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Story of my misery :(

by dreamydream » Tue Jun 05, 2012 6:40 am
In 2011, I took my first GMAT and scored pathetic 350. With a huge disappointment, I gave up on GMAT. I started preparing again in 2012 and took a test on May. To my surprise I scored unacceptable 410 score. With the support and motivation from friends and family, I signed up for another test for June. However, I scored 430 again. I have no words to describe you how much I hate GMAT right now. I have lost confidence on myself and I have been very socially awkward and embarrassed these days. I dreamt of going to school from this fall, which is not going to come true now. I am just applying to school which requires over 500 score and have not even been able to meet that requirement. PLEASE HELP ME. I request all the experts out here to show some direction to me and give me guidelines on what to do. I was never a very bright student but I was not that bad either.

I took GMAT Prep test again and again and scored over 600. I took Manhattan GMAT 6 tests and was scoring over 600 too. I used Official GMAT book and borrowed several books on GMAT from the local library to prepare.

PLEASE HELP ME GET OUT OF THIS MISERY AND SHOW ME SOME PATH. I would really appreciate your help.

Thank you,

Dreamydream
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:06 am
dreamydream wrote:In 2011, I took my first GMAT and scored pathetic 350. With a huge disappointment, I gave up on GMAT. I started preparing again in 2012 and took a test on May. To my surprise I scored unacceptable 410 score. With the support and motivation from friends and family, I signed up for another test for June. However, I scored 430 again. I have no words to describe you how much I hate GMAT right now. I have lost confidence on myself and I have been very socially awkward and embarrassed these days. I dreamt of going to school from this fall, which is not going to come true now. I am just applying to school which requires over 500 score and have not even been able to meet that requirement. PLEASE HELP ME. I request all the experts out here to show some direction to me and give me guidelines on what to do. I was never a very bright student but I was not that bad either.

I took GMAT Prep test again and again and scored over 600. I took Manhattan GMAT 6 tests and was scoring over 600 too. I used Official GMAT book and borrowed several books on GMAT from the local library to prepare.

PLEASE HELP ME GET OUT OF THIS MISERY AND SHOW ME SOME PATH. I would really appreciate your help.

Thank you,

Dreamydream
The consistent 600+ scores on your practice tests indicate that you have the knowledge required to reach your target score.
It sounds like there's an issue with either time management or test anxiety. Can you speak to these issues?

If time management and anxiety are, indeed, the culprits here, I suggest that you look through the many BTG articles/videos on those subjects. To get you started, here are two that I've written for BTG:

Time management: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/02/ ... n-test-day
Anxiety: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/03/ ... n-test-day

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by dreamydream » Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:34 am
Thank you so much for your reply Brent. More than time management, I think anxiety is my biggest problem. I have noticed I panic through each question and make erroneous mistake on even simple questions. On the recent test I took, I started really well on essays. I was very calm and excited for the math portion. However I remember panicking and struggling on first few questions. Rather than attempting to break it down, I just guessed an answer and moved on realizing I wouldn't have enough time to complete rest of the questions. I have noticed my problem is; if I see an unfamiliar question, rather than trying to solve, I just make a guess and move on in the real exam.

I am definitely going to go through your videos Brent. Now I don't know what should be my next step. I am definitely not going to make it to the fall semester. All of my applications are completed and the school is waiting for my GMAT score. I have no faith in myself to sit for another GMAT test :(
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:40 am
dreamydream wrote:Thank you so much for your reply Brent. More than time management, I think anxiety is my biggest problem. I have noticed I panic through each question and make erroneous mistake on even simple questions. On the recent test I took, I started really well on essays. I was very calm and excited for the math portion. However I remember panicking and struggling on first few questions. Rather than attempting to break it down, I just guessed an answer and moved on realizing I wouldn't have enough time to complete rest of the questions. I have noticed my problem is; if I see an unfamiliar question, rather than trying to solve, I just make a guess and move on in the real exam.

I am definitely going to go through your videos Brent. Now I don't know what should be my next step. I am definitely not going to make it to the fall semester. All of my applications are completed and the school is waiting for my GMAT score. I have no faith in myself to sit for another GMAT test :(
As far as the anxiety goes: We spend a lot of time on these forums talking about how to solve questions, but we don't spend much time talking about how to focus, remain positive and control our nerves. There's no perfect way to combat nerves and test anxiety. For each person, the solution will be different (meditation, visualization, hypnotherapy, etc.) Your job is to find the approach that works best for you and practice it.

As far as the confidence goes: I think a positive attitude goes a very longgggg way. I wrote an article about this that may help: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... n-the-gmat

Second-to-last piece of advice: You may want to take some time off from the GMAT, to "recharge your batteries" before you begin the next round of studying.

Last piece of advice: Don't give up! This test can be defeated.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by mirfan2 » Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:43 am
Sorry to hear about your GMAT experience, but remember he who falls and stands will live to fight another day. Brent's videos (GPN) are among the hidden gems of the GMAT prep world. I am a very satisfied customer and a nervous test taker (correction : I used to be one). When I took the test the first time around, I didn't maintain an error log, hence no system to identify and drill down on my weaknesses. GPN has an error log as well (GPN improvement chart) there are few that others have posted on this forum. I know couple of people who have gone from miserable mid 300 score to respectable 700 score(If you want to read their stories PM me for links)

Above all its about how well you practice and review your answers even if you get them right.I'll use Brent's words addressed to me,"Practice Practice Practice, until things become second nature to you." You need some intrinsic motivation to achieve your GMAT goals, read the stories of those who were successful in beating the GMAT, this forum has been an inspiration for me to achieve beyond my goals. Remember that the test is beatable, think of it as your battle with this beast i.e. the GMAT, your enemy is strong (yeah its a bot), but with the right tools, a master teacher, and targeted training you can minimize your weakness and build a strategy to take this beast by the horns. You must lick your wounds and stand-up to fight, you must find your path, learn to conquer your anxiety daemons (which according Bara can slice upto 1/3 of your score) above all you must visualize that you'll succeed.If you visualize that this beast will shred you to pieces, then it will be successful in making you score below your ability level. On the other hand, positive thinking can do no harm, at the very least you'll have a little more fun while taking the test.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/test-anxiety ... 94739.html
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