GMAT Score on a tailspin..Experts kindly help

[sonu4gmat]

Hi Experts,

I might be facing a strategy related problem and would appreciate help.

I have attempted GMAT thrice. First Time I scored just 700. Dejected at my dismal performance I repeated my tests twice for improvement. However, my scores fell abysmally ( 2nd time 680 and 3rd time 640!!). I am completely wrecked - because I am not able to understand what went wrong.

Some light on my preparation:

I have completed OG, MG Sentence Correction and LR Guide. I have tested myself on MGMAT MOCK Tests, GMATPrep and GMATExamprep. Every time I went for these tests ( full tests - no shortcuts), with all regular settings, I never scored below 730. I scored below 700 twice, both times I put the time limit pretty low ( 50 mins for QA and 60 mins for VA). I took my last GMATExam Prep test just the evening before going to actual test and got my lowest score so far, a 730.

However, on the actual test I scored just 640 ( lower than even the diagnostic - i got a 680 there). I am completely broken because I donot have not any clue why such things happen. During all mocks, with 80% truthfulness (not 100% because an already analysed qs can be solved faster), I can guaranty that I did not cheat ( meaning did not blindly mark a choice - I marked every qs after properly evaluating it). But it still happened and this is a fact.

I am not going to Resign and Quit. But I do want to know what is going wrong before I face it again. A kind request to all experts to help me solve this riddle.

Thank you.

[StaceyKoprince]

First, I just have to say: 700 is a fantastic score! No school will reject a student for having a 700. (They may reject a 700 student for other reasons - but not that one.)

A 680 is within one standard deviation from 700 - in other words, it's basically the same score.

For the third test, possibly you burned yourself out (or stressed yourself out). I notice you said you took a practice test the night before. We generally recommend not taking a practice test within 5 days of the real thing, and not doing more than about 1 hour of review the day before.

My first piece of advice to you is to talk to an admissions counselor to find out whether scoring a 720 or 730 is really going to make an enormous difference to your overall application profile. It may be the case that your time and energy is better spent on something else that will be more likely to help improve your chances for admission.

Next, if you do need to take it again, I want to talk about your study materials. The only GMAT-specific material I see that actually teach you how to take the test is our SC guide. The other materials either are for practice (but don't actually teach you how to get better) or are for LSAT, not GMAT. (I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that "LR Guide" is referring to a Logical Reasoning book, the LSAT question type that resembles GMAT CR... but they're not the same.)

Did you use other materials to study? If so, please tell me what they are. If not, your first step is to get some materials that will actually teach you how to get better at taking the GMAT.

If you'd like to give me some more detailed information about your test performance, I can give you more detailed advice.

First, read these two articles:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

Then, use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

**Note: if you skipped essay and/or IR, saw questions that you'd seen before, or in any way did not exactly mimic real test conditions, let me know.

Figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as what you think you should do based on that analysis. Then come back here and tell us; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just 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!)