Unexpected 600. What to do?

[tr1]

Hey everybody,

I just got back from my first official GMAT Exam. Given that I scored around the 700 mark in my recent practice tests, seeing a 600 was pretty devastating. Q36 V36 IR6.


But I need to move forward, so two main questions arise:

a) How do I make sure this doesn't happen again?
b) Is that 600 of any use?

Maybe some of you can give me some insight that helps answering them. In detail:

a) How do I make sure this doesn't happen again?

These are my practice test results:

2013/12/17 | Princeton Review GMAT 10 | 630 | Q38 V39 (a month before i started studying, out of interest)
2014/01/14 | GMATPrep Exam 1 | 620 | Q36 V39 (after first day of studying, only studying test taking strategies)
2014/02/14 | GMATPrep Exam 2 | 660 | Q41 V40 (after finishing math modules)
2014/02/22 | GMATPrep Exam 3 | 690 | Q39 V44 (after finishing verbal modules)
2014/02/23 | MGMAT Free CAT | 690 | Q45 V38
2014/02/24 | MGMAT CAT #2 | 670 | Q37 V44
2014/02/25 | MGMAT CAT #3 | 680 | Q37 V45
2014/02/25 | MGMAT CAT #4 | 640 | Q38 V38 (I blame that score on taking two exams in one day)
2014/02/22 | GMATPrep Exam 4 | 690 | Q42 V42
2014/02/27 | MGMAT CAT #5 | 710 | Q42 V45

I had only 6 weeks to prepare, that's why I filled the last week with so many practice exams. What you see from there is that even when I didn't know about the geometry or integer property rules (not even the scoring algorithm), I was scoring better than I did today. I did not feel especially nervous, my timing was on point and I felt as comfortable with the questions as I did during the practice tests. Does anybody have an idea what could have happened here? As much as I wish for a computer error, I know it's impossible

My retake is scheduled for April 3rd. That will be two weeks into an intense internship, so preparation time is limited to a few hours a week. What do you suggest I do? One practice test every weekend to not get rusty?

I would love to post a detailed "600 to 710" thread in a month!


b) Is that 600 of any use?

This september, I want to start a MSc in Management program. I just got my Bachelor's with a 3.2 (German 1.8) average. After seeing the chance of a 700+, I was aiming at top schools like LSE, LBS, HEC. If the score is in that area on the retake, I will apply to these schools. But early April is late, and I'm getting nervous that I might end up without any School in September.

Therefore, I would like to apply to MiM-programs at middle-ranked schools like Maastricht University. Most of the schools say they want at least 600. So now I can either
a) apply now, possibly profit from an earlier intake round or
b) apply after the re-take, with the risk that all places are gone (or that I don't score better that time)

What are the chances of getting in with my current GMAT/GPA combination?


I'd be immensely thankful if you could give me some orientation here. Since I got the score, I'm very confused about what to do.

Thanks,
T

[[email protected]]

Hi tr1,

Based on the information you've provided, my first thought is that you were "burned out" by the time you took your Official GMAT. Points can be won or lost rather easily on Test Day; if you were a little tired, then that could explain your score drop.

As to your approach, here are my thoughts and a few questions:

1) Trying to prep for the GMAT in 6 weeks is difficult; most people need 3 months (or more) to hit their peak scores. Some rare individuals can prep quickly and succeed, but most can't.
2) Taking so many CATs in the week leading up to your GMAT (including 2 in one day) was a bad idea. Taking a CAT requires a great deal of effort and requires some review/analysis. Once the analysis is done, some additional focused practice should be done before taking another CAT. None of that happened.

Now, some questions:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE practice CAT each time (including Essay and IR) or did you skip sections?
2) What time of day did you take your CATs? What time of day was your GMAT?
3) In what ways did your practice CATs differ from your real GMAT (the little details make a difference, so think hard)?
4) What resources were you using to study?

The time that you have before your next GMAT should give you the opportunity you need to improve. One practice CAT/week is what you should plan for, but the bulk of your study time should be on practice problems and review.

