Need advice

[ShashankS663]

Hello,

After 3 months of prep i took the GMAT today and got a score of 630 Q49 V 26. I am unable to accept my verbal score as i am very confident that i had done well in the same and even finished in time.I want to know if there are any other members who have faced this kind of issue after taking their GMAT where there was a staggering difference between their expected and reported score. My quants score was in the 79th percentile and and verbal score was in the 43rd percentile!!

Just to give you a brief background of my prep stats, i had taken MGMAT tests,GMAT Prep and GMATPrepExamPack Tests.My scores in the MGMAT tests were in the range of 680 to 730 and my last two GMAT Prep scores were 720 and 750(Q 50 V 40).

I am finding it very difficult to accept this score because i know i couldn't have performed so bad as to get a V 26.I was able to maintain my timing and could see some tough CR questions hinting that i must be on the right track(Even got a boldface which people consider an indicator of good performance).

I have written to the Pearson GMAT support as well as GMAC regarding my situation .Lets see if they can do something for me, but more than that i am really hoping to get some kind of explanation/insights on this from you guys.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry that you had a disappointing test experience.

When you took your practice tests, did you take them under 100% official conditions, including the essay and IR sections, the length of breaks, etc? (When people skip one or both of the early sections or take longer breaks than allowed, this can lead to artificially inflated practice scores, because you don't experience as much mental fatigue towards the end of the test.) And were those tests "clean" (that is, you hadn't seen any of the questions before)?

Did you experience any symptoms of mental fatigue during the test, particular the verbal section? Mental fatigue does not feel like physical fatigue. You may find yourself re-reading things multiple times, or reading something and then realizing that you have no idea what you just read. You may feel less invested / involved and make faster decisions than normal, just wanting to be done with the test. You may also find it harder to concentrate - your brain may start to get distracted by thoughts that are unrelated to the question right in front of you, such as what score you might get, or how loud the person sitting next to you is, or whether you really did turn off the stove when you left your home this morning. All of these can lead to careless mistakes.

Alternatively, you may find it harder to make decisions, and you may lose time agonizing between answers. (You said you finished on time, so I'm guessing you didn't experience this last symptom, but I want to be thorough.)

You can also take a look at this for any other ideas about why your score might have dropped:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... t-wrong-2/

Let me know what you think. I believe Pearson and GMAC still offer a service to check your score. You have to pay for it but they refund your money if they discover that they made an error (or that's how it used to work).

(It's unlikely that there was some kind of error - it's very automated. Just FYI.) Let us know what you hear from them.

[ShashankS663]

Hi Stacey,

Thank you very much for responding to my post.

I had skipped the AWA and IR sections in my MGMAT tests as i had not started my prep for these 2 sections yet.However, the final two GMAT Prep tests that i took were full length and with the allowed time breaks.I even had the same candy bar as on the final day in the breaks. :)

While giving GMAT Prep 1 i came across a few repeat questions from prep material so i decided to purchase the GMAT Exam Pack 1 for a cleaner test experience.I got 700 in GMAT Prep 3 Q 47 V 39(timing in quants was mismanaged) and 750 in GMAT Prep 4 Q 50 V 40.

As for stress, yes i was stressed and anxious before the exam.However, by the end of IR i was very comfortable and in my game.Quants went off smoothly and i was ahead of time.During the break after Quants i just thought to myself that i just need to give my best to this last section and manage my timing well.As planned i was able to fare smoothly,infact my timing was better managed than my mocks.Everything was going as per plan and i was able to see some tough CR questions and even a relatively tough RC.This gave me the needed boost that i must be on the right track.I was a little rushed towards the last 15 questions, but i still dint have to skip any question.So at the end when i saw a score of V26 i was flabbergasted.I wasn't happy with my quants score as well.I had consistently score Q 50 in GMAT preps and i felt i performed at the same level on D Day.

Anyways, so i contacted GMAC and Pearson and explained my case to them.They were kind enough to agree to review my test and reported that they did not find any anomaly with the same.

So i had no choice and there is no way i can settle for this score so i have booked my date for a retake in the first week of August.
In hindsight, maybe i was so focused on maintaining my timing in Verbal from the start that i might have made some silly mistakes unknowingly.Its still very hard to believe and unsettling but all my energy is going in not to think about it and being positive about the next attempt.

My plan is to invest some time in doing some more prep for Verbal in the first 20 days and then practice with full length tests in the last 10 days.I am focusing more on Official material this time.I plan to go through the official explanation of each SC question from OG and Verbal Review,practice RC from Verbal Review and practice CR from some tougher prep materials.I also plan to buy the GMAT Prep Question Pack as i have heard some positive feedback about the same.

I do realize that all this prep will be in vein if i cannot maintain my cool on D Day - part 2 and so i am constantly training my mind for the same.Atleast now i know exactly what to expect this time as i have chosen the same center again and the same time slot as well.

Thank you very much again for taking the time to go through my post.Please feel free to advise me on how further i can strengthen my prep strategy this time.

Regards,

Shashank

[StaceyKoprince]

You mentioned being ahead of time on quant. How far ahead? Sometimes, going too quickly is just a sign that you're making careless mistakes without realizing it. :(

I'm reading your comment now about possible careless mistakes on verbal. In general, if you feel that you were doing really well but the score says otherwise, then the most common cause is careless mistakes - you think you're answering correctly, but you're actually making mistakes without realizing it. I think we have to conclude that this is what happened.

This happens most often when someone is mentally fatigued. Mental fatigue and physical fatigue can be quite different. You can have physical energy from the adrenaline but your brain is not functioning the way it normally does and you aren't really aware of it because your brain is tired!

What did you do in the last week and the last few days leading up to the first official test? You want to avoid burning yourself out leading up to this next one.

Re: your plans, I do think it's a good idea to focus on official materials. I don't think it's a good idea to do multiple full-length tets in the last 10 days - that's a really good way to burn yourself out right before the next test, too. Think of the GMAT as a mental marathon: the last thing you want to do is run a practice marathon a few days before the real thing.

You can use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT in order to figure out where you may want to focus your verbal studies.
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as where you think you should concentrate 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!)

Finally - but most important! - have you read these two articles?
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

If not, do so and start doing what they say.

And if you feel that you're starting to get nervous or stressed out, try this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... mat-score/