I could not be more upset

[unifiedhand]

I just got back from the test center and got a 610 38/35. A month ago I received a 570, 41/28.


Gmat #1- This test I knew I wasn't going to score that well. My practice scores were all mid 600's and so I was still very annoyed at the 570. My verbal was the biggest issue- I went in not knowing any of the rules and thought I could do it by ear- clearly not. The math I knew wasn't going well at all because I was seeing such easy questions that I knew I was doing badly.


Gmat#2- The quant at least for the first 7 or 8 I was destroying- I was catching all the tricks- equations worked for everything except negative fractions- sneaky things. I did spend a nice amount of my time on the earlier ones. I don't know how the hell i got a 38... let alone anything under a 44. The verbal I scored pretty low considered I was scoring low0 mid 40's on mgmat and gmat prep. There were 2 very hard passages that I took a long time on and had to guess a few blindly. Additionally, the SC were hard- in most of the questions 3 were grammatically correct and just had words changed around- based on meaning. Additionally the CR were trickier as well- I am almost always sure on CR- if i don't know it I KNOW that I am getting it possibly wrong. This time i had to make educated guesses based on POE on like three of them. I know that like 4 more correct on RC could have probably put me at a 40 and the RC really screwed me this time- cant do anything about it.

I wasn't tired, distracted or anything. I took off two days, rested, and was ready to destroy it. I wasn't tired... nothing like that.

My last practice tests have been


MGMAT- 1- 700 47/38
MGMAT- 2 710 47/40
MGMAT- 3 740 46/45
MGMAT -4 730 48/42
MGMAT - 5720 47/42
Gmat prep- 730 48/42

The gmat prep is skewed because I've taken it a few times- verbal not so much since i don't review the answers specifically so i can take it again but quant was. On the mgmat the scores were not skewed at all. Most people who get these quant scores on mgmat practice exams usually end up with 48+ on real thing and its so frustrating. I deserve to have a 700+ score but i can't seem to get there. Any help would be really appreciated.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you had such a rough time with the test. You did show really great improvement on the verbal - I know you're upset about the whole thing right now, but I just wanted to point that out.

I did spend a nice amount of my time on the earlier ones. I don't know how the hell i got a 38

Your first sentence seems to be part of the answer to the second... if you spent too long on the earlier ones, then you'd have had to speed up at some point to make up that time. Speeding up leads to careless mistakes, which leads to a score drop.

It sounds like you also ran into some timing problems on the verbal.

From what you wrote, I'm also wondering whether you may have been experiencing some mental fatigue but didn't realize it. Mental fatigue doesn't feel like physical fatigue. In fact, you can be very physically pumped up / adrenaline rushing, and yet still experience pretty severe mental fatigue.

Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... you-crazy/

Does any of it sound familiar?

Okay, in terms of what to do. Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ent-wrong/

Also, use this to analyze a couple of your recent MGMAT CATs:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

And read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your various analyses. (Note: don't just give us the raw data. Tell us what you think it all means!) We'll help you figure out where to go from there.

[unifiedhand]

Stacey,

Thank you so much for the response and those articles, which I have read. I did take off two complete days before the test and did absolutely nothing and really relaxed. Here is my main takeaway with more specifics on the quant and verbal below.

Take Away from actual Gmat

Stacey- i read the article about mental fatigue but I did take off two complete days to really rest and charge up. During those days, I did nothing and really tried to relax. On test day, I was ready for it and was sharp as anything. However, I got to the test and can now recall a few question where I literally stared at the screen for 2 minutes before guessing- I could do those in my head right now in 10 seconds. The most simple questions I coulndnt do. A 38 is way to far off from consistent 47 on manhattan gmat quant- where people often say they score higher on the actual gmat. My tutor as well tells me I should be at a 49 quant and he doesn't understand what is going on. I think I have to address the problem that I am panicking somehow during the test, although it may not be obvious to me. I did all the tips: Relaxed, had confidence, studied hard, took a few days off, was rested, ate everything. Those things just aren't working. What to do next I am not sure. My tutor told me about beta blockers and how some other past students have had great results. Maybe that is worth a try? Based on my testing results I deserve a 700+ and hopefully I can find out how to get there!