As to your applications, there's nothing keeping you from applying to the mid-level schools now and then contacting them if/when you score higher on your second GMAT. Business Schools are usually open to the idea that your application could be "updated" while they're reviewing it. Unfortunately, there's no way to gauge your chances of gaining admittance to school based on some minor data points. The application process is competitive and varies from year to year (usually based on the type and number of applicants).

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

[tr1]

Hi Rich,

thank you for your reply. I didn't want the initial post to be excessively long, so let me elaborate on some points:

2) Taking so many CATs in the week leading up to your GMAT (including 2 in one day) was a bad idea. Taking a CAT requires a great deal of effort and requires some review/analysis. Once the analysis is done, some additional focused practice should be done before taking another CAT. None of that happened.

I actually analyzed each test. For the Manhattan ones, I analyzed my timing decisions and took extensive notes based on the answer explanations of my wrong ones. For the GMATPrep tests, I looked up the explanations online.

Now, some questions:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE practice CAT each time (including Essay and IR) or did you skip sections?

In the last four, yes. Before that, I skipped the essays.

2) What time of day did you take your CATs? What time of day was your GMAT?

I was worried this was gonna be a factor. I took almost all CATs starting at 10AM, right after a shower and breakfast. The actual exam started at about 11.30AM, after a 30-minute train ride and a 15 minute walk.

3) In what ways did your practice CATs differ from your real GMAT (the little details make a difference, so think hard)?

That's what I'm trying to figure out. Not sure yet.

4) What resources were you using to study?

I was following the GMATPrepNow video course. Finished all the modules including the related OG practice question sets (not the ones referred to as "additional practice" though due to the time constraints).

The time that you have before your next GMAT should give you the opportunity you need to improve. One practice CAT/week is what you should plan for, but the bulk of your study time should be on practice problems and review.

OK, I think I should mainly focus on my quant here, as Verbal has rarely caused fundamental problems to me. Why do you recommend practice questions over CATs? Isn't it better to practice in the testing environment?

As to your applications, there's nothing keeping you from applying to the mid-level schools now and then contacting them if/when you score higher on your second GMAT. Business Schools are usually open to the idea that your application could be "updated" while they're reviewing it.

Is "while they're reviewing it" defined somewhere? Or does that include the whole time until notification date?

Thanks again for your time and your answers!

[[email protected]]

Hi tr1,

To properly review a CAT (including ALL questions), flesh out your mistakes, fix them, and practice some more to make sure that you've really eliminated the problems takes more than 1 day to do. During your last week of studying, you took a CAT each day and probably took enough time to review the questions that you got wrong, but there was no way that you had enough time to do everything else before you took ANOTHER CAT.

The day of the week and time of day that you take your practice CATs can affect your performance. Since consistency is an important factor in Test Day performance, taking the GMAT at a different time could have a serious impact on your score. When I asked about the "little things", I'm talking about all of the details: breakfast, amount of sleep, where you took your practice CATs, did you use a laptop computer or a workstation w/ a mouse, etc. The best Test Takers try to make their practice match the actual GMAT in as many ways as possible. Defining those details gives you a better chance at repeating them.

Practice CATs do NOT make anyone a better Test Takers. A CAT is a "measuring device" - it will give you a reasonable assessment of your skills at that moment, but it's actually most useful in that it points out your flaws and pacing problems. If you're weak in a particular area or inconsistent (which is arguably worse because you might not know that you have a weak spot), the only real way to fix those problems is with homework, practice sets, etc. With each CAT, you have another opportunity to measure yourself. Taking a CAT every day is essentially the same thing as standing on a scale to measure your weight...every day. Without diet and/or exercise, chances are pretty good that you'll weigh the same. Practice problems, quizzes et al. are the 'diet and exercise' that you need to improve.

Since Business Schools require a great deal of time to review each Round of applications, your particular application might not even be looked at for weeks after it's been submitted. If you're accepted, then any updates won't matter. But, if you're 'wait-listed', an update that makes your application stronger might be enough to lead to acceptance.

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