Low score in Verbal on the GMAT after good mock scores

[akhileshkeshap]

Hi Teachers

I just gave my gmat yesterday and it was a huge disappointment.
Q50 V28 IR 8 - score 650.

This is the lowest verbal score i have got in my preparation and i just dont know how i got this score. I was scoring around 38-39 on average in my mocks and was aiming at 40 if not lower in verbal.
I am very devastated today and just dont understand what to do.
I gave the Gmat some 9 months back without much preparation and that time i had got V32.

I need some advice on how to go about improving my score in 1 months time.

[StaceyKoprince]

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

There are several reasons why someone might experience a score drop on test day. Take a look through the article below, then come back here and let me know what might apply in your case:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... t-wrong-2/

In particular, I notice that your IR and quant scores were *very* high (congrats, by the way). Is it possible that you used up a bit too much mental energy on those earlier sections and didn't have enough mental stamina left for the verbal section? (Also: sometimes I've found that people do the IR and essay sections in practice but don't take them seriously until they get to the real test - that would be another potential stamina problem for the final section, verbal.)

The good news is that your other scores all still held together, so if we can figure out what happened with verbal and fix that, then you're in a very good position to lift your score!

[akhileshkeshap]

Hi Stacey,

Thank you for the reply.
Apologies for replying a little late on this. I took a few days off after my exam so i could not reply earlier.


I have just got my official score report and wanted to share this with you.

Verbal 28 / 51% Quantitative 50 / 88% Total 650 / 77% Analytical Writing 6.0 / 92% Integrated Reasoning 8 / 92%


I have read the article and tried to analyse on the points suggested.
Official Test Conditions
I took around 5-6 mocks - almost one mock every 5-6 days and took them in official conditions. I always did all the four sections and almost took around 3.5+ hours to complete my test.
On a few occasions i took more than the 8 min of break but it did not exceed 10-12 min on each occasion.

Timing
I was quite comfortable on the actual exam and just rushed in the last 2-3 problems on verbal. I was feeling quite good infact during my actual exam on the way i was pacing myself.

Stamina
I had prepared myself well for the exam and did not feel any fatigue during the exam.

Anxiety
I did not face any anxiety during the exam.Infact i was feeling quite confident during my exam and was expecting a good score overall as i was getting some good score in the mocks.

I am a little confused over where i went wrong on my verbal.
My accuracy rate for CR has been around the 75-80% mark.
For SC its the same and for RC the accuracy was close to 90% during my mocks.

I am also now short of resources as i have exhausted the OG , Verbal guide , Question pack , the Manhattan gmat mocks and Veritas mocks so i not sure from where to practice Verbal questions now.
Can you please help me here Stacey.
I want to give my exam in a months time from now.

Regards
Akhilesh

[StaceyKoprince]

Hmm.

did not feel any fatigue during the exam.

It's pretty much impossible not to feel any mental fatigue during a 3.5 hour exam. You may not have felt physical fatigue - the adrenaline would have kept you physically energized - but if you think you didn't feel any mental fatigue, then something's not quite right. :)

Mental fatigue can manifest in the following ways:
- you read something, and then you realize you have no idea what you just read, so you have to read it again (and maybe again!)
- you start to feel impatient and just want the test to be over with; you might even speed up
- you find it harder to make decisions; you agonize back and forth between two options, even more than usual (in this case, you would actually slow down)

From what I see on the forums, the first two are more common. A lot of times, people will tell me that they thought they were getting everything right! It was super easy! Oh, and by the way, they finished 10 minutes early (but they didn't usually finish early in practice).

That last scenario is a classic recipe of mental fatigue --> speed --> careless mistakes. Could that have happened to you?

You do also mention that you rushed on the last 2-3 questions in verbal, so there were some timing issues going on somewhere, though possibly minor. It's possible that this signals some broader timing issues - another common pattern is to spend a bit too long on some hard questions and then speed up a bit on some others to make up the time, resulting in careless mistakes on easier questions.

You might be able to see this pattern if you go back through the timing data from practice tests - check out your most recent practice tests.

You also told me about your "accuracy rate" for SC, CR, and RC. The test is not scored based on an accuracy rate or percentage correct. It's not strictly necessary to understand how the scoring works, but I find that people who focus on percentage correct will often exhibit the last pattern that I described (spending a bit too long on hard questions, rushing on--and sometimes missing--easier questions). So something to think about.

(If you want to learn more about how the scoring does work, take a look at the Scoring section of our free e-book The GMAT Uncovered.)

[carrillo1228]

Hi Stacey,

Other than working on timed question sets, do you have any advice on how to "improve" mental fatigue?

Any advice on how to "snap-out of it" on the official exam?

Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes!

To improve mental stamina:
(1) 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.)

(2) Do all practice tests under 100% official conditions, including IR and essay, length of breaks, etc.

To try to keep your cool or recover during the test:
(1) https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... mat-score/
(2) Before the test, eat protein and fat with complex carbs. eg: whole grain bread with turkey and mayo, or whole grain pita with hummus. That sort of thing. During the first break, eat more of the same. At the second (and last) break, make sure to have some fresh fruit juice or coconut water (that kind of sugar can help you get some temporary mental fatigue recovery).

And something I do when I find myself getting distracted / not thinking about the question on the screen right now:
I tell myself that I can think about XYZ (whatever is distracting me) as soon as I finish this problem. I just have to finish this problem first. Then, if I'm still thinking about it when that problem is over, I do it again: as soon as the next one is over, I can think about XYZ or take a mental break or whatever. After doing that a few times, I usually forget about whatever was distracting me.

And if I do feel really mentally fatigued, I look up at the ceiling and meditate for 30 seconds (see the article up above). Then I look back down and keep going.