Disaster on D-Day, what now? Aiming for 700+

[qtn003]

Hey guys,

So I sat for my GMAT today and scored significantly lower then my target score, 640, (Q44, V34). I am extremely disappointed, as this is not even close to the score I was aiming for. The exam did not seem particularly hard, but I did run out of the time on verbal and had to rush/guess for the last 8 or so, and the math seemed too easy, which meant I probably made a lot of dumb mistakes. I was probably too confident based on my performance in my past 2 GMAT Prep tests and not cautious enough. What can I do to improve my score so I can retake the GMAT in 6 weeks and achieve my goal of 700+?

GMAT Prep 1: 660 (Q44, V37) <---3 weeks ago
GMAT Prep 2: 700 (Q45, V40) <---2 weeks ago
GMAT Prep 2 Retake: 740 (Q49, V42) <---Last week, inflated a little because I saw a couple of repeats in each section

In GMAT Prep1, and GMAT Prep 2 Retake, I simulated test conditions as best as I could, I did the essays and stuck to the rigid break times. I'm dumbfounded that I scored significantly lower then all of my GMAT Practice tests, as I thought the GMAT Preps were extremely accurate and had a standard deviation of 30 pts or so.

I am very confident with verbal, but it looks like I still need to review some concepts based on my performance. A lot of critical reasoning came down to 2 options and I guess I wasn't as sharp today as I normally am. Also, there were a couple of tricky sentence corrections that I thought I got correct, but it doesn't like that way in retrospect.

I think my biggest weakness would have to be quant. Specifically data sufficiency. Some of the questions just have really tricky wording and it takes me 45 secs-minute to just comprehend the question and realize what I need to do. I also have some problems converting the verbiage into equations.

My question to you guys now is, what do I do to improve? The test materials that I used included OG11, OG12, Manhattan SC, Powerscore CR Bible and Manhattan Number Properties. I already plan on purchasing the Word Translation Manhattan guide to brush up on my word problems, but I really don't know what else to do. I can still work on my timing as I tried to implement that in the last 2 weeks of my study, which was probably too late. I can also run through the number properties guide again to solidify my understanding of the strategies and concepts. I'm scared that since I've already taken GMATPrep#2 twice and GMAT Prep#1 once, that I no longer have accurate practice tests to take. Advice as always is appreciated. Thank you for helping me, and let's hope that when I retake the GMAT, I knock it out of the park and render this disappointing score irrelevant.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry that you had a disappointing test experience. We need to figure out what's going on here so that we can set up a good plan for you.

You mention that you took the 1st and 3rd tests under official test conditions. I assume that means you did not take the 2nd test under official test conditions?

If so, that means your scores on both the 2nd and 3rd tests may have been inflated - so we can only truly count on the first test score as an accurate indication of your current scoring level. Your official test score was within the expected range of that first test score.

Can you clarify for the 2nd test - did you or did you not take it under official conditions? If you did not take it under official conditions, how did the conditions vary? (Please be as specific as possible.)

For the 3rd test, can you tell us what you did when you saw repeated questions? Did you answer them immediately and move on? (This would have given you a major time advantage that you can't have on the real test.) Did you answer them correctly even if you'd gotten them wrong the first time around? (This would obviously change your score.)

If you did both of those things (always answered correctly + moved on to the next question sooner than you would have if it had been a truly new question), then you could have inflated your score quite a bit, depending upon how many repeats you saw.

You mentioned having a significant timing problem on the verbal (on the real test). Did you ever have timing problems on your practice tests?

There is some good news. Your quant score was about what you should have expected (based on the first 2 GMATPrep tests), so you did manage to hit your target there. The drop in score came primarily from your verbal score.

Next bit of good news: we know at least part of the reason why. You ran out of time. You were likely scoring higher than your final verbal score - until you ran out of time. Then, you had a string of wrong answers (more than you should have had if you'd had adequate time), and then your score dropped. That score drop could have been minor or major, depending upon exactly how things played out.

To summarize the situation:
1) your quant score was about what you could reasonably expect
2) your verbal score was lower than what you could reasonably expect
3) at least part of the reason for the lower verbal score had to do with timing
4) part of the reason may also have been inflated expectations, depending upon your answers to my questions above about your practice tests

So, at the least, we know you have to fix your timing. You may also have to fix your fundamental ability as well, depending upon what we can figure related to part 4, above.

So, first, hit reply. Type up what you think you know (without checking any tests) about your verbal strengths and weaknesses as they relate to timing. Then go read this article and do the analysis described, paying particular attention to verbal timing issues (but analyze everything, not just that):

http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23/evaluating-your-practice-tests

(Note: this analysis is for MGMAT tests; if you haven't yet taken an MGMAT test, you'll need to take one, as GMATPrep tests don't give you any data on which to base an analysis.)

