BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Wierd and surprising experience with the GMAT. Need advice.

Find out how Beat The GMAT members tackled GMAT test prep with positive results. Get tips on GMAT test prep materials, online courses, study tips, and more.
This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:04 am

Wierd and surprising experience with the GMAT. Need advice.

by informmefast » Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:43 am
Recently I took the GMAT and managed to score only a 610 . Though I have been scoring 710-720 in the Manhattan CATS and 730-740 in the GMAT Prep CATS , I am still trying to analyse what went wrong. Verbal has always been a problematic area for me. Scored Verbal- 31 and Quant -43. Quant score was a shocker for me ..actually the paper itself shocked me. I found the 1st question on Quant to be too tough (had never seen such a problem in any of the CATs and had definitely not seen such a problem as the first question. What are your thoughts on this? ) Thereafter I couldn't build up my confidence throughout the paper. Apart from these mocks I was also practicing Quant from the GMAT club tests (which are considered to be of a decent level) and in the past 3-5 tests my quant score was 48-51. Infact I was pretty confident about quant and was relying on it to pull my score above 710. Even now I feel that I will be able to prepare well for quant in the next one month.
Now since I will be taking the GMAT for the second time , I want to give it my best shot and do not want to keep any stone unturned .

What do I do next? How do I prepare for the next one month.
I have the confidence and I know that I can score 720 + . But due to the previous gmat experience I am a bit dazed and confused. Looking forward to your valuable suggestions and thank you all for your time.
Top
Source: — I just Beat The GMAT! |
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:02 am
Thanked: 1 times

by ChrisFic » Wed Oct 09, 2013 7:19 am
The first question could have been a "test" question. Unfortunately it sounds like that one question rocked your world. Get your confidence back the good old fashion way of hard work. Learn to be flexible with questions - LET GO! You won't be able to answer every question right. And take each question as a new exam - i.e. FORGET about the question that you just did and focus on what's currently in front of you.

If you're scoring 700+ on CATs then you are where you need to be, just keep on it and try to make each CAT as close to the real thing as possible: same time of day, same time on breaks, same food you eat in between, etc.

Good luck - you'll rock it
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 16207
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC
Thanked: 5254 times
Followed by:1268 members
GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Oct 09, 2013 7:41 am
informmefast wrote:Thereafter I couldn't build up my confidence throughout the paper.
Your practice test scores suggest that you know the material backwards and forwards. The missing piece of the puzzle seems to be how you function on Test Day. It sounds like the first question really messed you up, and some test anxiety crept in to hamper your performance. Does this sound about right? If you're interested, we have a free video on the topic on overcoming test anxiety: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1252


As part of managing anxiety, it's crucial that you adopt the proper mindset/attitude on test day.
Verbal has always been a problematic area for me.
I know this may seem like an innocuous comment, but be careful not to let this negative talk become a self-fulfilling prophecy. This this end, you may be interested in reading the following BTG articles:
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2013/06/ ... -destroyer
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... n-the-gmat

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
Image
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Elite Legendary Member
Posts: 10392
Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pm
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Thanked: 2867 times
Followed by:511 members
GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Wed Oct 09, 2013 10:21 am
Hi informmefast,

If you can provide a bit more information on your studies, then I'll be happy to offer some advice:

1) How long did you study? What materials did you use?
2) What were your scores on each of your practice CATs? (Q & V Scaled Scores too). When did you take these tests and at what time of day?
3) What time of day did you take your actual GMAT?

4) Where do you want to apply to school (and when are you planning to apply?)?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Last edited by [email protected] on Wed Oct 09, 2013 10:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Contact Rich at [email protected]
Image
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:04 am

by informmefast » Wed Oct 09, 2013 8:15 pm
[email protected] wrote:Hi informmefast,

If you can provide a bit more information on your studies, then I'll be happy to offer some advise:

1) How long did you study? What materials did you use?
2) What were your scores on each of your practice CATs? (Q & V Scaled Scores too). When did you take these tests and at what time of day?
3) What time of day did you take your actual GMAT?

4) Where do you want to apply to school (and when are you planning to apply?)?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Thanks All for the suggestions ..it means a lot. Since the past two days my confidence touched rock bottom.. but now I am back to normal.

@ Rich.C Below are my replies -


1) How long did you study? What materials did you use?
>> I have been studying since the past 3 months. Materials used were as follows -

Quant PS / DS - OG13 , OG Quant Review, GMAT Prep Question Pack 1, Manhattan Advanced Strategy Guide.

Verbal RC - OG 13, RC99 , GMAT Prep Question Pack 1.

SC - OG13 , GMAT Prep Question Pack 1 ,Aristotle SC Grail , e-gmat SC course.

CR - OG13 , GMAT Prep Question Pack 1 , CR Bible.

2) What were your scores on each of your practice CATs? (Q & V Scaled Scores too). When did you take these tests and at what time of day?

>> Never took note of the time of the day since I felt that it wouldn't matter much. Past few test scores were as below -

Manhattan CAT 1 - 710 Q(49) V(37)
Manhattan CAT 2 - 720 Q(51) V(37)
Manhattan CAT 3 - 710 Q(50) V(36)
GMAT Prep 1 - 740
GMAT Prep 2 - 730
Gmat Club Quant Test (considered of decent level) - Scored consistently 49-51.


3) What time of day did you take your actual GMAT?

Never fixed the time . It was as per my convenience. I admit that the actual test was at 10:30am but rarely had I attempted any mocks during that time of the day.

4) Where do you want to apply to school (and when are you planning to apply?)?

This depends on my GMAT score . Primarily looking to apply to schools in Asia this year or else schools in the US next year. But need to get done with the GMAT within the next 35 days.

The question that still haunts me is that can I rely on the mocks to be almost the exact replica of the actual test. Since the questions (atleast Quant) that I faced on the actual test seemed much more tough compared to the questions that I had dealt with on the mocks - Manhattan and Gmat Prep as well as on any other preparatory material.. Or was it just a psychological block that I couldn't overcome after the first relatively tough question . Even if I would have scored low on the verbal section I could have understood.. but the quant section itself shattered my confidence. Since on all the Mocks that I have appeared I noticed that the first question seemed to be of a 500-600 level question but the first question that I faced on the actual test was definitely above a 700 level question.. Is this possible ? I tried convincing my mind (after 3 mins) that let go just guess and move forward..but my inner voice was shouting - How can you get the first question wrong ? GMAT is seriously playing mind games with me.
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Sep 07, 2013 3:17 pm
Thanked: 20 times
Followed by:2 members

by NB1234 » Sun Oct 13, 2013 12:47 pm
Your story sounds so similar to mine. I came back to score 750 and Im sure you will too.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/i-cant-belie ... 69249.html

I would advise you to not lose hope and confidence. On the next exam, dont wait on a question for too long.
1) Take your mocks at the same time as your exam , mimicking the conditions of the test center. A public library is probably the best place to do so in my experience.
2) VERY IMPORTANT-Rest before the exam, a day before dont do any mocks, if you want to study a day before do very light reading of concepts. Writing a 4 hour exam is hard stuff for the brain. Give it rest before the exam. Take a day off from work if you can. I felt a difference in my speed on the re-attempt because I felt fresh.
3) On the exam, dont worry too much about a single question.
4) In the next one month, practice some more questions from a fresh source as well. GMAT Question Pack1 might be good.

Trust yourself, you will be back on this forum writing how you got a terrific score.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1