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mntrlgmat · 2009 November 1st, 07:55 AM

Hello everyone,

I took my 2nd attempt at the GMAT today. An unbearable 650. (Q44 V35) And I say unbearable because looking at the number makes me cringe.

My first attempt a month ago - 680 (q44 V 39) on a day when I was sick. I was devastated then. Imagine the feeling now.

Now here's what getting to me. The following are my practice scores before my FIRST take:

GMAT Prep 1 640 (q43 v37) (Before opening a book or knowing anything about the gmat)
GMAT Prep 2 680
Manhattan GMAT #1 600 (Q33 V 39)

Between my first and second attempt I took the following tests in order:

GMAT Prep 1 repeat - 750 (Q45 V48) (there were 4 verbal repeats that I recognized. I let the clock run however)
Manhattan GMAT #2 700 (q47 v39)
Manhattan GMAT #3 700 (q46 v40)
GMAT Prep 2 repeat - 710 Q47 v40 (there were 3 verbal repeats and I intentionally marked them incorrectly after assuming my verbal score on the GMATprep1 retake was inflated)
Manhattan GMAT #4 720 (q46 v42)

What the heck is wrong with me? Could it just be that I'm fluking the exams taken at home?

What shocks me even more is that my lowest verbal score at home was the first time on the GMATprep 1 before doing any prep. And that was a 37. How I managed a 35 on the real thing the 2nd time around after getting a 39 the first time is beyond me. I never imagined I'd be back to only 10 points above my first practice test.

I guess I need to re-evaluate whether I'm Stanford material. Maybe I should give up on my 700 goal.

Anyway, I just needed to vent so I thought I'd share my nightmare. I guess it's appropriate since it's Halloween.

gotit · 2009 November 1st, 04:35 PM

Sorry to hear that your score went down. I would give 3 attempts before I consider giving up. However you should really think about what went wrong during the prep and the exam. Replay the prep and the exam day to see if you can find anything - focus, area of weakness, difficulty level, etc. I don't think you've done enough mock exams. Without enough practices, scores flutuate during the real exam by 50 points.

cubicle · 2009 November 1st, 06:35 PM

You don't need to re-evaluate whether u r stanfor material or not.
You just need to understand that this dumb test can be mastered with a clear head and lots of sweat. And when I say swaet I mean a lot.

Hopefully, you got my point.
Give it some time say 10-12 weeks and go for it again.
ATB

mntrlgmat · 2009 November 2nd, 06:24 AM

I think it's the clear head thing on test day. Looking back on it, on more than one occasion I read a question and then had to re-read because I wasn't focused. If I decide to re-take, I've got to do it next month since I'm applying for the fall of next year.

xperience · 2009 November 4th, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mntrlgmat

I think it's the clear head thing on test day. Looking back on it, on more than one occasion I read a question and then had to re-read because I wasn't focused. If I decide to re-take, I've got to do it next month since I'm applying for the fall of next year.

Now that you mention this, just think back. My guess is that there would be many such questions, especially in verbal, whcih would have let you down. After all one wrong attempt cannot jack your score down from a 39 to a 34.
Either there were many questions where your min wandered off track or maybe you got a few of them wrong in a row.
So just think back a little hard and you will know what went wrong.

BTW, adding another dimension to this whole thing: Was time management a problem btween or at the last stages of the test in any particular section? That could be another culprit you know.

mntrlgmat · 2009 November 4th, 02:16 PM

Time management used to be a little bit of a problem on quant at first (before my first attempt) but never on verbal. Also, after doing the manhattan quant my timing on the real quant improved a lot and I usually have just about 2 minutes for the last question.

As the days go on, I slowly start realizing that this second attempt's problem was a lack of focus. I don't know what happened. I was worrying about my score from the start. 2 days before the test I got a 720 on manhattan with a quant score of 46 even though manhattan quant is tougher than the real thing. Not only is my verbal disappointing, but my quant is just as horrible.

I'm still deciding on whether I should retake. I really feel my ability as of now is in the 710 - 740 range. My friends are suggesting that I retake without opening a book or anything and not stressing myself out. Their rationale is if I mess up I won't care since I didn't put anymore effort into it. They're convinced the discrepancy between my real scores and my tests at home is because I worry too much during the exam.

I've got a lot of thinking to do.

gotit · 2009 November 4th, 09:23 PM

I wonder if it's possible that GMAC increases your difficulty index between your first and second attempts, as I have seen many people on the forum experiencing the same. Nobody knows the algorithm behind GMAT right? And I think Xperience has a great point: maybe a row of consecutive errors brought down the scores. Unfortunately we don't get any feedbacks so we wouldn't know for sure.

All in all, I think you should give it again. Don't give up. Your pratice scores are very good. If you gave up now, all your effort...even is not completely wasted, but is not reflected in your scores. Also I think you should still study before next attempt because 1 month is quite a long time. If you don't study, you may forget or lose your momentum...

mntrlgmat · 2009 November 5th, 01:21 AM

Gotit, I'm sure no such thing is being done regarding the difficulty between attempts.

Realistically, while the GMAT is a highly circumstantial exam with quite a bit of variation between one test and another (last time I didn't get a single probability or combinatorics question, but this time I got 3) it would be unreasonable for them to increase difficulty or anything of that sort. It wouldn't be representative and the percentiles would mean nothing.

