I just Beat The GMAT!

Guys,
I took my GMAT today and 'm thoroughly disappointed with the score. However, I must say it wasn't completely my fault. I was well on course to score 700+.

Here are my scores from mock tests:
Manhattan GMAT:

MGMAT1 : 720(49,39)
MGMAT2 : 680(48,35)
MGMAT3 : 670(48,33)
MGMAT4 : 750(50,42)
MGMAT5 : 710(49,37)
MGMAT6 : 720(51,37)

Retake :
MGMAT1B : 760(49,45)
MGMAT2B : 730(50,40)
MGMAT3B : 750(49,44)
MGMAT4B : 750(51,41)
MGMAT5B : 750(50,42)
MGMAT6B : 780(51,45)

GMAC mock test I 710 (Took about a month ago before actual GMAT)
GMAC mock test II 680 (Took entire test in one sitting without any break, wanted to stress myself as much as possible, so that I feel less stressed on the exam day when i would have breaks between sections)
GMAC mock test I retake 730 ()

Now the question is why I did not score 700+. Looking at the scores above I should have. So, this morning I started the test with lot of confidence. Started well in AWA essays (expecting score of 5.5-6) and took the first break. When I returned from the first break, I was under the impression that I'll be told when the break is about the get over, since they do not allow even wrist watch to take inside the test center. When I felt a little uneasy that the 8 min break looks to be over I asked them to let me go in. When I reached inside, it was over by 3 min. Though, I'd always finished maths section atleast 4 minutes before during the practice tests, sometimes even 15 minues before, but the added pressure that I've lost 3 minutes upfront on the exam day made me loose my composure. At one point I thought to give up the exam, but somehow convinced myself that I can still do well. From the beginning, I started guessing (though tried to make intelligent guesses) as opposed to actually solving the problem in order to make up for the lost time. By the time I reached question 15-16, I realized that I've caught up on time and now onwards I can continue with the normal speed. Eventually, I finished the test 4.5 minutes before time.
However, guessing on the initial questions cost me dearly. I lost atleast one point in maths section. I would have surely got 50/51, if I had not lost those initial 3 minutes.
Took the second break. This time I made sure to return to my seat as soon as possible, without trusting the center people to inform me . I started with verbal section. I tried to concentrate as much as possible, but at the back of mind I was very scared that may be I'll get 45/46 in maths section, since I knew I made a lot of guesses.
That thought continued to haunt me in the verbal section, though I tried to convince myself that I've done well, and let me do well in verbal section too, but in reality you know what you've done a bit of patchy work. This thought made me uneasy and I think it affected my verbal score by 2-3 points as well. I think I was on course to get 50/51 in Quant and 37/38 in verbal and overall ~710-730. I lost approx 30 points for 3 minutes of delay.

Now, let me ask what has been your experience ? Do the test administrators tell you that your break time is about to get over or do you guys just go back on your own. I was under this impression that they will inform me because I was not allowed even to take wrist watch inside. They did not have even a big clock where one can see the time. Moreover, the test administrator was so lazy, that once I raised my hand to ask for break, she came after one minute to take me out. I had already lost 1 minute because of her laziness.
Moreover, I want to ask, is it administrator's "legal responsibility" to inform the candidate that his break time is about to get over.

Guys, in any-case, please make sure to return to your seat as soon as possible whether someone informs you or not. I don't have an immediate plan to retake the test. I will apply this year with this score and see if I can still make it to Haas. I've 9 years experience in semiconductor industry as a engineer and B.Tech from the top engineering institute in India. If I don't get through, I'll retake the test next year and make sure to return to my seat asap without someone informing me.

Best of luck !!

singh.gauravkr wrote: Now, let me ask what has been your experience ? Do the test administrators tell you that your break time is about to get over or do you guys just go back on your own. I was under this impression that they will inform me because I was not allowed even to take wrist watch inside. They did not have even a big clock where one can see the time. Moreover, the test administrator was so lazy, that once I raised my hand to ask for break, she came after one minute to take me out. I had already lost 1 minute because of her laziness.
Moreover, I want to ask, is it administrator's "legal responsibility" to inform the candidate that his break time is about to get over.

