Steadily Decreasing Scores

[nm11_13]

Hello,

I just took the GMAT today and earned an unfortunate score of 620 (Q46, V30). Starting from 460 (Q25, V28) this is great quant improvement, but disappointing verbal stagnation, and short of my (Q48, V40) goal.

My scores are as follows:

*Note I did not review GMATPrep Tests 1 and 2 and did them very early in my prep, thus I think the scores for GMATPrep Test 3 and 4 should not be inflated.
*Unless indicated otherwise all exams were taken under test conditions

I am using the following resources:
-Manhattan 8 series strategy guides
-Manhattan Math Foundations
-OG 13
-OG Verbal
-OG Quant
-1/2 GMAT Club Quant Tests
-GMATPaper Tests
-Mined GMATPrep SC and CR
-PowerScore LSAT Reading Comphrension Bible
-PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible
-Kaplan 800
-All SC Thursday's with Ron

As I interpret the data, it seems as if I steadily improved until GMATPrep #4. Since then, I have never really recovered and all my scores have varied widely and plummeted. I'm unsure whether my '690' and '710' were flukes or the peak of my bell-curve-like performance?

Quant peaks at [45-47] with no area weaknesses but if I rush through the Quant section or mess timing up I experience a significant score drop. From my MGMAT analysis, once I enter the hard question realm, [700-800], my accuracy drops from 80% to 25%--this is regardless of question type or subsection

Verbal was steady increasing until GMAT Prep Exam 3, since then it has varied widely [30-42]. I have a methodology for each question type and apply it every time I attack a question. I haven't deviated from this in any of the tests, although sometimes I run out of time with the last 2-3 questions. I cannot 'gauge' if I am doing well or not, and I am just as surprised to receive a V30 as V42! I question if I become unfocused or fatigued at the end of the test, but I don't know how I would isolate and fix this variable. I have no idea of 'how I feel' or 'how well I am doing' as when when I do well I feel worse and vice-versa. (I do take the majority of CATs in full exam like conditions).

Depending on the source, my CR accuracy fluctuates but generally remains above 50% on 'high' or 700-800 level questions
SC is pretty consistent across all sources; on the latest MGMAT I had a 100% hit rate until I reached the 700-800 realm, where my hit rate dropped to 10%
RC, on OG passages I either nail them and get 95 - 100% or miss completely with 60 -70% accuracy. My latest efforts, indicative on the last MGMAT CAT, has shown that I was able to improve accuracy on passages where I would otherwise miss completely.

At this point, I'm unsure what my next move should be? Consciously, I feel ready to dig deeper and continue studying away; but I am unsure if I am now going to only experience diminishing returns since I have just crossed the 5 months of studying mark.

I will have two more attempts to take the GMAT before Round 2 apps are due but I don't know what the best methodology should be. My goal is a (Q48, V40) split. All of my studying has been self study thus far; should I take a tactical pause/rest? Enroll in a workshop or course? Re-review all my material?

I'm at a loss.

*I have two more MGMAT Tests and GMAC Exam Test 3 and 4

Thanks for taking the time to read through and I hope you can shed some light on my predicament!

[StaceyKoprince]

Timing problems are one of the most common causes of score fluctuations - you mention timing issues in both sections.

Fatigue can certainly cause score drops as well - and I note that you took 3 full practice tests in the final week before you real test (including one just 2 days before). That absolutely caused mental fatigue. Our standard recommendation is ONE practice test between 5 and 7 days before the real test - that's it. You took 7 full tests in the last month - normal pattern would be about 3.

So I'm going to speculate that you were also studying other things way more than you should have during that timeframe, and that you may have burned yourself out. That's also consistent with up-and-down scoring and not really knowing why. And mental fatigue / burnout would of course hit you hardest on verbal, since it's the final section of the test.

Do you think that combination of things could have happened - timing, burnout, mental fatigue?

Also, yes, amazing improvement on quant - nice work!

Also, you say that your goal is Q48, V40. Do you know that V40 is a *higher* score than Q48? Q48 is 76th percentile. V40 is 90th percentile. In other words, given your current scores, it doesn't make a lot of sense to keep those two as your goals. You've made great strides on quant, so up your goal there a little. Verbal is lagging, so lower that goal.

[nm11_13]

Noted, this time around I'll stick to the guidelines in regards to the practice tests.

Do you think that combination of things could have happened - timing, burnout, mental fatigue?

Everything seems to have corroborated mental fatigue as at least part of the reason for a lower than expected score. I searched around a bit and I found a blog post of yours, were you elaborated on the difference between mental and physical fatigue.
During the verbal portion, and most notably on the RC passages, I remember 'reading' and re-reading sentences, 3-4 times with few subsequent takeaways; not to mention the looming 'I don't care/I just want to get this over with feeling' with frustrating CR and RC passages.
After the test and for the rest of the day, I remember being exhausted--drastically more-so than any previous practice CATs

Aside from taking full length CATs w/ IR & AWA, how can I practice stamina/endurance so that this doesn't happen to me again?

Do you know that V40 is a *higher* score than Q48? Q48 is 76th percentile.

