I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi Guys,

I was hesitating to post my story but I thought it is good to share it anyway.
I took my exam on September 19, 2009. I have studied almost 3 month on and off. Material I used:

OG12, 1000 SC, Cr, RC.

My mock exams are:

GmatPrep : 620 (almost 3 months ago).
Gmat Prep: 650
manhattan free-online: 650
manhattan free-online: 670
Gmat Prep: 700
Gmat Prep: 710 (49 34)
Gmat Prep: 720 (50 37) (last one before exam)

I was hoping to cross 720+ but the result was just shocking. Quant seemed to be ok.
I thought I would get a straight 50 or 51 but I ended up with 49.
I was one minute late for the verbal. I don;t remember anything now.
The last Rc was too long but it was not comlicated much.
I had to guess one or two question at the end.

I was little bit sick the day before exam but it was not issue behing 580. Theree months ago,
I would not believe if someone had told me that my score would be lower than 600.
I don't want to mention this but I feel like GMAT is getting hard.
Quant questions were slightly different than the questions I solved in preps. It is still doable but
the format was different.

Now, I have no motivation to take it again. 720+ seems to be way far away from me.

I am looking forward to hear from guys getting above 700 lately.

God luck everyone,

What were the component breakdowns of your practice CAT's?

In cases where actual score is so drastically different from practice score, there is likely an underlying cause. Did you run out of time during the test?

I wouldn't give up just yet. There are lots of people who don't score very well on the first test and perform very well the second time around. Just browse through this forum; I think you'll find that the majority of high scorers took the test twice. Take a couple of weeks off, analyze what went wrong, and take the test again. Have faith in yourself!

Hi Paul,

I went back to my notes: here my breakdowns for Cats:

first GmatPrep: 610 0r 620 (do not remember exactly)
GmatPrep 670 Q50-V29
GmatPrep 690 q50 v32
" 700 q51-v32
" 640 q49-v27
" 700 q50-v34
" 720 q50-v37

I just guessed last one or two questions in verbal. I don't think I run out of time. Solving the prep exams repeatedly might inflate my mock results. Like I said before, I started one minute late in verbla and spent more time for the first 6-7 question because I may have lost my concentration. First SC question really took me 2-3 minutes. The same for the first question of quant. After spending 4 mins, it was still unclear. So, I just guessed.

haptas,

Are you an avid reader? Do you read business magazines such as WSJ, Economist or even regular newspapers such as NYTimes?

If not, you need to get cracking at reading such magazines, comprehending how arguments are structured and recognizing proper grammar.

I have online access to WSJ but have not been reading on a regular basis. How long do you think to read those to get some speed.

Since you interested in going to get an MBA, I'd suggest you make it a habit going forward. To be a good and effective manager you need to be aware of the current trends not just in business but also at the global level.

The Economist is free (at least for a while after which certain articles become premium): https://www.economist.com

To bolster your reading comprehension, read the science articles : https://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/

Opinion: https://www.economist.com/leaders/

Books and Arts review: https://www.economist.com/books/



Just from reading this magazine, my writing style and comprehension has improved. You can't go wrong with The E (I'm in now ay affiliated with them, just a fan)

Included the proper link for Books & Arts

haptas,

Your quant score is consistently in the 49-50 range, so great job and continue to review in order to keep your math score at such a high level.

Your verbal looks like it is the main culprit behind the lower overall score. Were there specific sections are you struggling with in verbal?


It also looks like you made a big jump in verbal practice score near the end of your preparation. Did you implement a new problem solving strategy? or were these duplicate problems?

If there was no change in your study habits and problem solving strategy, I would really recommend trying something new.

For example, in studying SC, instead of doing a lot of practice problems, review problems you got wrong and make notecards stating the rule you had gotten wrong with example. Review your notecards at least once a day so you can be confident that you won't make the same mistake ever again.

hey haptas,

I think your repeated GMATprep attempts inflated your score without pointing out your rough areas. Today i took my GMAT and i wanted to share with you this because i had similar issue with my Verbals and strategy to take tests.
I never repeated a test but i took care of the mistakes of all tests. I started with Kaplan,then 800score (it really boosted my confidence) then Manhattan free and finally GMAT prep1 and GMAtprep2( 1 day before the exam). By following this strategy, i became aware my rough areas and slowly and steadly i gained momentum.

I think you should not loose hope as you can see you have very strong Quant. You need to concentrate mainly on Verbal and i will suggest you to follow something similar to my strategy. Start with SC - get hold of it then CR. It makes your RC little simpler. Actually i took RC as a composition of few CRs altogether.

I wish you a fresh start once again with Verbal and i will recommend you to go through NOGUFO post. It's really a moral boosting post.