-
Osirus@VeritasPrep
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 1578
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 8:02 am
- Thanked: 128 times
- Followed by:34 members
- GMAT Score:760
I really didn't think I would post my story since my score was lower than I wanted, but I think I have insights that may help people that are studying on their own. I was actually feeling good today. No stress, I really felt like I was going to do well. I got to the testing center about an hour and half before my exam because I wanted to ensure that there would be no problems with the train, I couldn't afford to blow 250. When I arrived at the testing center they allowed me to take the test early. I was scheduled to take it at noon, I ended up starting at 10:45. One of the proctors asked me if I was sure I was ready, and I said, yeah, I'm not nervous at all, I got this one. Little did I know...lol. So I go through the essays only spent about 15 minutes on each, because I don't see the value in doing that great on them. Next I go through the math and feel like I got owned. Then I take the verbal and feel like I did alright. Then I see the score and it says 680. I was pretty dejected. I felt like I would score at least a 700. I couldn't believe I came up short.
The thing I realized after dwelling on it is that I got what I deserved. One thing that I didn't realize is that the study materials from prep companies can only take you so far. What I mean by that is if you go through all of the test prep materials and gain an above average understanding of those materials, your range is going to be about 650-730 ish. The range for my practice test scores were 660-720. I realize now that in order to get the score I wanted I would have had everything go right. I think everyone that studies on his/her own will eventually plateau. This is an important moment. At this moment you have to realize that you have to go beyond the test prep materials and attempt to gain a thorough understanding of whatever area you are lacking. You can't go into the test hoping to only see certain questions. Recognize those questions that you would want to avoid and really attack them. Go beyond the test prep materials with these areas though and really understand the concepts beyond what you need to know for the gmat. That is the only way to get beyond the plateau.
The thing I realized after dwelling on it is that I got what I deserved. One thing that I didn't realize is that the study materials from prep companies can only take you so far. What I mean by that is if you go through all of the test prep materials and gain an above average understanding of those materials, your range is going to be about 650-730 ish. The range for my practice test scores were 660-720. I realize now that in order to get the score I wanted I would have had everything go right. I think everyone that studies on his/her own will eventually plateau. This is an important moment. At this moment you have to realize that you have to go beyond the test prep materials and attempt to gain a thorough understanding of whatever area you are lacking. You can't go into the test hoping to only see certain questions. Recognize those questions that you would want to avoid and really attack them. Go beyond the test prep materials with these areas though and really understand the concepts beyond what you need to know for the gmat. That is the only way to get beyond the plateau.
