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Retake GMAT

by gmat.gt » Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:59 am
I need advice regarding re-taking the GMAT.

I gave GMAT on January 31st,2011 and got awful score -640(Quant -50, Verbal -25). Now I am planning to re-take GMAT and aiming for 700+. Can someone please advice me on how to achieve the target score and what strategy I should take to ace my verbal this time ?

My test score during gmat preparation :
MGMAT -1 : 650
MGMAT -2 : 680
MGMAT -3 : 670
MGMAT -4 : 720
MGMAT -5 : 720
MGMAT -6 : Not attempted

GMATPrep -1: 700
GMATPrep -2: 680

Actual Gmat - 640

I gave all the above tests under official test conditions and also attempted both the essays.

I went through the following study materials:
MGMAT SC & RC.
Powerscore CR Bible(Not thoroughly).
Kaplan GMAT comprehensive program.
OG 11 & 12.
OG supplement for verbal as well as Quant

Now, I am totally confused as to how I can improve my score(mainly verbal). I had prepared very sincerely and was scoring consistently near 700 in my practice tests. I am not sure what went wrong and ended up with such a low score. Your advice is greatly appreciated.
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by therealtomrose » Sat Apr 16, 2011 5:16 am
We need a little bit more information from you. You mentioned that you used MGMAT practice tests. You should then, have tons of data regarding your individual performance. Your scores overal have been trending up nicely, but we need to see your historic performance in verbal. Here's why.

At subscores of Q50, V25, your score is highly sensitive to your performance on verbal. Your performance on quant has little impact. If your verbal performance varies a little either up or down, that could really change your final score.

The ultimate goal here is to act like a detective and try to figure out what was different between your practice tests and the real test. You say that there was nothing different. All that means is that you haven't figured out the difference YET. Something must have changed. Some common factors that I have seen:

(1) Diet (caffeine/drugs)
(2) Timing (morning/afternoon/evening)
(3) Anxiety (real deal more stressful)

Diet and timing, options 1 and 2, are easy to normalize and fix. If you aren't already, keep track of those variables and normalize them.

Anxiety is a huge X factor. It's very hard to understand and also very hard to control. Even if you don't feel nervous, it can still affect you.

I have four anxiety suggestions:

(1) Convince yourself that you are excited, not nervous. I have read some very interesting research from the field of anxiety (I apologize in advance for not citing a source, it was long ago.) The suggestion was the following. Instead of feeling nervous, consciously try to convince yourself that you are actually excited. People that did this markedly improved their standardized test scores. Why does this work? It's not entirely understood, but the theory is that nervousness and excitement are almost identical when measured in physical physiological terms. That is, your psyche is more susceptible to persuasion that you are excited since your body is essentially acting excited anyway. (I use this technique to great effect in job interviews!)

(2) Even if you are nervous, why should that have any effect on your test performance? My belief is that there are two different type of thinking involved in the GMAT. (A) creative, subconscious thinking and (2) formulaic, conscious thinking. Your creative mind is very powerful and capable of solving most GMAT problems. The challenge is, when you get nervous, your creative mind becomes confused and basically shuts down. Only your simple, formulaic mind remains. The solution, try to build more deterministic, formulaic approaches into your test-taking habits. For example, on sentence correction a formulaic approach might look like this: Scan answer choices, find the word "it", detect potential pronoun error, find antecedent, evaluate for logical fit with pronoun, make answer choice eliminations as appropriate, find noun/noun(s) split, look for associated verb, evaluate for singular plural, make answer choice eliminations as appropriate, pick correct answer. That process doesn't involve your creative mind and will continue to to work robustly, even under high-stress conditions.

(3) Simulate the stress of the GMAT more effectively. Ratchet up the emotional impact of the GMAT several times to improve the simulation value. (1) travel someplace new/foreign early in the morning. (2) Tell people you know that you are taking a practice test and that you will report your scores to them afterwards, (3) increase the stakes of the test by betting on your score with someone.

(4) Plan to take the GMAT multiple times. Knowing that you have another test coming down the pipe really takes the pressure off.

Try some of those things and let me know if they work. :)
Like the advice? Remember to click the "thank" button. It's my only source of gratification :)

-Tom Rose

MIT Sloan MBA, Class of 2011
The MBA Show: https://www.TheMBAShow.com

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ManhattanGMAT: https://www.manhattangmat.com/gmat-tutor-rose.cfm
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by gmat.gt » Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:25 pm
Hi therealtomrose,

Thanks for your advice! Regarding the factors like timing and diet, I always gave practice tests at the same time as the real one and there is no absolute change in my diet on the test day. So I am left with factor-3 which could have resulted to this score. I will try some of the things that you have mentioned. Thanks again.
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by AIM GMAT » Sun Apr 17, 2011 10:54 pm
Thanks therealtomrose for the wonderful in depth insight , esp about the third factor X anxiety .I will try some of the tips you suggested and let u know what worked for me .

AIM GMAT dont want to keep aiming , want to turn to DONE GMAT with a relief :) !!!
Thanks & Regards,
AIM GMAT
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