Add that info to your post. Don't go back and edit your initial notes about your "gut feeling" re: your verbal timing issues; leave it all in there. If you notice any discrepancies between the two, mention them and feel free to speculate as to why.

Also, answer the questions that I asked above. Once we've got all that data, we should be able to figure out where to go from here!

[qtn003]

Thanks for the reply Stacey, I'll do my best to answer your questions below.

You mention that you took the 1st and 3rd tests under official test conditions. I assume that means you did not take the 2nd test under official test conditions?

Yes, on the 2nd GMATPrep I didn't take it under official tests conditions because I skipped the essay portion in the beginning, I wanted to save the essays for my retake the following week. So if anything, my verbal might have been a little inflated because I wasn't as drained. Everything else, breaks, setting, time of day, I simulated test conditions as best I could.

For the 3rd test, can you tell us what you did when you saw repeated questions? Did you answer them immediately and move on?

When I saw repeated questions, I knew immediately the strategy to solve them, because I was reviewing my errors carefully for each exam. For the repeats I saw, I did try and wait the estimated time, about 2 minutes for quant, 1.5 minutes for verbal. When I was running out of time at the end though, if I saw a repeat, I didn't wait as long, maybe half as long, because I figured I would rush through the problem if I was running out of time on the real thing. I saw around 5 repeats on the quant and 3 on the verbal.

You mentioned having a significant timing problem on the verbal (on the real test). Did you ever have timing problems on your practice tests?

I've always had a time crunch, moreso on quant than verbal on my GMATPrep exams. Verbal wasn't as bad, it would only be the last couple questions and I could usually rush through them with decent accuracy. I was using the 55-35-15 for questions 11-21-31 on the exam for both quant and verbal. While it was sufficient pacing for quant, it was much too generous for verbal. I also found myself overconfident because I was pretty sure of my answers. I found myself double and triple checking certain answers just to be sure and wasting time that I could've used at the end, because I thought I was ahead of pace.

I'm gonna cut this reply short and start another one so we don't have a really long reply.

[qtn003]

So my goal for the exam was at least 47 quant and 40 verbal, about a 80%/90% split, as I've heard a lot about how the top schools value a 80%/80% split. I still feel I could've performed better on quant, since I was worried about timing I wasn't taking the time to check over my answers as I wanted to keep pace. Also the first couple questions were tricky to me and I probably spent a couple extra minutes on each of them, which made me frantic the rest of the exam. I also noticed the questions at the end seemed a bit too easy, as opposed to being challenging throughout most of my GMATPrep exams. I also feel I must have gotten several, maybe more then half of those last 8 verbal questions wrong. Throughout most of the exam, I was pretty confident with my answers, and felt I was on my way to a great score until I ran out of time. Ok, let me finish answering the rest of your questions.

So, first, hit reply. Type up what you think you know (without checking any tests) about your verbal strengths and weaknesses as they relate to timing.

Based on my GMATPrep tests, I don't show any big weaknesses in my verbal. I usually get around 6 wrong evenly distributed between rc, sc and cr. There are a couple times I see a really confusing sc that I take a little bit longer with, but I can usually narrow it down to 2 choices and I just go back and forth trying to break it down. Also, there are a couple cr questions that just seem confusing to me, and I read them over and over and waste a lot of time. I can also narrow it down to 2 choices easily on these, but because I'm waiting for an aha moment, which happens half the time, I usually take a bit too long. Some of the more unfamiliar cr like evaluate the paradox, the role of the bolded phrases, etc sometimes take longer for me as well as I haven't had a lot of practice with these question formats. On reading comp, I think I read fairly quickly and actually gain time from these questions, which somewhat compensates for my slow pace on those tough cr and sc.


http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23 ... tice-tests

I haven't taken a Manhattan GMAT exam for several months now. In the initial stages of my study, I used to take them just to test myself in either math or quant, but separately so I kinda wasted those exams. I have 1 fresh test left, and I don't really remember much of the content from any of the exams, so I can reload them and take them again in real test conditions. I plan to take one this weekend under real conditions, and I'll post the analysis on that test. I can probably retake GMATPrep1 one more time without seeing significant repeats, so should I save that for the week before my test? I want to come up with a plan to take the test within 5-6 weeks, I'm giving myself this week to relax a little and come up with a good plan. As I said, I've already purchased word translations in the quant which I know is one of my weaknesses, but because I was running out of time and still scoring what I wanted, I felt it was ok. I think quant is still my achilles heal and what I need to focus the next month on improving if I want to get 700+. As long as I get my timing better on verbal, I think I should perform significantly better next time.

