Need Help!!! Low Practice Scores...Reschedule Test Day?

[ewilliams]

I'm really feeling beat up about my GMAT! I can't even crack 500 with all of my practice exams. I'm scheduled to take my official test on 4/19. At this point I'm considering pushing my test day further out. Whenever I practice problems, I do well, but when I take the practice tests, I just can't seem to perform. I work full time, but I have been studying on average 4 nights per week and have been studying consistently for about 1.5 months.

Below are my study tools:
OG 13 Book
Kaplan GMAT 2012
EmpowerGmat online tutorial
GMAT Prep Software

I fully acknowledge that I have major pacing problems. I have been studying problems that I have gotten wrong and I identified my weakness areas and have been focusing on them. See below for my test scores so far.

Gmat Prep 1 (1/6/14) 300 (Q13 V16) IR 5
MGMAT 1 (3/9/14) 440 (Q28 V24)
MGMAT 2 (3/23/14) 370 (didnt finish Quant) (Q11 V26)
MGMAT 3 (4/5/14) 420 (Q15 V32)
GMAT Prep 2 (4/11/14) 360 (Q17 V21) IR 7

My dream is to get into Kellogg or Booth part time program and I almost feel like I would be a joke if I applied. My other credentials are 3.4 undergrad GPA from DePaul University in Marketing, 9 years in workforce...most of which at 2 major well known CPG companies in consultative type roles with increasing responsibility.

Any advice or words of encouragement?...I just don't understand where to go from here or if I should just settle for a non-top tier school that doesn't put as much emphasis on the GMAT?

[[email protected]]

Hi ewilliams,

Most Test Takers study for 3 months (or longer) before they hit their peak scores. You've put in 1.5 months, which likely means that you just haven't gotten comfortable enough with the material to perform at a high level. Your scores show some inconsistency, which also points to not enough practice.

With Kellogg and Booth as your goals, you're going to need more time to prepare, which means that you should push your Test Date back. The good news is that as long as you take care of it today (you have to reschedule at least one full week in advance), then the price will only be $50. I'd recommend that you plan for another 2 months of practice, so you should be scheduling for some time in early June.

Don't go giving up on your dreams just yet. From CAT1 to CAT2, you clearly made some progress. You have to continue to build on that progress to score in a range that will satisfy your goal schools.

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

[ewilliams]

Thank you so much! I will reschedule my test day. Regarding next steps, any advice on what approach to take? I am an active participant in the EmpowerGmat online courses and they have helped a ton...however I still have much progress to make and much more practice to do.

[[email protected]]

Hi ewilliams,

Your CAT scores show that you were improving in both Quant and Verbal, then at some point you "reverted" and ended up doing things the way you were doing them before. This likely means that you're experiencing some stress when dealing with the countdown timer on a CAT. Most Test Takers improve over time because they become more familiar with material and practice the proper tactics again and again. As such, I'd suggest that you go back to the Modules for Quant Tactics and SCs and redo that material (the training, quizzes, etc.), so that those tactics start to burn themselves into your brain. Then proceed as normal through the rest of the Course.

As an extra exercise, once you've redone Stage 1, you go through your last practice CAT and go through all of the questions. Re-attempt them using what you've learned. I bet that you'll end up answering many of those questions correctly. That type of review is useful so that you can get a sense for how you performed under pressure and learn the necessary steps to perform better next time.

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