Totally bombed the GRE...

[PizzaCat93]

Hello everyone. I took the GRE today and got an abysmal 160V 151Q. My practice tests have been in the range of 163-167 for verbal and 159-164 for quant. What went wrong? I honestly had a higher quant score when I took my first PowerPrep before I even started studying. I've been studying 6 days a week, roughly 5 hours a day for the past 2.5 months. I think the writing section went well, and I am fairly certain that my first section, verbal, was the experimental section. Things went south when I realized that my second quant section was significantly easier than the first (making me feel relatively ambivalent about the last verbal section). I registered today to take the test again in 3 weeks because I don't think a lack of studying had much to do with it. What to do?! I am afraid that I'll blow the second test, worrying that what happened this time will happen again. I really don't know why his happened. 

 

FYI, I definitely need 160+ on both sections for my applications. The higher the better. 

Edited July 8, 2015 by PizzaCat93

[Vene]

There are a lot of things that can lower your score. It's a stressful environment and the real thing is a lot more stressful than any practice test. It's an unfamiliar environment, which just adds to the stress. Did you get a good night's sleep? Did you eat a good breakfast that morning? Taking care of your physical needs can help your brain to function better and improve your score.

[PeakPerformance]

I don't really understand why the easiness of a particular math section would affect your attitude about a particular verbal section. In any case, while you mention you are studying 5 hours a day, are you taking complete timed practice tests to work on your timing and concentration? Before you take each practice test, you should practice visualizing that you are taking the real exam and imagine how nervous you might be -- bring up those feelings of anxiety before your practice tests and then develop a strategy for calming your nerves and clearing your mind before you start.  You should also practice clearing your mind before each section: you need to be able to regroup after a disastrous section and maintain your intensity and focus after an easy section. And you certainly should not be evaluating your performance or the test as you go along.You must work through the test without any emotions: you need to execute like a machine with the faith that your practice and work up to this point will get you where you need to be.  Ultimately, you need to approach the test with the mindset of a competitive athlete and learn how to let go of your "self" during your performance.

[GREMasterEMPOWERRichC]

Hi PizzaCat93,

 

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. Your practice MSTs clearly show that you're capable of scoring at a much higher level. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely 'causes' involve either something that was unrealistic during your practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day.

 

If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

 

When you took your MSTs:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE Test (including BOTH essays)?

2) Did you take them at home?

3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GRE?

4) Did you take any of them more than once?

 

On Test Day:

1) How long was the ride to the Testing Center?

2) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?

3) Did you finish any of the sections early?

4) Did you have to rush to finish any of the sections?

 

It's possible that you just had a bad day. Regardless, you should do some more analysis on Test Day itself and what led up to it. Whatever the issues are, they should be easy enough to define and 'fix.'

 

GRE Masters aren't born, they're made,

Rich

[hulihuo]

I had the opposite experience even though I missed at least 4-5 questions due to nerves/fatigue of the test situation.  I was averaging around 158V and 156Q, but got near perfect V and 85%Q on the actual thing.  Retake it.  You will be more comfortable the second time.

[PizzaCat93]

Well, I just got back home from retaking the GRE, and I got 166V and 159Q! I'm very happy with this improvement, of course.

[Arm457]

Congrats!!!!

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

Nice work!

What do you think accounted for the significant improvement? 

 

Cheers,

Brent - Greenlight Test Prep