Well, I figured if I can go from a 13th percentile quant score to a current 70th percentile score, I can definitely make the leap from a 50th percentile verbal to 90th percentile verbal! That however, is proving more difficult than anticipated!

Now, to reach the higher realms of quant, how should I focus my studies?
Revision of basics and drill sheets?
Tough/Challenge sets?

From my MGMAT CAT analysis, I note that I have been strengthening my weakness but the latest CAT revealed that I hit a brick wall once I venture into 700-800 level questions. From 600-700 level questions, my accuracy rate decreases from 70%PS, 100%DS to 22% and 25% respectively.


Thanks again for your advice!

[StaceyKoprince]

Well, I figured if I can go from a 13th percentile quant score to a current 70th percentile score, I can definitely make the leap from a 50th percentile verbal to 90th percentile verbal! That however, is proving more difficult than anticipated!

The higher you go, the harder it gets. :)

Also, I would bet that the original 13th percentile quant score wasn't truly reflective of your ability level. You probably really messed up the timing, resulting in a score drop (from what you were really capable of doing if you hadn't messed up the timing). Alternatively (or maybe in addition), was that 13th percentile score a "cold" score, before you'd started studying? If so, then of course you were at a major disadvantage because there were a bunch of facts you hadn't studied yet and simply didn't remember.

Re: mental stamina, there are many things you can do to help build that. Note that you're always going to have some mental fatigue during the test - there's no avoiding that. But you can learn to minimize it.

When you've got a 1-hour or 2-hour block available to study, first figure out everything you're going to study. Plan out 3 hours' worth, just in case. Then set a timer and GO for 1 hour, no stopping. No answering a text, no running to the bathroom, nothing.

Then, take a 15-minute break. Don't do anything that requires mental effort during that time.

Then GO again for a second hour, same deal.

After this, you need to break for at least an hour, ideally two. (Studying is actually more mentally tiring than taking a test, because you're trying to create new memories, not just access existing memories. Also, because the point is to create new memories, you don't want to tire yourself out so much that you're no longer learning - that would defeat the whole purpose of studying!!)

When you do take a CAT, do several things. First, go someplace other than home - the office, a library, wherever you can ensure a steady internet connection. This is less comfortable than home (like the test center), so you'll be practicing under closer-to-real condtions.

Second, when you do the essay and IR, take them equally as seriously as you will on test day. Don't blow them off even a little.

Third, make things as like test day as possible. You have 8 minutes for break, at least 2 minutes of which will be eaten up by checking out of and back into the room. Get up and walk around, have something to eat, but do NOT check your phone, your email, anything. Sit back down and start the next section before the 8 minutes are up.

Finally, figure out what helps you to recover mental energy during the test. On breaks, eat and drink (best liquid is something with glucose and no fake sugar or high-fructose corn syrup - eg, fresh fruit juice or coconut water). While sitting at the computer, periodically stretch out your arms and legs and roll your neck around. Look away from the screen periodically to rest your eyes for a few seconds. When you're clicking the submit button on each problem, take a deep breath, then let it out while you start to read the next problem. (Sort of "resetting" your brain.) Etc.

And, most importantly, really adopt the mindset that this test is about making decisions and you are making the best decisions you can. When you decide to let something go, don't make that a stress-making moment. Make it an "I just made a good decision!" moment.

You do that by knowing that you did try it but you made the call early enough that it still allowed you to save time. So you know that you didn't give up too early; instead, you salvaged time on a tough question - and that is exactly the best decision to make in that moment!

Re: improving quant, dig into that practice test data to figure out where you're still struggling. (Don't forget to look at timing and careless mistakes. How often do you miss sub-700-levels due to rushing and/or careless mistakes?)

In stronger areas, go ahead to the advanced material (the "Extras" chapters in our strategy guides). You don't need to go Advanced on every area, just the areas that are your strengths. For the others, solidify the basic material (and see whether you can turn some of those into strengths).

Give yourself 1 or 2 "freebie" areas - you know they're a big weakness, they increase your mental fatigue greatly, they have the possibility to kill your timing, and they're also not that common, so you can bail on them even faster than you usually would. (For me, the two areas are combinatorics and 3-D geometry. The moment they pop on the screen, I'm already thinking, "Hmm, do I really want to waste brain energy on this?")

Start learning how to guess! You mention rates of 22% and 25% on 700+ quant, which is basically random-guess position (you have a 20% chance of guessing correctly if you don't even read the problem). If you learn educated guessing / answer elimination strategies, then you'll increase your odds when you do guess.

For example, on PS:
if some answers are positive and some are negative, can you figure out which it should be?
if some answers are greater than 1 and some are less than 1, can you figure out which it should be?
if the answer range is very wide (very small to very large), can you estimate and figure out whehther it should be larger or smaller?
etc.

On DS:
if the first statement is way too hard, can you do the second?
can you test one of the statements using real numbers, just to narrow things down?
does anything obviously look like it would work? if so, that's likely a trap.

For example, if it's totally obvious* that statements 1 and 2 together work, but you can't really figure out how to analyze the statements alone, then the answer is probably NOT C. It's likely the case that just one of the statements works by itself. (*Totally obvious means that a 10-year old who's just learning this math for the very first time would see it. We call that the C-trap.)