Interpretation of GMAT mock test Scores

[JoeA599]

Hi Guys,

I really an expert's advice!!!

I took my second GMAT prep test today and i got 730 ( Q:49 ; V:40) with 10 incorrect question in the quantitative section and 11 in the verbal

My score on 1st GMAT prep test was 670 (Q:48; V:34) with 14 incorrect in the verbal and 14 in the quantitative section (1 took around 1 month ago)

I really can't understand this huge difference in the scores, i took both test in normal exam conditions but to be honest in my second test i found some questions maybe 3-4 that i already have seen before on the internet of which only 1 still remember the solution and i spent 2 minutes on it to not inflate my score.

on the Manhattan CAT i had the following grades:
CAT1: 640 (Q:44 ,V:34)
CAT2: 630 (Q:42 , V:34)
CAT3: 590 (Q:37 , V:34) (which i took 2 weeks back)

i really can't understand if my score on today's test is representative, as far as i understand the verbal section of the Manhattan tests should be quite similar to the GMAT prep one.

How inflated do you think score is??

My Exam is on the 9th of September, i still have 10 days to go of which i can only study for 5.

Any advice on how i should carry on with my studies, my aim is to get 710 so i can apply to Insead!

Thanks.

Regards,

Joe

[StaceyKoprince]

Did you take that 730 test under 100% official conditions? Essay, IR, two 8-minute breaks, everything? And did you spend the normal amount of mental energy on essay and IR? Maybe you were less mentally fatigued than usual on the 730 test. (Alternatively, is there any reason that you were much more mentally fatigued than normal on the 590 test?)

On the ones you'd seen before but for which you didn't outright remember the answer: do you think you got any of those right because you were familiar with them? That is, you might not have gotten them right if you really hadn't seen them at all before? Or do you think that you answered them more efficiently than you would have if they'd really been new? (And thereby gave yourself an artificial time advantage on other questions?)

I know you said you spend a full 2m on the one you did remember—I'm just asking about the others. Oh, but for that one you did remember: did you get it right? And are you *sure* you would have gotten it right if you had never seen it before?

I'm trying to gauge whether your "boost" was really limited to just 1 question or whether the boost might have been more.

Are you having timing issues? Note: you can finish a section on time and still have timing issues. See here. https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ts-part-1/

Timing issues are one of the big causes of score fluctuations. When your timing is on, you score a lot better; when it's off, your score drops quite a bit. So that could be part of it.