The problem isn't GMAC, the problem is me. I never perform on actual test day because of some messed up wiring in my head that diverts my attention from the question on the screen to everything else - scores, future, 690 would annoy me, 700 is the minimum I'd accept, this is my second attempt. These were actually some of the things racing through my head at 1000 thoughts per second.

2009 November 1st, 07:55 AM	#1 (permalink)
mntrlgmat I JUST got here. Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 13	Mysterious Phenomenon - My test performance Hello everyone, I took my 2nd attempt at the GMAT today. An unbearable 650. (Q44 V35) And I say unbearable because looking at the number makes me cringe. My first attempt a month ago - 680 (q44 V 39) on a day when I was sick. I was devastated then. Imagine the feeling now. Now here's what getting to me. The following are my practice scores before my FIRST take: GMAT Prep 1 640 (q43 v37) (Before opening a book or knowing anything about the gmat) GMAT Prep 2 680 Manhattan GMAT #1 600 (Q33 V 39) Between my first and second attempt I took the following tests in order: GMAT Prep 1 repeat - 750 (Q45 V48) (there were 4 verbal repeats that I recognized. I let the clock run however) Manhattan GMAT #2 700 (q47 v39) Manhattan GMAT #3 700 (q46 v40) GMAT Prep 2 repeat - 710 Q47 v40 (there were 3 verbal repeats and I intentionally marked them incorrectly after assuming my verbal score on the GMATprep1 retake was inflated) Manhattan GMAT #4 720 (q46 v42) What the heck is wrong with me? Could it just be that I'm fluking the exams taken at home? What shocks me even more is that my lowest verbal score at home was the first time on the GMATprep 1 before doing any prep. And that was a 37. How I managed a 35 on the real thing the 2nd time around after getting a 39 the first time is beyond me. I never imagined I'd be back to only 10 points above my first practice test. I guess I need to re-evaluate whether I'm Stanford material. Maybe I should give up on my 700 goal. Anyway, I just needed to vent so I thought I'd share my nightmare. I guess it's appropriate since it's Halloween.

2009 November 1st, 06:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
cubicle TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 873	You don't need to re-evaluate whether u r stanfor material or not. You just need to understand that this dumb test can be mastered with a clear head and lots of sweat. And when I say swaet I mean a lot. Hopefully, you got my point. Give it some time say 10-12 weeks and go for it again. ATB _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ rhymes with luck *chaNd saanse khareedne ke liye/roz thoDi si zindagi bechi*

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2009 November 1st, 04:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
gotit Advancing my career Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calgary, AB, Canada Posts: 135	Sorry to hear that your score went down. I would give 3 attempts before I consider giving up. However you should really think about what went wrong during the prep and the exam. Replay the prep and the exam day to see if you can find anything - focus, area of weakness, difficulty level, etc. I don't think you've done enough mock exams. Without enough practices, scores flutuate during the real exam by 50 points.

2009 November 2nd, 06:24 AM	#4 (permalink)
mntrlgmat I JUST got here. Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 13	I think it's the clear head thing on test day. Looking back on it, on more than one occasion I read a question and then had to re-read because I wasn't focused. If I decide to re-take, I've got to do it next month since I'm applying for the fall of next year.

2009 November 4th, 02:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
mntrlgmat I JUST got here. Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 13	Time management used to be a little bit of a problem on quant at first (before my first attempt) but never on verbal. Also, after doing the manhattan quant my timing on the real quant improved a lot and I usually have just about 2 minutes for the last question. As the days go on, I slowly start realizing that this second attempt's problem was a lack of focus. I don't know what happened. I was worrying about my score from the start. 2 days before the test I got a 720 on manhattan with a quant score of 46 even though manhattan quant is tougher than the real thing. Not only is my verbal disappointing, but my quant is just as horrible. I'm still deciding on whether I should retake. I really feel my ability as of now is in the 710 - 740 range. My friends are suggesting that I retake without opening a book or anything and not stressing myself out. Their rationale is if I mess up I won't care since I didn't put anymore effort into it. They're convinced the discrepancy between my real scores and my tests at home is because I worry too much during the exam. I've got a lot of thinking to do.

2009 November 4th, 09:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
gotit Advancing my career Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calgary, AB, Canada Posts: 135	I wonder if it's possible that GMAC increases your difficulty index between your first and second attempts, as I have seen many people on the forum experiencing the same. Nobody knows the algorithm behind GMAT right? And I think Xperience has a great point: maybe a row of consecutive errors brought down the scores. Unfortunately we don't get any feedbacks so we wouldn't know for sure. All in all, I think you should give it again. Don't give up. Your pratice scores are very good. If you gave up now, all your effort...even is not completely wasted, but is not reflected in your scores. Also I think you should still study before next attempt because 1 month is quite a long time. If you don't study, you may forget or lose your momentum...

2009 November 5th, 01:21 AM	#8 (permalink)
mntrlgmat I JUST got here. Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 13	Gotit, I'm sure no such thing is being done regarding the difficulty between attempts. Realistically, while the GMAT is a highly circumstantial exam with quite a bit of variation between one test and another (last time I didn't get a single probability or combinatorics question, but this time I got 3) it would be unreasonable for them to increase difficulty or anything of that sort. It wouldn't be representative and the percentiles would mean nothing. The problem isn't GMAC, the problem is me. I never perform on actual test day because of some messed up wiring in my head that diverts my attention from the question on the screen to everything else - scores, future, 690 would annoy me, 700 is the minimum I'd accept, this is my second attempt. These were actually some of the things racing through my head at 1000 thoughts per second.

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