Cannot break 600 on the actual GMAT after 5 tries

[Guestt]

Hi,

I have taken the GMAT 5 times now, and my highest score has only been a 590 (previous scores are all very similar too...580, 570, 580)

My best quant score was a 40, my scores fluctuated from 30...40...37...32...
My best verbal score was a 37 (82nd percentile), but my scores have fluctuated....from a 31...to a 33...to 37...back down to 31..

After the MGMAT 9 week course, I scored a 680 on the powerprep. I also scored a 700 on MGMAT CAT 5. I thought I was ready to get my personal best score, or even to just break 600!!!! But I still have not done so yet.

I've gone through the OG many times, and yes I do believe I have been studying in the right way...using a stopwatch...doing questions over again...spending a lot of time reading the answer explanations....I answered most of the OG questions correctly.

I could be at a serious disadvantage applying to good MBA programs with a 590 GMAT score...it may be pathetic actually. Any advice you guys can offer? I have invest so much time and money on this and have been very persistent....it did not translate into results. I am questioning whether studying w/ a prep course actually helps increase standardized test scores??

Please offer some feedback? Should I hire a tutor? Thank you.

[JK]

What you're asking for is SYMPATHY. You need to look at your exams and see what youre F-ing up on and work on fixing those weaknesses. Its not about doing a million problems and memorizing how to do the OG guide problems. Practice and prepping is about fixing your weaknesses so you can see a problem that you couldn't previously complete correctly and apply your knowledge and get it right.

WORD

[StaceyKoprince]

Since you're reporting much higher scores on your practice tests, it's important to try to figure out why you're underperforming when you take the official test. Think back to your most recent test experience and tell us everything - big or small - that's different when compared to practice test situations.

For example, do you take your practice test under completely normal timed conditions? (essays, 10 min break, quant, 10 min break, verbal) Did you take your official test at the same time of day? Etc.

How about stress / nerves? Do you tend to underperform in general on standardized tests? What happened on the SAT? Did you get good sleep leading up to the test? Were you able to think as clearly as you do on practice tests or did stress undermine your ability to concentrate? Etc.

What other differences did you notice in terms of timing, content, anything at all?

[Guest]

5 times in what timeframe?

If I'm not mistaken the GMAT can only be taken 5 times per year.

[A-man]

Hi, I personally got a disappointing score this week too...

However, a piece of advice......make it 6 and then apply..........am sure many B schools will admire your grit and determination.

But the way forward should be with a personal tutor-and it may be long drawn-take 6-8 months, work with somebody who can help all areas of your gameplan and I have no doubt you'll crack it

cheers

[Guest]

Regarding the 5 attempts at the actual GMAT, honestly I've done extensive prep -- many hours of studying AND analyzing, gone through the entire MGMAT syllabus, never missed an in-session class (the teacher was excellent), read up on different forums, check out kaplan books, princeton review books...took enough practice cats...started to see practice test scores improve, which made sense.

But during the actual exam, I just still couldn't get past a 600 score, which is very very disheartening after the extensive prep work I've put in. I just know that I can score a lot higher, and it would be a shame to settle for a 590

A lot of what I've learned is probably long-term memory at this point. With a new approach or maybe tutoring (after brushing up again on the content), do you think I could boost my scores?

Regarding nerves...I did not feel too much of it... by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th attempts...I was already accustomed to the real test experience.

I do notice one thing about my verbal section, though. I abandon the "read and write actively the premises and conclusion", and start to rely on my eyes to find the conclusion and then pick an answer choice. Could this be the reason for my low verbal score? I know I am solid w/ the Sentence Correction part - I'm am very sure of that.

Like I said, it would be a shame to settle for a 590 after all this hard work (and analysis...extensive analysis...)

Thanks

[Guest]

Do you know for a fact that you are strong in RC? Many people spend less time studying RC because, after all, it's reading an answering questions. However, in my experience, this can be a big drag on your scores if you get these wrong.

Also, to a certain extent, the techniques in RC and CR are interrelated. Therefore, because you are having a difficult time with CR, odds might be you are a little weak in RC.

Advice for RC and CR (nothing new):

It's more important to know why the wrong answers are wrong than the right answers are right. Breakdown the answers for each CR and RC question and see if you can explain why each answer is wrong.

[StaceyKoprince]

I didn't see an answer to this question: did you take full practice tests under the exact conditions? (that is, you did do the essays, in full, and you only took 2 ten-minute breaks between the sections)

Also, I forgot to mention last time: did you sign up for a post-exam assessment? Every student in our courses gets a free post-exam assessment if they want to take advantage of it - you can debrief with an instructor, figure out what went wrong, and develop a game plan to use going forward. If you haven't done this yet, send an email to studentservices@manhattangmat.com or call 800.576.GMAT and request a "post-exam assessment." One of the things you can talk about there, too, is whether a bit of targeted verbal tutoring could help.

The last poster makes a very good point about RC and CR - it is critically important to understand why the wrong answers are wrong. Those two types are all about POE (process of elimination) and, often, the best way to find the right answer is to find the four wrong answers and cross them off.

Also, in general, it's not a good idea to change any of your habits / strategies on test day. You have no idea whether the new way you're doing it is effective and, if you abandon one strategy, you're probably going to abandon others. That can definitely bring your score down. If you think some strategy isn't working for you, the time to abandon it (and replace it with something else) is well before the test comes around.

[Guest]

I have found out that attaining a high verbal score is a product of doing well in RC and CR. You say you are strong in SC, but that may be because you are getting easy SC questions. In other words, you get an RC and/or CR question wrong which in turn gets you an easy SC question.

[Guest]

Okay, thanks everyone for your feedback. I appreciate you guys trying all that you can to help me out.

Yea, during the PEA, the instructor did point out that Read Comp and Geometry were weak areas. And like the previous poster mentioned, RC and CR are interrelated. Maybe SC questions are worth less points based on the GMAT algorithm, but of course we won't know that for sure.

I'm not sure what to do for now with my plans, but thanks again.

[StaceyKoprince]

I didn't see an answer to this question: did you take full practice tests under the exact conditions? (that is, you did do the essays, in full, and you only took 2 ten-minute breaks between the sections)