I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi,
I took the GMAT exam today and scored 690(90th percentile).
Total score 690
Q 48 (85th percentile)
V 82 (82nd percentile)

Eric, Stacey and all the other wonderful folks on this forum, a big THANK YOU! This would not have been possible without your help!

I am happy with this score as it is more than what I had scored in any of my practice tests. I have 9 years of industry experience. So, I am hopeful that this score is reasonable evidence of my academic capabilities for the MBA degree.

I will write more details on my preparation later. I have provided some highlights of my test experience( before I forget the details).

Test time: Noon
This was great as I am not an early morning person.

Test Center:
Excellent. I think one reason I scored more than in my practice tests is because the Test Center setup was so much better than my setup during the practice tests(usually in a noisy bookstore or at home with my toddler son screaming in the background :) )

The Test SW interface is identical to that GMATPrep.

10 minutes to review the instructions.

1 minute to review the specific question for Esssays(i think)
=> i used this time to write the pace setting info for Quant:
T 75 65 55 45 ...
Q 1 5 10 15 ....


Essays:
AWA first. AOI next. Straightforward topics.

10 minute break.
Had a cookie and water

Quant
On the first problem, I took 3 minutes. It was an algebra problem, where I used backsolving. The rest of the section seemed ok. I thought i was fallling behind in terms of time. So I had to accelerate during the last 20 minutes. Overall, i held my nerve, which I think is the KEY. I thought I had done ok in the section, nothing spectacular.

10 minute break
Had a cookie and water

1 minute to read instructions
=> i used this time to write the pace setting info for Quant:
T 75 65 55 45 ...
Q 1 6 12 18 ...

Verbal
The first few questions were SC, followed by CR. Then a RC passage. The passage was really small, but the questions seemed confusing. By T= 45, I realized that I was falling behind on time. But I was not able to accelerate. I got the BOLD FACE CR around q 18. During the test, I actually remembered what I had read on the forum, that a BOLD FACE CR around Q12 indicates that one is doing well on the test. So when mine came at 18, I thought I must not be doing well. But I did not let it affect me, just decided to focus on 1 question at a time.

By T=14, I had about 12 questions remaining. So, I had to really rush through the them. This included a RC passage which was not very difficult. I was becoming more convinced that my Verbal section was on a steep downward slope. However, I did not panic. I plodded on and finished all questions, making an educated guess on the last one, 10 seconds before T=0.

I took my time after this reading the screens that came up as I was not very enthusiastic about seeing my score. Due to my performance in the Verbal section, I expected around 620 -640 (the score I had on both my GMAT preps). So, I was pleasantly surprised to see a 690!


Important lessons from my test experience:

1. Prepare well and go to the test with a positive attitude.

2. HOLD YOUR NERVE. Just focus on the question at hand rather than thinking about how you are doing. Do not start guessing how you are performing in the middle of the test. It will only distract and unnerve you. On the contrary, you may be doing better than you think.


More later. Thanks again for everything.

Stoic

You are absolutely right about the nerves part. Its all about not letting the test get on your nerves because YOU ARE GOING TO GET QUESTIONS THAT YOU CANNOT DO.

My nervous system was probably an equivalent of Jerry Springer Show during the test. All chaos, utter insanity and no substance.

Congrats and good luck with your next step.

It's so true that it's all about the nerves. I'd say it's not only true that you shouldn't worry about difficult questions, it's even more important to not worry yourself if you think the questions are too easy. Just try to shut it off and focus on the question. I lost my nerve on my first attempt by worrying questions in the middle were too easy. In hindsight, I think I took a downward spiral from that point on.