610

Several months passed here. The above scores were in the October to November '10 months

February came around and I decided that I would work harder on this. I was averaging around 44-45Q and 33-35V on the above listed tests.

MGMAT 5 - 630
MGMAT 6- 610

Both tests above I got around 39Q and 34-38V. After studying more I stopped focusing so much on verbal and looked to do OG Math more and balance my studying.

GMATPrep 2 - 630
GMATPrep 1 (retake) 700

I didn't see many old questions on the retake or just didn't remember them, so I though I was going to do well on the real.

I'm so depressed right now... what should I do?
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by vineeshp » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:32 pm
Sad to hear that.

My suggestion:
Take a break for a few days. Since you want a better score, try again. You have scored 700, I am sure you can do it again.

I think there were not enough practice tests leading up to the test. I have seen that myself.

Did you take AWA when you practiced? That could also skew practice scores. I recommend taking them when you are preparing. Prepares you mentally. I have seen it happen to me. When I dont take AWA, my score is much higher than when I take it.

What materials did you use?

All this is my personal opinion.
Vineesh,
Just telling you what I know and think. I am not the expert. :)
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by redmark » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:46 pm
Thanks for the encouragement vineeshp... I might just hire a tutor. All I want is a 700
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by redmark » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:50 pm
Thanks for the encouragement vineeshp... I might just hire a tutor. All I want is a 700.

I went through the MGMAT strategy guides and did some tutoring in verbal. I also went through the OG12 book and OG11 for math.
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by jaymw » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:07 pm
Sad to read what happened to you on test day. But if you really want a 700, then there is no way around retaking the GMAT.

The first thing I noticed about your post is that maybe your expectations were a little too high, because your scores averaged 620-630 with one outlier of 700. But as you wrote, that 700 was from a retake, and retakes always inflate your score drastically, even after several months. The reason for this is that you can bank time during repeat questions, which then results in a feeling that relaxes you throughout the remainder of the test. Sound familiar?

So my idea is that you should NOT take the test again unless you reach your target score CONSISTENTLY on FRESH practice tests (and remember to always do AWA even if it's painful, that way you will build stamina).

Well now the question is how to get to a 700 on practice tests. Hiring a tutor might be a good idea, but perhaps you should also think about taking an (online) course. Those courses are usually very comprehensive and equip people with all that's necessary to get to a 700 or higher. Also, those courses are a lot more structured than you (or probably anyone) could ever design your own self-study plan.

Hope my advice gave you some good insights!

Good luck :)
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by redmark » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:54 pm
Yea I wasn't doing the AWA's and was writing random bullet points really quickly when doing my tests.

It's just that I didn't expect such a low score. As an engineer you would think that 45 in quant is easily attainable. My grades were really good to and I went to a good UC school.

I actually did do a class 2 years ago and since then have been studying on my own recently. Going through the manhattan books was good and I was really disciplined and went through their course syllabus. Also this past month I made a break through with critical reasoning questions- I went through every question and answer in OG12 and made notes on why each problem was wrong. My CR accuracy was pretty high in my last couple of tests, maybe two or three CR's wrong for each practice CAT.

I shouldn't have taken the test but I felt that I would always push it back and not feel ready if I just didn't give it a shot. I might enroll in a course. Maybe that is what I need, however I feel that my basics are covered. I've been thinking that possibly some aren't so capable of cracking this test. I hope this isn't my fate.
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by PS2011 » Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:14 am
redmark wrote:Yea I wasn't doing the AWA's and was writing random bullet points really quickly when doing my tests.

It's just that I didn't expect such a low score. As an engineer you would think that 45 in quant is easily attainable. My grades were really good to and I went to a good UC school.

I actually did do a class 2 years ago and since then have been studying on my own recently. Going through the manhattan books was good and I was really disciplined and went through their course syllabus. Also this past month I made a break through with critical reasoning questions- I went through every question and answer in OG12 and made notes on why each problem was wrong. My CR accuracy was pretty high in my last couple of tests, maybe two or three CR's wrong for each practice CAT.

I shouldn't have taken the test but I felt that I would always push it back and not feel ready if I just didn't give it a shot. I might enroll in a course. Maybe that is what I need, however I feel that my basics are covered. I've been thinking that possibly some aren't so capable of cracking this test. I hope this isn't my fate.
I think you need to give more practice test. And never retake a test or give a test without AWA. You can be sure you are ready only when you score consistently
near 680's in all tests.

Thanks
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by redmark » Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:53 pm
I just feel like crap for having put so much work into something and getting a result where I pretty much started off.

I will need to take a few days break and try it again. I can't get into the positive mindset yet that I need to tackle this test.
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by sjmit4 » Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:35 am
Hey Sorry to hear that,but not surprised at all. I gave GMAT on 31st aswell and got a score of 650(M49 V28) n my last GMATprep score was 740(M51 V41)(which can not a retest).
Infact my first test (dignostic) was 660.

I have still not come out of it.

I know how it feels like exactly.

But yes I am gone give it another shot...!!
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by redmark » Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:35 pm
sjmit4,

Don't worry, you did MUCH better than I did. You have the foundation there to get 700. I am questioning my knowledge and foundation at this point.

