Poor score on GMAT despite consistent scores in mocks

[Ritwik]

Hi,

I took the GMAT the other day and got an extremely poor score, 530 (Q40 V22). This is the second time I took the test and got the same score as last time. This has left me extremely disheartened and clueless. I used to get a consistent score of 640 in my mocks leading to the GMAT.

MGMAT 1: 640
MGMAT 2: 590
MGMAT 3: 590
MGMAT 4: 640
MGMAT 5: 640

GMAT prep 1: 630

These are some of the mocks I had taken leading to the GMAT. As you can see my scores have been consistent baring the two 590s I got where I found the difficulty level pretty high. I had taken several other tests as well (Kaplan, Veritas) before these where I consistently scored in the 600s.

I slept well before the test and was not at all stressed. The GMAT level was also as per expectation, though Quant was a little hard, and I thought I had done pretty well.

This is the second time I got a 530 which has left me puzzled. Where did I go wrong? How can I trust my mock scores? How exactly is the GMAT scoring system different from MGMAT and the other mocks? and most importantly, when do I feel prepared for the GMAT? I certainly thought I was good enough to get at least a 640. Please advice.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you're struggling with the GMAT - we'll try to get to the bottom of it!

Can you tell me your Q and V subscores on the practice tests? Were they also pretty consistent or did they fluctuate?

Was your score drop on the real test mostly due to one section? Or some of both?

Take a look at this for other possible reasons for a score drop and tell me any that apply to your case, paying particular attention to possible timing stamina issues:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ent-wrong/

(Note: when I wrote that, IR didn't yet exist - but the idea still applies. If you regularly skipped IR on practice tests, or didn't take it as seriously as you did during the real test, then chances are you weren't prepared for the necessary mental stamina required to succeed on test day.)