From Quant 48 in Practice Tests to Q40 on GMAT - HELP!

[Leigh_Madeira]

I took the GMAT this past weekend and was very disappointed. None of my practice tests were ever lower than 710 (quant 45) and my last three tests (MGMAT and GMAT prep) were all 750 with quant 48 and verbal 45. They were all taken in real exam environments in terms of timing, breaks, etc. I have always been very strong in math and felt comfortable with the GMAT math.

I felt good for the test on Saturday and don't think I was very nervous/anxious. There were a few quant questions early that I wasn't sure about but my timing was good and overall I felt I did ok. I was shocked when I saw my score: 690 - quant 40, verbal 44. I know a 690 isn't awful but the quant was 52%. I won't get into any top school with that. I am baffled. I have no idea what happened with quant. I assume I messed up in the beginning and couldn't get back up to the 700-800 level questions? I did think some of the quant questions were a bit easy later on but it's hard to tell.

I signed up to take the test again in a month and am looking for any advice. Could this have been a fluke? Why would I get a score SO drastically different than any of my practice tests? I am trying to figure out a study routine for the next month to improve my math but also keep my verbal up. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks

[jlucero]

It's impossible to know anyone's exact circumstances, but poor performances on actual tests often fall into one of three different scenarios:

1) timing - did you run out of time and your score dip at the end of the test?

2) poor performance - did you get too many "easier" questions wrong? did you spend too much time trying to learn the hardest GMAT questions and left some easy points on the table?

3) fluke - did you have a bad day and just happen to get a bunch of questions that you thought were a lot tougher than the GMAT would consider?

With you saying that you were consistently scoring in the high 40s on quant it could absolutely be a case of #3. If that's the case, take a small break from studying and redo a few quant test sections (especially on the GMAT Prep tests). If you're still consistently scoring well on the quant, hopefully you'll be able to bounce back on the next exam.