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4th GMAT attempt and truely disappointing.....

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4th GMAT attempt and truely disappointing.....

by cedric9 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 3:44 pm
Hey All

So i have taken the GMAT as of today for the 4th time and came out truly disheartened when the score came up on screen got a 480 again. So at the moment I am stuck scratching my head wondering what I am doing wrong, as when I do practice tests I am scoring around the 650 mark.

Has anybody got any advice as to what I should do next in terms of study strategy?
should I consider a retake in the next month? as there are school deadlines approaching or take a longer view?

any tips would be helpful

Thanks!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:18 pm
cedric9 wrote:Hey All

So i have taken the GMAT as of today for the 4th time and came out truly disheartened when the score came up on screen got a 480 again. So at the moment I am stuck scratching my head wondering what I am doing wrong, as when I do practice tests I am scoring around the 650 mark.

Has anybody got any advice as to what I should do next in terms of study strategy?
should I consider a retake in the next month? as there are school deadlines approaching or take a longer view?

any tips would be helpful

Thanks!
With your practice tests in the 650 range, it sounds like you have the necessary content knowledge.
Do you find that your behavior changes significantly when you're in the formal testing environment? You certainly wouldn't be the first person to suffer from test anxiety.

Also, how are your time-management skills when you're in a formal testing environment?

If it helps, I recently wrote two video articles for BTG on these subjects:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/02/ ... n-test-day
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/03/ ... n-test-day

Cheers,
Brent
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by PinkBox » Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:34 pm
some practice exams are not truly representative of the actual exam
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by cedric9 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:39 pm
@Brent - I suppose I was a bit anxious but when I got in to the rhythm of the test it settled down. Time wise this time round I fell short on both quant and verbal by 2 questions each, had to guess and finish. In terms of practice I have always had time to spare which is how I thought I had some buffer for the questions that probably would cause me problems on the real day.


@Pinkbox - agreed on that I have been doing all the tests that I received with my Veritas study pack.

Whats the solution now going forward though?
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Mar 08, 2012 7:33 am
cedric9 wrote:@Brent - I suppose I was a bit anxious but when I got in to the rhythm of the test it settled down. Time wise this time round I fell short on both quant and verbal by 2 questions each, had to guess and finish. In terms of practice I have always had time to spare which is how I thought I had some buffer for the questions that probably would cause me problems on the real day.


@Pinkbox - agreed on that I have been doing all the tests that I received with my Veritas study pack.

Whats the solution now going forward though?
Have you tried the official practices tests (available for free download at https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/download-fr ... tware.aspx )?

These tests have official questions and, of course, they use the official scoring algorithm.

If you keep scoring in the 650 range on these tests, then I think we can safely say that the formal testing environment is messing you up. If that turns out to be the case, then you need to do some research into various techniques for combating test anxiety (mediation, relaxation techniques, etc.) and find the one that works best for you.

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
Brent
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by cedric9 » Thu Mar 08, 2012 7:52 am
Brent - I have done previously, but what I will do probably this weekend is re take of those tests to see where my level is again, otherwise like you say will have a good look at those video articles you posted previously.

In terms of what I should do meantime as I am considering a retake, what do you think I should do in terms of prep?
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:03 am
cedric9 wrote:In terms of what I should do meantime as I am considering a retake, what do you think I should do in terms of prep?
The answer to that depends on your target score.

If you continue to score in the 650 range on your practice tests and your target score is less than 650, then it sounds like you don't need to do much more when it comes to content knowledge. If you already have the content knowledge to achieve your target score, then all that would be lacking is your ability to apply that knowledge in a formal testing environment. If that's the case, then you need to work on overcoming that weakness.

Conversely, if the results of your practice tests are much lower than your target score, then you need to identify your biggest weaknesses (by carefully reviewing your practice tests and other forms of practice) and then work on those weaknesses.

Cheers,
Brent
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