530 and feeling numb

lazygrad05 · Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:39 pm Post subject: 530 and feeling numb

I took the gmat last saturday and got whooped. Got a 530. Even though I lost about 2 minutes for going over during the break before quant and lost about another 3 minutes for having to go to the bathroom (if I want that energy drink, then I’ll have to use a catheter next time), I only had to guess on the last 5 q’s and thought that I had done ok on most of the q’s. I was stunned that I only got a 32 on verbal. I was scoring around 40 on practice tests. It’s almost like it scored it wrong. I even scored a 540 on a Kaplan test and pretty much guessed on all the quant q’s.

I was going to apply to SMU accounting for fall ’08 which has a scholarship consideration deadline of Jan 15. As soon as I saw that score, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I also had to come to the realization that going to my dream school of UT Austin wasn’t going to happen as they only accept in the fall. I can’t delay til fall ’09. I have some time now to apply for spring ‘09 at SMU. I’ll see if I can take some classes at a local state school to transfer in so hopefully my graduation won’t be delayed. I wonder though if there’s less of a chance at getting scholarship money if you apply in the spring.

I had started studying around last August for only a few hours a week, then increased it around late November. I had paced my studying using solely the PR book, thinking this is pretty easy. Then I look at the OG book after Christmas and realized I was screwed. I then discover this forum and realized my massive mistake. I intensified my studying using Kaplan 800 for the quant and thought I had learned enough quant. I then reviewed the flashcards from the site. I wasn’t worried at all about verbal. I really don’t know what went wrong with verbal.

Do I need to start from scratch and follow the 80 day guide? My goal is at least 650, but I feel like I’m capable of more. I do know one thing, I’m not scheduling til I’m ready. If I work hard for the retake and still score badly, then I guess I’ll have to take the Manhattan course, but I really don’t want to plop down $900. My worst nightmare is finding out that I’m just meant to score under 600 on the GMAT.

Prasanna · Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 5:46 pm Post subject:

Sorry to hear your story. From your post what I can see is that you have not spent sufficient time on OG. Mastering OG is a must for GMAT prep. You can use other books to supplement though. Further you need to take prep tests to gauge where you are.

For retaking the exam, you could plan your prep to focus on your weak areas. You could read posts by other people on how they beat the exam. You need to be granular in your approach and identify the weaknesses. In case you need any help, this forum is always there to help.