Mock test scores of 560-610 actual GMAT 450

[john8989]

Hi,

So I've given the GMAT twice and GMAT prep software scores weren't representative as I knew most of the questions. So I decided to purchase MGMAT tests. For the mocks, I practised them under timed conditions AWA,IR,Quant,Verbal.

Since, I get nervous during exams and barely get any sleep. I practised 2 mock exams with few hours of sleep, so I don't make the same excuse this time around.

CAT 1 Quant 45 Verbal 28 score 600
CAT 2 Quant 44 Verbal 28 Score 590
CAT 3 Quant 42 Verbal 30 Score 590
CAT 4 Quant 38 Verbal 29 score 560 ( Less sleep)
CAT 5 Quant 42 verbal 28 Score 580 ( Less Sleep)

My scores were in the range of 560-600 and on the actual GMAT I scored 450 and this score is lower than my first attempt of 480.

First attempt Q44 V15 - 480
Second attempt Q35 V17 - 450

on a side note, I'm a Kinesthetic learner so I have to take a lot of notes for the Verbal section or I can't seem to function properly and this is my weakness especially in the RC section.

The second time around I decided to work on my weakness and didn't work on my strengths, which was the quant section.

Timing per section for ~80 percent accuracy on OG / GMAT prep questions

PS timing 2:10
DS timing 2:00
SC timing 1:20
CR timing 2:30
RC timing 2:30

Other reports ( cumulative)
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy89/John8989/t4e5d42_zpsb4dea1d3.jpg

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy89/John8989/fdw45sd_zpsc0c1c0b0.jpg

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy89/John8989/0u3490u_zps2bb3856c.jpg

My target GMAT score is 600-630. Dream 650 I would be happy with any score above 600...

Can someone provide strategies to get my desired score. Thanks in advance!

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you're having a tough time with the test. You describe yourself as getting nervous. What other things happen besides the lack of sleep? Do you find it harder to concentrate on the real test? Do you have any physical symptoms, such as sweaty palms or a racing heart? Etc.

This might help:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... mat-score/

On your first test, your quant score was in the same range as your practice scores. I'm guessing from your comment that your quant score likely dropped on the second test because you concentrated solely (or almost solely) on verbal?

Verbal on the real test is much lower than your practice scores. Was that also true for your GMATPrep tests - did you have higher verbal scores there?

When verbal drops like that, usually one of two things is going on (or both of these things):

(1) Timing problems. You can finish a section on time and yet still have serious timing problems. When you do have timing problems, they tend to get exaggerated on the real test (nerves and lack of sleep!), so they tend to hurt your score even more.

(2) Stamina problems. Verbal is the last section on the test; if your mental stamina takes too much of a hit, your performance can drop off in a big way. This could be a bigger issue if you have serious nerves / anxiety, because that takes its toll on your brain over the 3+ hours of this test.

My guess is that both of those things are going on. We know you've got anxiety issues already, which will affect your mental stamina more on the real test because you know your practice tests aren't real.

For timing, I'd like to get some more detailed data to figure out what's going on. Use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Also do a topic analysis so that we can see where you might need some work (just follow everything that article says).

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis and any ideas you have about what you think you should do based on that analysis. 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!)

(I do see the reports you posted - analyzing that data for you is something a tutor would do. You can certainly go that route if you wish - it's just very expensive.)

[john8989]

Lack of sleep was a problem last time around too, I guess I over studied the last few days... I did have stamina problems in the first official exam, I was more relaxed this time around until the 3rd RC in verbal section when I noticed was way behind the clock ( it was pretty similar to most mock tests but guess on exam day it added that extra bit of stress), so that didn't help much. Kept going back and worth between the clock and the question...

I don't think there is a concentration issue, as I took those mock exams with less sleep so I kinda trained myself for that situation. I took around 15 mocks I believe to build stamina.

Timing seems to be the problem on the actual gmat ( mostly verbal I think quant was pretty good, I must have made silly errors this time around / lack of practice)

Verbal timing actual exam

10th question I had 50 mins left
20th question I had 25 mins left

I think this was a similar pattern for most of my mock tests. I spent most of my time on verbal and it wasn't worth it. I've decided to set a new target score of Q48 and V25-28. I found the IR section really easy.

