Please help..Advice needed

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Ihavetobeatthis: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:11 pm

by Ihavetobeatthis » Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:41 pm

I gave my GMAT today got a horrible score of 520. I couldn't believe my eyes because this was way beyond my expectation and way below I got in my practice tests.

My scores in practice tests have been:

PR 1 - 650
PR 2 - 680
PR3 - 680
PR4 - 720

MGMAT 1 - 650
MGMAT 2 - 630
MGMAT 3 - 670
MGMAT 4 - 680

Kaplan 1 - 580
Kaplan 2 - 600

GMAT Prep1 - 680
GMAT Prep2 - 700

I have no clue what happened to me today. I have never scored below 49 in quant in any of my practice tests. My weak point has always been verbal,but not to an extent that I should just get 19 in my final test. My Quant was also very bad 43. The first time I gave PR test without preparation even when I had got better score than this.

Not sure if I should give this test again. I have a competitive exam phobia and in general I know I am a very anxious person. So the problem is not that my efforts have been less but I am not sure how to deal with the basic mental attitude.

I desperately want to do my MBA from a good university and my academics and work experience is very good. Unfortunately universities are not going to understand my GMAT phobia

. Anyone has any best advice to deal with my problem. Trust me I have a very basic flaw and how much ever efforts I take I know I won't be able to get a good score till I deal with this.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant | Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:41 pm

em00: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 6:51 pm

by em00 » Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:57 am

I would say try it again. I took my GMAT a few weeks ago, and planned on dominating the quantitative, and doing alright on the verbal. When going through the GMAT 800 practice test book in the few days/week before the test, I was getting between 68-75% of the verbal questions right, and almost 100% of the quantitative ones right, literally just a couple wrong out of the whole book. Well, when I took my GMAT just the opposite happened. I think I was really nervous and put a lot of pressure on myself to do well on the test, so could not focus on the math. I knew I blew the math part when I was having trouble with what I knew was a simple problem. Anyways, when the verbal came up I had already figured that I blew the test so was able to relax a lot more and not worry about anything other than just doing my best. Turns out I got a 47 quantitative and 44 verbal for a 740 overall. I would say take the test again and try to relax some.

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Linda Abraham: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 368; Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:18 pmFollowed by: 13 members; Location: Los Angeles CA; Thanked: 30 times

Re: Please help..Advice needed

by Linda Abraham » Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:42 pm

Ihavetobeatthis wrote:I gave my GMAT today got a horrible score of 520. I couldn't believe my eyes because this was way beyond my expectation and way below I got in my practice tests.

My scores in practice tests have been:

PR 1 - 650
PR 2 - 680
PR3 - 680
PR4 - 720

MGMAT 1 - 650
MGMAT 2 - 630
MGMAT 3 - 670
MGMAT 4 - 680

Kaplan 1 - 580
Kaplan 2 - 600

GMAT Prep1 - 680
GMAT Prep2 - 700

I have no clue what happened to me today. I have never scored below 49 in quant in any of my practice tests. My weak point has always been verbal,but not to an extent that I should just get 19 in my final test. My Quant was also very bad 43. The first time I gave PR test without preparation even when I had got better score than this.

Not sure if I should give this test again. I have a competitive exam phobia and in general I know I am a very anxious person. So the problem is not that my efforts have been less but I am not sure how to deal with the basic mental attitude.

I desperately want to do my MBA from a good university and my academics and work experience is very good. Unfortunately universities are not going to understand my GMAT phobia . Anyone has any best advice to deal with my problem. Trust me I have a very basic flaw and how much ever efforts I take I know I won't be able to get a good score till I deal with this.

Definitely take the test again. And relax! you have no where to go but up.

We have a few articles on GMAT test-taking techniques provided by Manhattan GMAT and Test Prep New York. The latter company specializes in helping people overcome test anxiety. You may want to check them out.

Best,
Linda

Linda Abraham
Accepted.com -- Helping You Write Your Best!
310.815.9553
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Jay Allen: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 69; Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 5:04 pm; Location: Colorado; Thanked: 8 times; GMAT Score:760

by Jay Allen » Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:34 am

You should definitely take it again!

There are many techniques for dealing an anxiety like test taking. You're not the first to under perform your potential because of an anxiety.

I used to be a speech coach for people with public speaking phobias--a very similar problem. Our solution was a lot of visualization techniques. We would prepare a routine that we stuck to every single time. The comfort of visualizing this routine on test day may be of some assistance to you. The goal is to help your body and mind understand that this is just another day.

I recommend seeing a professional that can help you develop your own coping mechanism. This is a widespread problem and you, like many others, can overcome it and go to do great things. The GMAT is just a gateway, but it is one you need to get through.

Best of luck!

Jay

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