Ok sorry for the long responses, I look forward to hearing your analysis. Thanks Stacey.

[StaceyKoprince]

Okay, starting with the first of your two posts.

So, your 2nd test score might have been a bit inflated, too, which means we have to take your first test score as your only truly "clean" test.

On your 3rd test, it's good that you waited out the time. Did you always get them right? Or did you try to gauge whether you were more likely to get them wrong and, if so, purposely get them wrong? If you did the former, then your score was probably a bit inflated again.

For verbal timing, I use the below. This is trickier than quant because it partially depends upon where the 3 or 4 RC passages begin. The below assumes that one new passage starts within each quarter of the test (Q1-10, Q11-20, Q21-30, Q31-41).
Q10: 56 min left
Q20: 37 min left
Q30: 19 min left

You may have to adjust the above if the passages don't start in the way described above. For instance, if by the time you get to Q10, you've actually had 2 passages start, not just one, then you should expect to have fewer minutes left - maybe 53 instead of 56. If, on the other hand, you get to Q10 and you've had no passages start, then you should expect to have more - maybe 59 left. Every time a new passage starts, I keep track with a tick mark on the first page of my scrap paper. If you're worried about losing that or having to flip back to find the tick marks, then keep track on your hand - maybe with dots, so that you don't have as much skin to scrub later. :)

The bigger thing here is that you're going to have to solidify your timing so that, next time, the test can't pull you so far off. At what point did you know you were behind (on the official test)? At what point did you actually try to do something about that?

Here's the basic rule: as soon as I discover that I'm more than 2m behind (or ahead), I do something about it immediately. (Less than 2m ahead or behind isn't a huge problem.) If I'm behind, the next time I see a question that seems extra hard within the first 15-20 seconds, I pick a random answer immediately and move on. If I'm still behind, I do that again the next time I see something extra hard (even if it's the very next one).

(Note: that's because, the first time you do it, you're probably going to get that question wrong, in which case there's a good chance you'll be able to do the next one. If you happen to get very lucky and get it right, then maybe you won't be able to do the next one - after all, the first one was already extra hard - so it doesn't hurt to skip the second one because you got lucky on the first one!)

Quant:

I probably spent a couple extra minutes on each of them, which made me frantic the rest of the exam

Don't do this again. That "frantic" feeling? That's the thing that increases your careless errors and pulls your score down. You ARE going to get stuff wrong. Your best bet is to identify when this is likely to happen and just let those problems go! Then, at least, you won't suffer the consequences on other problems that you actually can do.

Verbal:

I can usually narrow it down to 2 choices

good

I just go back and forth trying to break it down

bad

You have a 50/50 shot at this point. I would bet that, if you went back and looked at all of these collectively, you're not doing much better than 50/50 after spending a bunch of time - so you're totally wasting time. Look at each choice ONCE more; if that "aha" moment is going to come, it will usually come right away (and, if it doesn't, it's not worth the risk / time to see if it comes in a minute). Anyway, look at each choice once more, pick, and move on.

I don't really remember much of the content from any of the exams, so I can reload them and take them again in real test conditions

Agreed - if it has been a long time, then you probably won't remember much. Just remember that, if you do see something you recognize, immediately look at the timer and make yourself sit there for the full length of time for that question type. This way, you don't artificially give yourself more time than you should have. Second, think about whether you got this problem right the last time. If you did, get it right again this time. If you didn't, get it wrong again. If you *completely honestly* think that you would get it right this time around if it were a new question (even though you got it wrong last time) because you've studied that area and improved, then get it right this time.

I would save GMATPrep for either your last or second-to-last practice test.

Start working on the timing thing described above. Set up sets of questions for yourself (you can also use GMAT Focus for quant) and hammer away at this. See if you can try to stick to the above when you take your practice test this week-end. Then the other half of this is going to be the specific skills and content areas on which you need to focus, so do the analysis in that article after you take your test and come back here to let us know what you find out. We'll help you figure out what to do with the data.

[qtn003]

Hi Stacey, I took the last week off to just relax after my disappointing live GMAT experience and as promised, took a Manhattan CAT Exam yesterday under exact test conditions (did both essays, took breaks, timing on point). I Scored a 700 (Q44, V40).

