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

Redeem

Crushed by GMAT!!! Distress Situation-710 to 610.. HELP!!

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
User avatar
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:33 am

Crushed by GMAT!!! Distress Situation-710 to 610.. HELP!!

by eatpraylove » Wed May 04, 2011 10:13 am
Dear fellow members,

I always knew I wasn't one of those extremely genius students who could write GMAT within 2 weeks of prep and score 700+. So I quit my job, took coaching in India for 3.5 months,prepared very methodically, read all debriefs here, followed advice from many top scorers, basically did everything I could. Even my mock attempts started to show progress.
GMAT Prep1 : 620 (My first mock after studying for 1 year)
After this I took a couple of tests but was scoring max 650.
Then I took to Manhattan Guides. They were really beneficial in explaining every concept from the scratch. My Quants improved drastically.
Now I took the 6 MGMAT mocks and GMAT Prep2:

MGMAT1:620 (Q40,V35)
MGMAT2:660 (Q44,V36)
MGMAT3:690 (Q45,V38)
MGMAT4:690 (Q44,V39)
MGMAT5: 640 (Q44,V33)
MGMAT6: 710 (Q50,V36)
GMAT Prep2: 720(Agreed that I remembered few questions, so you can lower my score down to a 690 here)

First of all I dont understand why so much fluctuation in my scores? At one point in time, I am getting a 690 and at other a drop to 640?

Secondly, The last two mocks gave me real confidence that I would definitely score atleast 680+.

But , I ended up scoring a 610 (Q46,V28). I still cant believe this happened. I never scored below 30 in Verbal in any of the mocks. I wonder what got to me on the test day???
I am really disappointed by myself. 1 year and 4 months of work (off and on) and 3.5 months of consistent hard work and this is what I get!!!???

I stay with my family, they made sure I have everything at hand. Food, Laundry ,Acco I didnt have to worry about meeting any basic needs. I was only doing some consultancy work parallely. But, after sacrificing on a full time job, after moving to my hometown away from friends and a metro life, this is what I am left with-a score that wont get me anywhere close to my dreams!

I, however, I am not uninspired.I saw the video of a very poor farmer making it to the highly competitive IAS(Indian Administrative Services) in his 2nd attempt. I am very inspired since then. I know I can do it. I just need to brush up some skills and fill up some gaps.

CR and RC is my weakness. SC i thought I was good at , but a score of 28 takes down all my claims with it.

Please help me on how to maintain my Quant proficiency and simultaneously improve my hold on verbal.

Yours Truly,
-Disappointed by self :(((
Top
Source: — GMAT Strategy |
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1031
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:23 pm
Location: Malibu, CA
Thanked: 716 times
Followed by:255 members
GMAT Score:750

by Brian@VeritasPrep » Wed May 04, 2011 3:15 pm
Hey "Disappointed",

Sorry to hear about a rough test day. It certainly sounds as though you earned an elite performance with all of your hard work, so I'm really sorry to hear that it didn't turn out that way.

You know, it's obviously a day late and a dollar short in your case, but I've never been a fan of the idea of taking off months from work to specifically study for the GMAT, and I'll advise anyone against it. My biggest fear with students and their study schedules is that they'll plan to study too much, not that they'll fail to study enough.

I say that for a few reasons:

1) In most cases, the more time that you plan to study (say, 6 months) the easier it is to procrastinate and just lose overall time and momentum. If you're committed to a shorter schedule with a sense of urgency, you have no real choice but to say 'no' to the impromptu happy hour or weekend trip; if you have nothing but time, those start to creep in and you lose a lot of momentum.

2) Those with too much time seldom plan that time well. "Doing problems" is one of the lower levels of study as is "reviewing flashcards". They can certainly be components of effective study, but on their own they tend to be used more as a way to fill the X hours of study time you planned and not as part of a larger plan to improve on a targeted area. Again, I come back a little to sense-of-urgency. On a 10-week schedule, if you realize in week 3 that you just don't get Data Sufficiency, you can build in an extra week to focus almost entirely on that, extending your plan to 11 weeks but with a true purpose for the extra time. But without that sense of urgency, it's a lot easier - and much more common - to just spin your wheels on "keeping busy" and not necessarily being productive.

3) The more time you've invested in the test, the higher the stakes and the greater the pressure. If you go into the test with over a year of sacrifices, it has to be really difficult to stay calm and relaxed. There's too much riding on it. And I bet this happened to you - you lost some focus, rushed through a couple questions, and it unraveled from there. With a shorter schedule, the GMAT is "a test" not "THE test" by the time you take it. And if you do underperform and need to do it again, you have the time to do so - you're only 2-3 months in, so another month or two isn't a huge deal.

My first-ever GMAT student - Alex - had studied for close to a year before I met him, and we spent a couple months working one-on-one. At a certain point I could tell he just was never going to be ready in his own mind to take the test, so I told him I wouldn't meet up with him again unless he could show me an official score report - I just didn't want him to build it up too big (and, quite honestly, I worried that if I took his time and money for a year and it didn't end well I might have to fear for my own safety...he was getting pretty intense!). The score wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it was definitely better than he expected and enough for him to take a shot at - and get into - one of his target schools that season without delaying another year. In that case, I just knew that every session we worked together would add more pressure to him...they were getting counterproductive. It's just really hard to relax and focus when you feel that you have that much riding on it - and the GMAT should never feel that way. You can always take it again a month later!


So in your case...you just need to relax. You've already proven to yourself that you CAN score 700+, and that even if it all goes wrong you're still significantly above average. Go into the next test fairly soon while all that you've done is still fresh, and try to think of it as "a test" - an opportunity to improve your score but not a referendum on your future and the way you've spent (and changed) your life the last 16 months. Even in the World Cup or Olympics, most athletes realize that while 4 years is a long time to get back to that level, there will still be future opportunities in life. Really, they have to - otherwise the pressure would be far, far too great. Take the pressure off and try to enjoy the test - laugh at difficult questions or mistakes you make because "here I go again...but I'm smarter this time than last time' and keep a positive, relaxed demeanor.
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
Top
User avatar
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:33 am

by eatpraylove » Fri May 06, 2011 5:31 am
Thanks a lot Brian for the tips.

Even I realised this fact that I made it too much of a big deal , gave up normal life for this.
For eg, when i took the GMAT date 1.5 months back, I even stopped going to the gym as it would waste 2-3 hours of time a day.I was studying 6+ hours though with feeble concentration.

So I take your advice now. But tell me something, in how many exact num of days should I retake the test?I gave it on 18th April. I have done no revision till today , i.e. 6th May. 25th onwards I start a 1 year fellowship/course, a scholarship that I was selected for. I doubt I will get much time during my course.

IS is possible to take the exam around 23rd may? What kind of preparation do you suggest? and with how many num of hours per week, per day?

Any help/suggestions w.r.t. revision is much awaited.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1