HELP AND SUGGESTIONS

ads23000 wrote:Looking for some help. Prepared for GMAT for 2 months and wrote my exam yesterday.

GMATPrep1 (Feb 05): 660 (Q:47, V:34)
GMATPrep2 (Feb 12): 640 (Q:48, V:31)
Kaplan free test (March 08): 710 (Q:49, V:39)
GMATPrep3 (EXAM PACK) (March 27): 690 (Q:47, V:38)
GMATPrep4 (April 2): 710 (Q:48, V:38)

GMAT (April 6): 640 (Q:50, V:27)

I though my verbal section was alright. I finished a minute before the time. I was confident about scoring above 700, but somehow f***** up really badly. I used OG 12th Edition and MGMAT SC and CR.

Will appreciate any help and suggestions. Taking GMAT again in MAY. Target is 730-740

Sorry to hear about your test-day experience. Your score definitely is not a reflection of your skills (according to your practice tests).

As you've noted, the Verbal section was your undoing. This is not uncommon. For example, 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.

Do you recall any RC passages that might have been the culprit?

If I were you, I'd conclude that that your latest test was an anomaly. I have a feeling that if you wrote the test today, your score would be 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

Hi ads23000,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of Verbal score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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