CAT Scores Fluctuated

[mary.cisetti]

Hi there,

I just finished my 4th CAT and I'm SO upset! I finished the 9-week online course a week and a half ago and have been reviewing problems, tracking in an error log, and going over material I missed along the way.

CAT #1: 600 (Q27/V35)
CAT #2: 610 (Q36/V37)
CAT #3: 690 (Q47/V37)
CAT #4: 600 (Q39/V34)

I saw a huge jump between my second and third CAT (I took the third after the 8th session) and was feeling very confident. I knew that I could see a bit of a decrease this time because I was very pleased with my third CAT, but a 90 point decrease crushed me! I know I have some issues with time management, and I need to continue to build on this - but I am torn. Is this common? Or was the third score just a fluke? I have a pretty firm goal to score 700+ in about a month... but I'm wondering if that's possible.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you had such a disappointing drop.

The good news is that I can think of several (good) reasons why this might have happened. The bad news is that there are also some not-good reasons why.

So we need to figure out why your score dropped.

It looks like the score jump on test 3 and the score drop on test 4 can mostly be attributed to quant, so we'll concentrate on that section.

First, did you take both tests under identical conditions? Did you do the essay and IR sections on both? Did you take two 8-minute breaks at the appropriate time? Did you NOT use the pause button? Etc.

Second, are there any outside reasons why you might have been objectively burned out / wiped out before you took the fourth test? Did you take it after a long day at work or after studying for 6 hours straight?

Third, what was going on with your timing? This is the single biggest culprit of score drops.

What happens a lot: people learn a ton, feel really good, take a test, get stubborn because they feel like they "should" know how to do something, mess up their timing, and blow the section. Could this have happened to you?

Use this article to analyze your last two tests (you can just do quant for now and then do verbal later).

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Pay extra close attention to timing issues. In particular, look for situations in which you were spending a lot of extra time (above about 2m45s) on certain problems and then rushing on others to make up for it. How many of those too-long problems did you get right in the end? And how many rushed problems did you miss due to careless mistakes?

If this is what happened, that's a "better" reason to have a score drop - because you want to do that in practice, not on the real test. You need to fix your mindset - which isn't easy, but it's easier than the next scenario, below. Use these articles to help you get started on that.

https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

Alternatively, a lot of people won't do the essay and IR sections at first because they're concentrating on Q and V. Then, when they finally start to add in the earlier sections, they have a big score drop on Q, V, or both. This is a "bad" reason to have a score drop because it's probably going to take longer to fix. You have to learn how to maintain mental performance over the length of a 3h40m test instead of a 2h30m test. That's a big difference.

Use the above to help you figure out what you think is going on. Then come back here and tell us. Also tell us what you think you should do about it. (Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

Then we'll tell you where we agree and disagree, and we'll advise you further.

[mary.cisetti]

Stacey,

I can't begin to tell you how helpful those articles were! After reviewing my CAT exam thoroughly, it's very obvious this is a timing issue. With both the 690 and the 600, I did the Essay and IR sections. I'm very confident with my essay, but the IR section I'm still struggling with (timing is an issue here as well). However, when I took the CAT and got the 600, it was a long day at work and I had some distractions around me - much different than the circumstances when I received the 690. Additionally, I was frazzled entering the Quant section because I wasn't feeling confident in my performance on IR.

After analyzing my results, it appears that many times when I spent "too long" on a question, I ended up getting it wrong anyway, which caused me to have to rush through the last questions and get many wrong "too fast." While there is a trend of most of my wrong answers occurring in PS rather than DS, there weren't any noticeable trends among content areas.

From here, it seems the best way to move forward is to continue to practice, practice, practice with the OG and record in my error log to learn how to get wrong answers wrong quicker and be more efficient in my correct answers. Also, to continue to get more comfortable with the question format and recognize the types of questions as soon as they appear. My biggest concern is that I will begin to skip easier questions because they look tricky at first just to make sure I don't mess up my timing. Do you have any additional advice or direction? This has been SO helpful!

Mary Cisetti

[StaceyKoprince]

You will definitely do that at first - go too fast and skip questions that you actually do know how to do. That's one of the reasons it often takes people a good 4-6 weeks to fix timing issues: because we go too far in the other direction at first! :)

Every time you are reviewing problems (and review EVERY problem, even if you got it right fast!), ask yourself: did I make the best possible set of decisions for this problem?

If you decided to bail but realize looking at it now that you actually do know how to do it, first, go ahead and do it (to prove to yourself that you really do know how). Sometimes you'll find that you really don't and you made the right decision in the first place.

When you can actually do it, then you ask yourself:
(1) why was it that I thought I couldn't do it? what distracted me or scared me?
(2) how do I know that I really CAN do it? what are the details or problem features that will let me know next time not to cut myself off so quickly?

And in general, you ask yourself these kinds of questions for every decision you make anywhere on the test, since the point is that they're really testing you on how you make your decisions. :)

You'll get it! It's just going to take some work. And now that you'll overcorrect sometimes, and it will take you some time to strike the right balance between giving yourself enough time to make a confident decision about what to do and not spending so much time that you're wasting time in the end.