GMAT prep test wasn't representative I scored 720 in my repeats Q50 V39. In my first attempt I scored around 650 don't remember the splits, but Quant was definitely on the higher side.

On the actual exam SC felt weird a lot of them weren't the type you normally see( This was something that happened the first time). RC was relatively easy ( even on the first attempt), I was pretty confident I got most of these questions correct, CR was good ( both attempts).


I have done my mock analysis


For Quant

Q7 - 14 mins
Q14 - 34 mins
Q21 - 56 mins
Q28 - 64 mins
Q35 - 72 mins

I got Q13-Q16 incorrect ( I took around 4 mins for Q14,Q15 and Q16), Q23-25 incorrect. Other incorrect questions around 2 mins.

Q32-Q37 incorrect.

Weak area is geometry and word problems. The accuracy for this mock was pretty low for Number properties ( I'm pretty good in this section)

Strengths - Algebra and FDP.

I can catch up in this section even if I fall behind. something I can never do on the verbal section.

I'm better at DS than at PS ( I tend to make silly calculation errors)

For Verbal Actual timing

Q 10 - 27 mins
Q 20 - 54 mins
Q 30 - 63 mins
Q 40 - 74 mins

Planned timing ( never managed to achieve this)

Q 1 - 75
Q 10 - 55
Q 20 - 35
Q 30 - 15

7 questions ( mostly RC 5 of them) solved below 30 seconds.

I did pretty bad on RC. I got the first and second RC incorrect ( 1 question right) and took a lot of time.

I did pretty well in CR in this mock compared to the other mock exams.

Did pretty bad on SC compared to other mock exams.

RC was awful. Accuracy 2 questions correct out of 12 ( 17 percent accuracy)

Weak areas CR - Bold faced, Inference, Evaluate
Strengths - Other question type

SC - This can be my strength and my weakenss at the same time. I tend to spend a lot of time on incorrect questions.

Rc - is definitely problem area, I tend to do much better on official passages.

I feel the RC passages on MGMAT are way too long compared to the real thing and official passages are easier to digest.

I always do well either in CR or SC( in this particular mock it was CR), never manage to do well on both sections on a particular mock


Report links

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy89/John8989/MGMAT5report1_zpse02ca822.jpg

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy89/John8989/MGMAT5report3_zpsc82c641f.jpg

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy89/John8989/MGMAT5report5_zps32f8e572.jpg

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy89/John8989/MGMAT5report4_zps91cdc867.jpg

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy89/John8989/MGMAT5reports2_zps022d9a5b.jpg

Any feedback / comments will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[StaceyKoprince]

Don't build stamina by taking tons of tests. You wouldn't train for a marathon by running 15 full marathons. :)

Whenever you do take a test, of course, take it under official conditions (including essay and IR) - but you can build stamina every day in better ways.

For study sessions, plan out what you're going to do over a 2-hour period. Then GO for 1 hour, no stopping, no checking email, no getting up for something to eat, etc. Take a 10-15 minute break, then GO again for 1 hour. Then take a more substantial break.

(Note: I'm specifically NOT recommending that you do what I just described for 3-4 hours. It's actually *more* mentally taxing to study than to take a test, because when you're studying, you're trying to create new memories, not just access old ones.)

If you kept going back and forth between the clock and the question, then (a) you were stressed to the point of distraction, and (b) you didn't feel confident about your ability to manage time well. So you need to address that (using the time management articles below).

Before you do anything else in this post, though, read these two articles:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/


Okay, here's the time management stuff:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

Did you feel as though you were struggling with SC questions similar to the ones discussed in this article?
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... orrection/

Why was NP lower on that practice test even though you're good at these? Did you get some wrong because you were rushing? Lesson learned: never spend *extra* time on something that's a struggle. That "but I should know how to do this" feeling is a sign that you DON'T know how to do it. :) Likewise, never rush / go faster than you're comfortable on something that you DO know how to do. Don't risk a careless mistake.

I can catch up in this section even if I fall behind.

Danger! That's what increases careless mistakes. Let the hardest ones go!

You mention thinking that official RC passages are easier - great. You say that you typically do well in either CR or SC, but not both. Is that true on GMATPrep as well? On the real test, you felt fine with CR but not SC.

Here are some RC resources; take a look through and start using these:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... rehension/