I just Beat The GMAT!

I just took my GMAT again.

I scored 700 (quant 48 / verbal 37) on my first attempt about 1.5 months ago. I deicded to retake bc I didn't have the best GPA in undergrad.

Although I felt more confident and prepared this time around, my overall performance dropped
I got 680
quant 49
verbal 33

I can't begin to figure how/why I bombed the verbal section
In practice, on Knewton, Kaplan and GMAC tests, I was consistently scoring in the 40s...there were one or two exceptions but otherwise, my performance on verbal improved...especially with CR qs and advanced SC qs
when I took the test, I felt pretty decent about how I was doing...there was a reading comp passage at the beginning which threw me off...it was quite tricky...but besides that I felt pretty good about my test

680 was beyond my wildest nightmares.
In the last 10 tests I've taken over the past two months (even before the first gmat) I've only scored below 700 once.
So, naturally my confidence level and expectations were high.

I feel burnt out. but I know that to get into a good school, it may make sense to give the GMAT one more shot. but i just can't find the energy to do it. pretty disappointed and brunt out!



has anyone had a similar experience? can instructors share their thoughts on where I could've gone wrong?
I mean, I felt pretty good about the math section and did well on it. I also felt pretty decent abt the verbal section but bombed it. If it was an off day then I should've bombed quant too.

dazed and confused...

Sorry to hear about your score dude.

This is surely a tragic scenario. You did reach 700 once.....moreever, if you compare your two scores, your quants has shown improvement. May be you just couldnt focus as much was needed.

But you have the potential as u mentioned you missed 700+ score only once in your practice.

Best of luck for your next attempt.

Did you find SC convoluted as many of the recent test takers have found? or were they similar to OG questions? Besides you said, one RC was tricky....do you mean it was worded in GMAT style? How were the CRs?

Instructors, or other folks who have had a similar experience....it would be great if you could share a few words of advice.


ashish - SC was good/easy relative to the first time i took it. RC was difficult - lots of very tricky/vague inference questions.
About CR - I can't say because I thought I had all the right answers marked...but it was definitely more difficult than what you see on GMAT Prep Qs.

I don't think you should take it again. I think at this point, you're looking at applying round two if you take it again and I'm not sure if it's worth it. Right now with your 700 and good applications, you will probably get into at least one of the schools you are targeting and you can go this year. You could get into more with great apps. I think you should apply round one and see what happens. If you don't get in anywhere or decide you really want to go to a certain program that you didn't get into, then start your prep again in Jan and retake the exam and apply next year.

Thanks Osirus for sharing your perspective.

I agree with Osirus. Don't take it again if you can't spend at least a few months refreshing the content. By that time, you'll be applying later in the process. Just make sure your recommendations, GPA, and personal essays make up for any deficiencies you perceive in your score.

Honestly 700 is not bad. What schools are you applying to?

I've heard from several sources (can't recall but Veritas at least comes to mind) that applying to R1 and R2 are basically the same. You just want to avoid R3. Do you disagree? Sorry to digress, but it might help san2009 if he knows he can apply R2.

if i were to go back in time, i'd do things exactly the same way as i did for my GMAT prep. thus, i don't feel the inclination to take GMAT right now. if i don't get into any of my 6 target schools, then i will contemplate retaking, i guess.