I recently took the GMAT (for the second time) and the result was an utter disappointment.
By way of background, I finished the Manhattan prep course about 6 months ago and immediately sat for the GMAT for the first time. Result: 610 (39Q, 34V).
Since then, I've been studying on my own, working through the Manhattan books/Magoosh videos/OG problems relentlessly (focusing heavily on Quant).
2 months ago, I took my first practice test since the GMAT...(Manhattan CAT) - Result: 690 (39Q, 44V).
1 month later, another practice test...GMATPrep CAT #1 - Result: 690 (42Q, 41V).
3 weeks ago, another practice test...GMATPrep CAT #2 - Result: 680 (44Q, 39V).
Last week, GMAT #2..... Result: 610 (38Q, 36V)
Needless to say, my confidence has vanished and I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.
Any explanation for the test-day disaster?
Clearly, quant is not my strong suit - although I'd been somewhat encouraged by the progress I had made and did not struggle with timing on the GMAT. I was extremely comfortable with the Verbal section, but underperformed there as well.
Any suggestions for improving test-day performance? Perhaps I simply need more practice, to instill the skills and pattern-recognition as second nature while under pressure?
Any particular study strategies I can implement before giving it another shot? I hope to retake the GMAT in about a month.
Target score is 680+
Thanks in advance!!
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Trytryagain
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Hi Trytryagain,
Since your 2 Official Scores are virtually identical, there is something happening on Test Day that is NOT happening during your practice. You have to do some nit-picking of your work to figure out the differences and then properly train for what Test Day has in store.
When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home or at an offsite location?
3) What time of day were your CATs (vs. your Official GMATs)?
4) Did you take any of your CATs more than once?
5) How did you sleep the night before your Official GMAT?
6) How far is the ride to the Test Center from your home?
7) Is there ANYTHING about how you took your CATs that did not 'match up' with how you took the Official GMAT?
It might also be that you need to invest in some new practice resources.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Since your 2 Official Scores are virtually identical, there is something happening on Test Day that is NOT happening during your practice. You have to do some nit-picking of your work to figure out the differences and then properly train for what Test Day has in store.
When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home or at an offsite location?
3) What time of day were your CATs (vs. your Official GMATs)?
4) Did you take any of your CATs more than once?
5) How did you sleep the night before your Official GMAT?
6) How far is the ride to the Test Center from your home?
7) Is there ANYTHING about how you took your CATs that did not 'match up' with how you took the Official GMAT?
It might also be that you need to invest in some new practice resources.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
-
Trytryagain
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
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- Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 8:34 am
Thanks for the quick reply - I appreciate the input.
To answer some of the questions posed:
I took all sections when taking my practice CATs (skipped the essay on the first MGMAT test), although all were taken at home.
With regard to timing, I took all practice tests and the GMAT in the early afternoon and had no trouble sleeping the night prior to test day.
Looking back on the CATs, I felt as if I was struggling more with the Quant section than I did on test day (had to rush to finish Quant in time on 2 of the 3 practice tests). Concerned with timing, perhaps I was too quick to give up on problems and guess on test day. There were a few problems that I felt I could have solved, but would simply take too much time.
As far as preparation in the next month or so - any suggestions for where to focus?
Am I wasting time if I simply continue to plug away at practice problems?
Thanks again!
To answer some of the questions posed:
I took all sections when taking my practice CATs (skipped the essay on the first MGMAT test), although all were taken at home.
With regard to timing, I took all practice tests and the GMAT in the early afternoon and had no trouble sleeping the night prior to test day.
Looking back on the CATs, I felt as if I was struggling more with the Quant section than I did on test day (had to rush to finish Quant in time on 2 of the 3 practice tests). Concerned with timing, perhaps I was too quick to give up on problems and guess on test day. There were a few problems that I felt I could have solved, but would simply take too much time.
As far as preparation in the next month or so - any suggestions for where to focus?
Am I wasting time if I simply continue to plug away at practice problems?
Thanks again!
-
Rich@EconomistGMAT
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Hi Trytryagain,
We recently answered a similar question on our blog, which you can check out here: https://bit.ly/1JHtCaC
In terms of plugging away at additional practice problems, I agree with Rich. It might be time for you to consider additional resources. The good news is that most online resources offer free trial periods to give you the ability to try them out without making a large financial commitment. That being said, here's a link to try Economist GMAT Tutor for 7 days: https://bit.ly/1bPAHuW
Best of luck,
Rich
We recently answered a similar question on our blog, which you can check out here: https://bit.ly/1JHtCaC
In terms of plugging away at additional practice problems, I agree with Rich. It might be time for you to consider additional resources. The good news is that most online resources offer free trial periods to give you the ability to try them out without making a large financial commitment. That being said, here's a link to try Economist GMAT Tutor for 7 days: https://bit.ly/1bPAHuW
Best of luck,
Rich
GMAT/MBA Expert
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Brent@GMATPrepNow
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I agree with Rich - more practice questions.
To help you focus on one topic at a time, you can use BTG's tagging feature. For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.
You should also spend a lot of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site. They model the steps one should take when tackling math problems.
In addition to learning the core concepts and GMAT-specific strategies, be sure to work on your endurance and test-taking skills (e.g., time management) by taking several practice tests. If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244
Cheers,
Brent
To help you focus on one topic at a time, you can use BTG's tagging feature. For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.
You should also spend a lot of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site. They model the steps one should take when tackling math problems.
In addition to learning the core concepts and GMAT-specific strategies, be sure to work on your endurance and test-taking skills (e.g., time management) by taking several practice tests. If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244
Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
GMAT/MBA Expert
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[email protected]
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Hi Trytryagain,
It might help to identify as many aspects of Test Day that you can that did NOT occur when you took your CATs; you have to really think about everything though, including the "little" things. Once you have that list, you should attempt to implement them into how you take your CATs. For example, do you have to drive an hour to the Testing Center? Then you should drive around for an hour before you take your CATs. Test Takers tend to be creatures of habit; if your habits during practice don't match the Test Day "event", then your performance would likely suffer.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
It might help to identify as many aspects of Test Day that you can that did NOT occur when you took your CATs; you have to really think about everything though, including the "little" things. Once you have that list, you should attempt to implement them into how you take your CATs. For example, do you have to drive an hour to the Testing Center? Then you should drive around for an hour before you take your CATs. Test Takers tend to be creatures of habit; if your habits during practice don't match the Test Day "event", then your performance would likely suffer.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
