Disappointing 590 on first GMAT exam

[levipace]

I just sat for my first exam And I scored a 590. I was very disappointed by this score because I am targeting a 670.

Practice Test Results

GMATPrep Test #1
1st attempt 35Q 28V 530
2nd attempt 46Q 30V . 620

GMATPrep Test #2
1st attempt 43Q 34V 630
2nd attempt 46Q 39V 690

Gmat prep test 3 47Q 34V 660

GMAT prep test 4 47Q 34V 660


I did not sleep well the night before the test and I was very nervous. But during the test I thought I was doing ok.
The math portion seemed more difficult than the practice tests, but I thought I was getting a lot right.

What should be my strategy going forward? Should I take practice tests from other companies? I would appreciate any advice for insights.

[GMATinsight]

I just sat for my first exam And I scored a 590. I was very disappointed by this score because I am targeting a 670.

Practice Test Results

GMATPrep Test #1
1st attempt 35Q 28V 530
2nd attempt 46Q 30V . 620

GMATPrep Test #2
1st attempt 43Q 34V 630
2nd attempt 46Q 39V 690

Gmat prep test 3 47Q 34V 660

GMAT prep test 4 47Q 34V 660


I did not sleep well the night before the test and I was very nervous. But during the test I thought I was doing ok.
The math portion seemed more difficult than the practice tests, but I thought I was getting a lot right.

What should be my strategy going forward? Should I take practice tests from other companies? I would appreciate any advice for insights.

What are is the break up of your score in quant and verbal???

Did you order ESR report because it can tell you a lot about where did you go wrong and what needs attantion and improvement

However the way I look at your score is, your score is GMAT Prep is very close to your target score but never to forget that scores in GMAT prep are a little towards optimistic side (i.e. more than expected score in actual GMAT)

Your quant score is well placed but to get to your score, Quant can help you more because it would be easier for a person with your track to improve 2 points in Quant and 2 points in verbal than improving 6-8 points in Verbal alone.

This is the time when you will have to work on hard problem for practice and also you need to work on test taking strategies. I am not sure without looking at your ESR report whether your test taking strategy has any flaw but on the outset it looks like that a little improvement on a few front can give a great boost to your score and get you a better score for sure.

Please share your ESR report if you have it.

[levipace]

I do not have an ESR report. I was so upset at seeing my score I did not take the time to memorize what my breakdown was. My best guess was Q40 V31. (based off what i think my percentiles were and magoosh's grid)

I literally did everything the same. The school that I am targeting does not require essay or IR, they only look at Q and V. I did not do either in any practice exam or on the official. I took all of my practice tests at home except for my last one (660) which I took in an office very similar to the real gmat experience.

I took the gmat at 3:30 pm, honestly I did a lot that day, but nothing very strenuous on the mind. I just tried to keep myself busy to calm nerves. I took all of my practice tests between 8-10 am.

On the CATS that I retook I had seen a few of the questions before, but going through I actually missed some of those, so i do not think it inflated my score terribly. And my Final 2 official practice tests were completely new to me.

I spent the last 15 weeks preparing for this exam, I am prepared to spend another 15. I will appreciate and consider any advice. Thanks!

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Hi levipace,

To start, what were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on this Official GMAT?

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) You noted that you had retaken two of your CATs. On your other CATs, had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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

[JosyGrindell]

Just relax and continue studying. Hard work always pays off!