Quant
1)Timing- To be honest, my timing was never the same on manhattan gmat as gmat prep because I always found there was a more severe penalty for guessing on gmat prep than there was on manhattan gmat. So on manhattan gmat cat's, If I knew i wasn't getting the answer I would skip right away and it would never really affect my score- I always got around a 47 and was thrilled. So since this was the case I was never able to get my timing correct.
Verbal
2) This became my strong section. My timing for this section was actually very good since I have been practicing a ton. The issue here was that there was one passage- the first actually- that was really difficult. Sometimes I get one sometimes I dont- can't really prepare for it. On my first Gmat the passages were all easy and I had no problem. This time- that first passage made me spend more time trying to figure it out by reading it two or even three times, but still coudn't get a grasp. When I realized I was at that point- I knew I had to take an educated guess and move on. So I picked the choices based on educated guesses and moved on. I didn't feel very rushed through out the rest of the test- I was able to move nicely through the passage.


Thanks again for all your help stacey!

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes, something is going on if you can recall multiple instances of staring at the screen for 2m and then guessing, even though afterwards you realize that you can do that problem. Everyone experiences nerves / anxiety, but it might be hitting you more strongly.

Look through this for ideas about how to manage stress:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

You'll need to dig into your memories of how you felt that day and also just general knowledge of yourself to try to figure out what might be useful for you as far as stress management. Then try various things.

I know some people have a very physical reaction to the testing center and the environment, almost a mini-paralysis or panic attack. Do you feel that this could apply to you? Did you feel physically pretty stressed / uncomfortable when you were in the testing center? One of my colleagues told me about a student of his who had this problem and she watched a YouTube video that shows a tour of the testing center. She watched the video 50+ times until she totally desensitized herself to the physical environment, and when she went back in there again, she didn't have the same level of stress and was able to get her goal score.

Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kK-QuuZeuw

In terms of medication, you would need to talk to a doctor and figure out what the physical response is and whether medication might be appropriate to manage it. You would also then need to be prescribed this medication and you would need to start taking it weeks before, in order to test out your responses to it and note any side effects, etc.

I have worked with some students before who have needed medication, but there are sometimes unwelcome side effects (some that can even interfere with test performance), so you have to pursue this path carefully.

my timing was never the same on manhattan gmat as gmat prep

so what did you do on the real test? Did you do what you normally did on MGMAT or on GMATPrep?

It's frustrating that your very first RC passage was so hard. That would have rattled you and also messed up your timing - then you have to get back on track, which is hard to do.

You're right that, to some extent, you can't totally prepare for an "I just don't get it" RC topic. There's some luck involved. But there are things you can do IF that happens. First, read *less* not more. Get the main idea, even if it's pretty vague, and don't worry about the details. Now you can answer the main idea question. Of the 2-3 questions left, assume that you are going to bail immediately and guess randomly on one. That gives you extra time to try to guess on the other 1-2 (but you're still not going to spend extra time overall for this sequence of questions).

Read a Q, ask yourself: do I know WHERE to find the information that would help me answer this Q. Which paragraph? Is there some unusual keyword in the question that will help me to find the sentence or sentences easily? Is it one of the ones where they just tell me where to go?

If I know where to go, then chances are good that I can use the info to get rid of at least 1 answer choice (hopefully more). So I'll do that one. If I'm struggling even to figure out what I need to use, that's my "bail immediately" question.

Note: if I need to bail immediately on 2 instead of 1, that's fine. If all of the questions tell me where to go pretty easily, then I try guessing and, when I get to the last one, if I feel like I've already gone over on time (collectively), I bail and guess.

I'm just looking at your older post and you mention how SC had a lot of meaning issues, parts moving around, etc. Here are some resources to help:

Meaning:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... orrection/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... on-part-2/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... h-meaning/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... problem-2/

Long underlines / parts moving around:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/03/ ... sc-problem
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/03/ ... -problem-2

You can browse our blog for more on both of those topics.

You mentioned CR felt trickier. Spend some time analyzing answer choices on medium and harder RC Qs. Ask yourself:
(1) why was the wrong answer so tempting? (or why might it be, even if I didn't pick it?) why did it look like it might be right? (be as explicit as possible; also, now you know this is not a good reason to pick an answer)
(2) why did the right answer seem wrong? (or why might it seem wrong?) what made it so tempting to cross off the right answer? why were those things actually okay; what was my error (or the error) in thinking that they were wrong? (also, now you know that this is not a good reason to eliminate an answer)

That helps you to learn HOW they construct traps. Analyze this even on questions that you got right; it's often easier to learn HOW they construct traps on questions that you fully understand.