As I suspected, my verbal was still pretty strong, while my quant can use some definite improvement. This reinforces my thoughts that I underperformed significantly on verbal on test day. I followed the guidelines for Verbal you gave me, 11-56, 21-37, 31-19 and it worked out quite nicely. I paced myself well and finished the verbal just in time without rushing through much. It seems like I get more wrong on Sentence Correction than anything so I'll work to clean that up a little, that seems like it should be my focus for Verbal along with timing. For Quant, I had a lot of trouble with some of the questions that seemed more extensive calculation wise than the actual GMAT. Not surprisingly, Word Translation was my slowest, and I already knew it was one of my weaknesses. I purchased the Word Translations Guide as well as Equations and Inequalities and hope to finish those within the next 2 weeks. Any other tips for me? Below is the assessment summary, and in the following post I will try to answer questions from the Beat the Gmat Practice Exam Analysis article. Thanks.

Assessment Summary

Problem Solving 22 12 10 0 55% 1:40 2:47 550 720
Data Sufficiency 15 8 7 0 53% 1:32 1:54 640 720
Sentence Correction 15 7 8 0 47% 1:52 1:29 690 700
Critical Reasoning 14 12 2 0 86% 1:59 1:56 710 750
Reading Comprehension 12 9 3 0 75% 1:58 1:20 720 750

QUANTITATIVE

Word Translations 9 4 5 44% 1:24 3:15 SLOWEST
WORST Geometry 5 2 3 40% 1:03 2:07
Number Properties 8 5 3 63% 1:06 1:51 FASTEST
BEST Algebra 9 6 3 67% 2:20 1:55
FDP's 6 3 3 50% 1:43 2:26

[qtn003]

Here are my comments based on the questions posed in the Practice Test Analysis article on Beat the Gmat. Let me know if you need anymore insight from me, thanks.

Verbal:

-1 string of 3 wrong, all 700-800 level
-2 wrong at end
-enough time at end, no need to rush
-on many of sc errors, timing was ok, see a trend of problems with idioms and pronouns though

Quant:
-1 string of 4 wrong, no string of 3 wrong, all 700-800 questions
-a lot of 2 wrong dispersed throughout exam
-enough time at end, no need to rush
-pretty much every question I took too long on, 2:30+, I got wrong
-2 weakest categories were geometry and word problems, for geometry I don't recognize to apply a rule, for word problems I have trouble setting up an equation
-a couple I made stupid mistakes on because of confusing wording, if I understood the question I would have got these right
-the fraction questions I got wrong I tried to estimate, should I be memorizing common fractions so I can translate to decimals and not have to guess?


That's it for now, I'd love to hear your thoughts Stacey, thank you once again. I hope to retake in 4-5 weeks, but I don't want to register until I come out with a plan.

[StaceyKoprince]

Good. Okay, let's see.

Wow, look at the timing difference for right vs. wrong PS. You've GOT to start cutting yourself off! All that extra time isn't helping your overall performance anyway!

CR and RC are really fantastic. Yes, SC is the area that needs work on verbal.

Your first goal for WT is to leave that percentage the same but not lose ANY time on these. Then you can start worrying about how you might get more right (in the 2m timeframe!). Loks like timing might be just a little shaky on FDPs sometimes as well - check that out.

NP and algebra look really good - though your times are so fast on NP that I want to know why you aren't getting more right. :) Basically, if you can work that much more quickly than normal time to get 63% right, then you should be able to use normal time to get 80%+ right. So make that happen. :)

Note: I agree that our tests can sometimes have a few too many computation-intensive quant problems, but that's good practice for not letting yourself get sucked in.

For timing, try this:
If you don't have one already, buy yourself a stopwatch with lap timing capability. When you go to do a set of problems, start the stopwatch but turn it over so you can't see the time. Every time you think one minute has gone by, push the lap button. When you're done, see how good you were - and whether you tend to over or underestimate. Get yourself to the point where you're within 15 seconds either way on a regular basis (that is, you can generally predict between 45 sec and 1min 15 sec). Note: at the same time that you are using the stopwatch to time this "1-minute" thing, also use the OG Stopwatch (in your student center) to track the total time spent on each question.

Now, how do you use that when doing problems? If you're not on track by one minute*, make an educated guess and move on. (The general idea is that if you're not on track by the halfway mark, you're unlikely to figure out what's holding you back AND have time to do the whole problem in the 1 min you have left.)

* For SC, 1min is well beyond the half-way mark (we're supposed to average about 1m15s here), but you can almost always eliminate at least some choices on SC in that timeframe. Once you've got that "I'm around the 1min mark and I'm struggling" feeling, go through any remaining choices ONCE more. Pick one. Move on.

On verbal, answer these questions for every wrong problem and every "there was another tempting answer even though I got it right" problem:
- why was the wrong answer so tempting? why did it look like it might be right? (be as explicit as possible)
- why was it actually wrong? what specific words indicate that it is wrong and how did I overlook those clues the first time?
- why did the right answer seem wrong? what made it so tempting to cross off the right answer? why were those things actually okay; what was my error in thinking that they were wrong?
- why was it actually right?