I am sure you can get there with improvements in your verbal.
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by vineeshp » Fri Apr 01, 2011 7:50 pm
redmark wrote:sjmit4,

Don't worry, you did MUCH better than I did. You have the foundation there to get 700. I am questioning my knowledge and foundation at this point.

I am sure you can get there with improvements in your verbal.
It's only a matter of the right preparation for you too. Study like you are targeting 780 or 800. You will see the difference. I am sure. But yes, for now, you deserve a break. I am sure you can.
Vineesh,
Just telling you what I know and think. I am not the expert. :)
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by redmark » Sun Apr 03, 2011 7:20 pm
Thank you all for your encouragement. I think my problem was the gap in studying (sort of a gap- it was verbal focused) and the unbalance. I will post again here and let you know my progress. I've looked into a tutor.
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by gayu » Wed Apr 13, 2011 7:56 am
redmark wrote:Don't know what went wrong I actually felt like I was doing ok. Leading up to the test I got a 700 (47Q/39V) on my GMATPrep test just a couple days ago.

I got a 580 today (39Q/31V). I felt like the test was extremely similar to the GMATPrep software so I don't know what went wrong.

My practice test scores

MGMAT 1 - 590
MGMAT 2 - 580
MGMAT 3 - 660
MGMAT 4- 640
GMATPrep 1- 610

Several months passed here. The above scores were in the October to November '10 months

February came around and I decided that I would work harder on this. I was averaging around 44-45Q and 33-35V on the above listed tests.

MGMAT 5 - 630
MGMAT 6- 610

Both tests above I got around 39Q and 34-38V. After studying more I stopped focusing so much on verbal and looked to do OG Math more and balance my studying.

GMATPrep 2 - 630
GMATPrep 1 (retake) 700

I didn't see many old questions on the retake or just didn't remember them, so I though I was going to do well on the real.

I'm so depressed right now... what should I do?
Hey,
So sorry to hear about your score. Guess what, same thing happened with me like couple of months back. It affected me so much so that, I even don't get much courage to give actual GMAT again, tough am still preparing for it. Well,I was scoring very good in MGMAT consistently and was getting very good score like more than 40 in each MGMAT test. But in actual GMAT my maths score was so down and even verbal score was way too down..:(
Well, I also did not write AWA section in my practice tests. That could be another reason for failure as such. But I think there could be another reason like perhaps MGMAT practice tests might be too simple for me as I learn thru all Manhattan guides.

So what have you decided to do now?? I also need some help in this case.
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by redmark » Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:17 am
sorry to hear that gayu.

Well actually I have started studying again. I know I can do better than what I just did and have been working with a tutor.

It's only been a week and he has pointed out some fundamental weaknesses that I am working on right now.

You should start studying again. I think that was the mistake I made by neglecting Math. My math in MGMAT was averaging 44-45 Qand I think I lost my edge a little bit when I stopped studying and focused on verbal and mainly Critical Reasoning. I am really good now at CR, but at the expense of my quant skill.
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by fitzgerald23 » Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:27 am
[quote="gayuHey,
So sorry to hear about your score. Guess what, same thing happened with me like couple of months back. It affected me so much so that, I even don't get much courage to give actual GMAT again, tough am still preparing for it. Well,I was scoring very good in MGMAT consistently and was getting very good score like more than 40 in each MGMAT test. But in actual GMAT my maths score was so down and even verbal score was way too down..:(
Well, I also did not write AWA section in my practice tests. That could be another reason for failure as such. But I think there could be another reason like perhaps MGMAT practice tests might be too simple for me as I learn thru all Manhattan guides.

So what have you decided to do now?? I also need some help in this case.[/quote]

I think the first step is to revist all of you CAT prep conditions and compare it with the actual exam. Are they being taken at very different times of the day? Are you pausing the exam at any point? Are you retaking CAT exams and seeing those questions while taking the exam? Are you looking at forums like those on BTG and reading posts that contain Manhattan questions?

My own experience with Manhattan is that it is much more difficult in terms of content than the actual GMAT, especially in Quant. So I dont think it should be too simple for anyone. You can always take a GMAT Prep or one of the freebies from the other companies to see if that is the case.

In the past have you been a test taker where nerves get the best of you? One thing I have seen posted here in the last few days is people talking about GPAs and similar things as a measure for performing on the GMAT. There are many differences. Being nervous on an exam is not the same as nerves for the GMAT. On a real exam you can be nervous and end up skipping ahead or moving backwards. The exams have a ton of time for the most part and you can always go back and fix mistakes that you made early because of nerves. You cant do that on the GMAT. You cant skip and jump. You cant waste time because the GMAT basically gives you close to the minimum time needed to complete the test. I think on the GMAT it snowballs for people especially if they begin guessing as to how they are doing while taking the exam.

When I took my GMAT last September I blanked out on the first math question. I meant to take a break between the AWA and Math and ended up hitting the wrong button. I looked up and saw the exam began. The question was something right out of GMAT Prep and I just zoned out for a minute or two. If I was younger (Im a much older test taker than most others) I have a feeling it would have ruined my day. But I was able to pull it back together, solve it and then moved on. I ended up doing very well on the day.

I always think its a very good idea, especially for thsoe who see a big swing in practice and actual performance, to take a simulated test before the actual GMAT. Go to a public place, like a library, sit down and take the full exam timed. Its very different than sitting on a couch in your home and doing the same. Good luck.
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