It is definitely not the test administrators responsibility to tell you when your break is up. This is usually because there are multiple people taking different tests and one or two administators aren't going to keep track of this. Sorry for your experience, I know it sucks that you can't take a watch in, which is why for my breaks I literally had a quick snack, drank some water, then used to restroom.

Another side note - your score seems fairly inline with your first round of MGMAT practice exams. I'm not putting too much stock in your MGMAT re-takes since the question pool is reset and there's the possibility of questions being recycled. I.e. it's hard to believe that after six practice tests, you cracked the GMAT code were able to score 750+ five of six times after reaching that mark just once in the previous six tries.

Hey, Thanks for your reply. Yeah as you said, one has to return to seat asap.

I know what you're trying to conclude. One factor is definitely that the question pool is reset and you see some repeated questions, which help you to score better. Another reason I scored better on retakes, because I took the first few tests when I was warming up with preparations. In fact the 48s that you see in Maths section initially were because I did not even bother to revise maths concepts and relied on fact that by the end of 6 tests I'll be automatically able to revise all the concepts tested in maths section by solving questions on tests. A shortcut indeed, but it worked well because I started seeing 51s and 50s from test 4 onwards. Being an engineer, I was never worried about the maths in any-case, but being a non-native english speaker, I was always worried about the verbal section. So, if I analyze my verbal scores, only once I scored below 35(actual gmat score). Moreover, I was averaging around 37-38 in verbal section in the first 6 tests.

I know that I was hovering around 710-730(50/51, 37/38) mark and was not targeting 750+. To achieve 750+ requires lot of time devotion, which is not possible in my case, when I'm required to work 12-14 hours a day, sometimes even on weekends. My aim was to get anything between 710-730, because I can support my application well with my experience, background and extra-curricular stuff along with the fact that I'll add diversity to the class in lot of sense. I've exposure to working in India, US and Germany apart from the fact that I worked directly with Japanese , Chinese and Singapore teams for some of my projects.

The reason to get upset is that when things did not happen as you wanted them to be, not because you did not know how to crack the code, but because someone forgot to tell you that you were required to crack it in 10 minutes and you have already lost 2 minutes. If it is not test administrators responsibility, then GMAC guys should put up a warning on the prompt which asks whether you want to take a 8 min break that it is candidate's responsibility to return to his seat in prescribed time.

Still with 690, I think I should be able to manage to Haas. I'm targeting Haas executive MBA this year. I just saw your profile. Your individual scores are same as my scores Q49,V35, but somehow GMAT algorithm gives 2 different overall scores(don't know if it takes into consideration how soon the candidate finished the exam, that could be one reason I could think of).

Which schools and programs you are looking at?

singh.gauravkr wrote: Still with 690, I think I should be able to manage to Haas. I'm targeting Haas executive MBA this year. I just saw your profile. Your individual scores are same as my scores Q49,V35, but somehow GMAT algorithm gives 2 different overall scores(don't know if it takes into consideration how soon the candidate finished the exam, that could be one reason I could think of).

Which schools and programs you are looking at?

From what I understand, not all Q49, V35 scores are "equal". I may have well gotten one or two more questions at a certain difficulty level correct and which pushed my overall score to a 700. I would say the difference between our scores is razor-thin.

If you're not applying until this fall, do you have time to take it again? Now that you've taken it under "live" conditions and know what to expect, you could very easily break the 700 barrier.

I'm targeting full-time programs:
Tuck, Kellogg, Darden, Cornell

Yeah, I think you're right. The algorithm must be taking care of the total number of questions answered correctly, apart from taking into consideration individual scores.
It looks difficult this year to re-appear mainly because of the format change. Moreover I want to focus on preparing my case. I think it will take easily 3-4 months talking to people and preparing essays, SOP, and any initiative that I can take and complete in next 6 months i.e. before the first deadline.
If I'm not selected, then most likely primary reason in that case would be my score. In that case I can re-appear next year.
It was nice talking to you. Good Luck to you for applications!!

Best of luck! The silver lining is that you're going for an executive MBA where the GMAT is de-emphasized a bit and more stock is put into your work experience.

Thanks. As expected, received 5.5 on AWA.
Let me give it a shot this year.