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Drastic Drop in Actual GMAT Score... HELP!

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MCzurylo Just gettin' started! Default Avatar
Joined
09 Mar 2012
Posted:
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Drastic Drop in Actual GMAT Score... HELP! Post Sat Mar 10, 2012 5:22 pm
I just took the GMAT after having studied for over 3 months and am absolutely devastated with my final scores. I can't say I'm a 700+ scorer because I really struggle with applying math concepts under pressure and am a horrible test taker in general - the anxiety kills me no matter what. On top of that I have Crohn's disease which, when I'm having a flare up FROM anxiety, causes me to writhe in pain from terrible stomach cramping... but that's another story.

My very first diagnostic test was an embarrassing 470 but I had no idea what I was getting into.

I used the 2010 Kaplan GMAT Premier book as my base for studying and got through the entire thing in about a month and a half. In the mean time I took the 2 free GMATPrep tests (which don't give you answer explanations, doh!) I moved on to the OG 12th Edition GMAT book and focused mostly on both sections in quant since that's where I was scoring the weakest, as well as CR where I was getting about 1/3 wrong consistently. Rather than going into everything in depth, I'll give you a list of all the tests I took and the breakdowns of Quant and Verbal (that I can remember).

Tests taken:
470 Q??, V?? - Diagnostic
540 Q29, V33 - GMAT Prep
540 Q30, V33 - GMAT Prep
590 Q34, V37 - MGMAT
580 Q36, V35 - GMAC Printed Test
580 Q34, V33 - Kaplan Online
610 Q37, V38 - Veritas Prep
550 Q35, V31 - Actual GMAT Test

I felt like I was on the verge of doing really well on test day, I don't understand what happened! My goal was a minimum of 630 just for peace of mind... it shouldn't have been THAT hard???

Apps for school are due in a little under 2 months and I have the possibility of retaking in 5 weeks if I want. I did relatively well in school 3.7 GPA and a couple years of good work experience, but I'm worried this score isn't good enough based on average GMAT of students accepted.

I'm desperate for advice!! Any and all study tips, study plans for a 1 month power prep, or general advice about whether I should retake would really help. I'm really upset!

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GMAT/MBA Expert

Post Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:22 pm
First, about retaking... That depends on the profile of the schools you are applying to, take a look at the 80% range. If you are below... Rerack and do it again.

As far as prep, it looks like quant is your main focus, and your score says you are struggling with some of the fundamentals. Do an honest evaluation of the skills that you are struggling with and make sure you fill in the holes. Weaknesses in these areas will be amplified come test day.... Hope this helps.

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Thanked by: MCzurylo
MCzurylo Just gettin' started! Default Avatar
Joined
09 Mar 2012
Posted:
3 messages
Post Tue Mar 13, 2012 8:10 am
Thank you for your advice, I plan on refocusing in the next month and retaking.

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