I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi everyone. I am new to the board. I took the GMAT today for the first time. I got a 530, M 35 and V 28. Obviously I am very dissapointed with the score. Here is the background. I completed the MGMAT prep class in mid-march and studied for a month after that. My strategy was to do three hours per day of prep questions during the week in the OG 12th edition and the math and verbal books. Overall, I did very well and felt comfortable answering the higher level questions across the board. Two weeks ago I took my last practice test with MGMAT and got a 700 (43 M and 41 V) so figured I was in really good shape. My goal is not high, 650, and figured that was well within reach. Needless to say I was shocked by my score especially verbal. Here is why:

MGMAT Prep Test #1: 630 (38M, 36V)
MGMAT Prep Test #2: 580 (33M, 37V)
MGMAT Prep Test #3: 580 (33M, 37V)
MGMAT Prep Test #4: 700 (43M, 41V)

For me, verbal has never been an inssue and if I had scored anywhere near my average I would be feeling much better than I do now. I have rescheduled already for May 21. As of now, I am planning on taking a week off to regroup. After which I need to develop a new plan for three weeks. I desperately need your help to develop a game plan to help me reach my goal during that time. Considering I have already read and used all the MGMAT books and most recent OG guides I am feeling a little lost. Thanks and I look forward to hearing your responses.

Hello,

One question that comes to mind based on my own testing experience (The MGMAT folks have practically made this the official song on BTG in response to "why the low score on the real thing").

Did you do the two essays every time you took your practice tests?

I can't stress how important this is in terms of practicing. Every expert on this forum will tell you that one of the main reasons for a significant score discrepancy between the official exam and the practice ones is not simulating the complete exam in practice (skipping the essays).

One possibility for your overall drop in score, is that as a result of spending an hour of thinking on your essays, you were more worn out than usual (lacked stamina) by the time verbal came up and your verbal score suffered accordingly. In this case, it may not be the verbal material itself that is the issue. It could just be that since verbal is the last section in the exam, you had the least amount of optimal brain power to attack the section.

I ran into this issue, as I was hitting 640's in practice, and then dropped to a 580 on the official exam. I also had a friend who ran into this also. We both skipped the essays.

In terms of preparation for your next test date, see if you can take 3 or 4 more complete exams to build up your stamina.


You will do great!

Anurag -

Thank you for taking the time to reply and your vote of confidence. Here are the answers to your questions.

I have not done the GMATPrep tests yet. I figured the six from MGMAT would be enough but clearly they were not. I do not want to waste them but it sounds as if you think that if I take one next weekend and then provide you with the score breakdown that will be beneficial to help develop a new study strategy. I will do that.

Thanks.

Manny -

Thanks for taking the time to reply and the kind words as well.

To answer your question, I only did the essays on the first and last practice exams that I took. My instructor said that it was not necessary to do them on every practice. That being said, what you are recommending makes complete sense.

In terms of practice exams, which do you recommend? I have the two free from MBA.com and one more available through MGMAT.

Thanks.

Hello All,

These are really good points. My own GMAT prep was marred by lack of simulating a REAL test environment.

I myself am interested in taking this exam again in September. However, I have a few questions, if you please:

1. In terms of simulating a "real" test environment - would taking the exam at my desk, with ambient noise in the background (light music, tv noise, etc.) suffice for a mimicked environment?

2. In terms of prep tests, I see these tests as recommended:


a. GMAT Prep (mba.com)
b. Manhattan GMAT (I have access to their student center)
c. Princeton
d. Kaplan (I have heard negative things about these..)
e. 800 score
f. PowerPrep

In my past study experience, I never took that many exams (only three). How many are good? Any recommendations as to which area should be utilized (I firmly believe in MBA.com and MGMAT).

3. How long should one study before tackling a practice test? I have already taken an instructor-led course. She has assisted me in identifying my weak areas (from previous tests).

4. Finally, do you have any other tips to offer for anxiety?


This was a long post. I appreciate your guidance here. Thanks again.

I also forgot to ask about materials. Here is what I have utilized thus far:

1. MGMAT Student Center (they have good tutorials)
2. MGMAT 8 book series
3. MGMAT "Foundations of Math" book
4. OG Guide
5. OG Verbal/Quant Guide (should I get the new ones?)
6. CR PowerScore Bible (I just ordered this)
7. SC PowerScore Bible (Just ordered this one as well)

If you have any recommendations on this, I would appreciate it. I think I am pretty set, but I wanted to ensure I had it right.