GMAT 550 - Strategies to retake?

[sdesai3]

I took the GMAT yesterday, and I scored a 550 which was very disappointing (as it was only 10 higher then my first diagnostic CAT before any prep). BTW I took the in-person class as well.

I think my timing was screwy a little and a course a little nerves played into it, but I'd love to get your insight on how to refocus and reattack the GMAT for the next round.

Here is the history of exams:
MGMAT 1 (Diag) - 540 (Q37, V28)
MGMAT 2 - 650 (Q41, V37, IR 1.7))
MGMAT 3 - 560 (Q38, V39, IR 4.57)
GMAT Prep 1 - 610 (Q42, V32, IR 5)
GMAT Prep 2 - 620 (Q44, V31, IR 8)
GMAT - 550 (Q35, V29, IR 2)

My goal is to get at least a 650 as I think I'm capable, but I seem to be bouncing all over the place. Also the low IR scores worries me too.

How would you create a study plan around this? When would you retake the exam? Any other additional thoughts?

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you had a rough test day.

First, if you took our course, then you're eligible for a free Post-Exam Assessment (if you haven't done it already). This is a phone call with an instructor to figure out what happened on test day and come up with a plan to re-take the test. If this applies to you, please send an email to gmat@manhattanprep.com and request the Post-Exam Assessment.

Your quant score dropped quite a bit - that's often due to timing issues. When you say your timing was "screwy a little," can you elaborate? What happened?

I'm going to guess you do have a timing issue. You can confirm it by using the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

If it has been a while (more than 6 weeks or so), then you might want to take another CAT - you'll need up-to-date data on your strengths and weaknesses to help formulate your new study plan anyway.

Your verbal score was similar to your verbal on your last 2 practice test, but much lower than the 2 tests before that. Go back and compare the results from the two tests. Can you find any trends? Check the timing data for the ones that are MGMAT CATs (unfortunately, you don't have that data for GMATPrep). Check the patterns of wrong answers and the # of careless mistakes.

For IR, I'm going to discount your score from the 2nd GMATPrep - the questions are identical to the ones on the first test. :) If we ignore that one, then your last 2 were both about 5, so the 2 represents a pretty significant drop. Were you rushing because you were nervous to get IR over with? Conversely, did you get hung up on a couple of questions and mess up your timing? Did you distract yourself by worrying about the "real" sections (quant and verbal) still to come?

Read the below; was this your approach to the test?
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

And this; did you experience any of these symptoms of mental fatigue?
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... you-crazy/

Based on all of that, develop some hypotheses about what you think happened. Then come back here and tell us (supporting your ideas with facts / relevant info where needed); we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further.

(Note: do share an analysis with us, not just all of the raw data. 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!)