Cannot push beyond 580, Please help!

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snigdha.k17: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 10:55 am

by snigdha.k17 » Sun Jan 18, 2015 2:01 pm

Hi all,

I'm feeling quite frustrated as everytime I take the Mock test I stick around the level of 580, I feel extremely confident while practicing questions (in a timed manner) from OG and MGMAT books but when it comes to actual tests I'm far from touching 700! I have a 75-80% hit rate when practicing from OG and MGMAT books (in a timed way) but I screw up while giving the tests.

Any idea what the problem could be? I have pretty much finished all the materials but I will only take the actual test if I start hitting close to 700 mark- Please help

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MartyMurray: Legendary Member; Posts: 2135; Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:26 amFollowed by: 140 members; Location: https://martymurraycoaching.com/; Thanked: 955 times; GMAT Score:800

by MartyMurray » Sun Jan 18, 2015 2:23 pm

snigdha.k17 wrote:Hi all,

I'm feeling quite frustrated as everytime I take the Mock test I stick around the level of 580, I feel extremely confident while practicing questions (in a timed manner) from OG and MGMAT books but when it comes to actual tests I'm far from touching 700! I have a 75-80% hit rate when practicing from OG and MGMAT books (in a timed way) but I screw up while giving the tests.

Any idea what the problem could be? I have pretty much finished all the materials but I will only take the actual test if I start hitting close to 700 mark- Please help

One simple thing it could be is that you are somehow thrown off by using a computer interface rather than a book interface, which is the type you have been using for much of your practice.

To see if this is the issue and solve it, do some practicing using an online question bank the interface of which looks like that of the real test.

Also, maybe the questions you are getting from the OG and other books are subtly different from and a little easier than the ones you are getting on the tests.

One way to go is the Veritas question bank. It's worth a shot, and if you consistently score 80 percent on the questions it contains, it is almost a lock that you will score above 700 on a CAT.

Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.

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GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sun Jan 18, 2015 4:37 pm

Hi snigdha.k17,

Many Test Takers have faced the same problem that you're currently facing. Something about how you practice does not translate over to how you perform when taking a FULL-LENGTH CAT. There are a number of possible explanations for why, but before we discuss them (and how to fix them), I'd like to know about how you've been studying:

1) How long have you studied?
2) Other than the books you've listed, have you used any other GMAT resources?
3) When you take your CATs, do you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
4) What time of day do you take your CATs?
5) How is your pacing? Do you ever finish a section early or have to rush at the end and guess on a bunch of questions just to finish? Have you ever run out of time and left questions unanswered?

6) You mentioned 580, but you did not mention the score breakdown. What are the scores (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores) on EACH of your practice CATs?

When you review your CATs, it's important to define WHY you're getting questions wrong:
How often do you get a question wrong...

A) because of a silly/little mistake?
B) because of a "content issue" (a formula/rule that you don't know)?
C) because the question was too hard?
D) because you're low on time?

Thankfully, the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. It might just be that "your way" of doing things is why you're stuck. Thus, some adjustments will have to be made and you'll likely need to invest in some new GMAT resources.

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

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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GMAT/MBA Expert

ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:30 pm

What were your practice conditions like? You say that you practiced "in a time manner," but that might not actually be replicating real test conditions. Doing one problem (or just a handful of problems) then stopping to check answers wont replicate the decision-after-decision-after-decision feeling of the real test.

It's also likely that anxiety was causing you some problems on the CAT that didn't exist during practice. Here are some resources to help you cope with test anxiety:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... mat-score/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... t-wrong-2/

Good luck!

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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