I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi All,

I just took my GMAT today and got such a disappointing score. But I myself was to blame for not preparing the right way I guess. Here is what happened. 600 (40Q V33)

I started off Quant well and i even remember thinking wow it is going well that was before the 10th question. But by 10th question I realized I have only 48 minutes left.So I rushed. But even with rushing and trying to catch up, I could not. By the time i was doing the 24 the question I have <18 minutes left. And the time ended when I was on 30th question. I might have even guessed one or two questions in the end.

I thought I am reasonably ok in Quant. But I only saw simple questions plus a few tricky ones and ended up not answering 6 or 7 questions. I need serious advice and strategy planning for my next attempt. How will I beat time while not getting tensed and messing up ? Please help.

I had the same problem in Verbal too. I was at a point 16 minutes for 15 questions. By this time whatever I was reading was not making much sense either.

But whenever I took the tests (gmatprep) I had the same issues. I never finished a section on time. Now that the GMAT format is changing I need to learn integrated reasoning too. I thought I improved; but apparently I didn't. So help to find :

1. strategies for time management
2. short cuts
3. Efficient RC and CR reading

I was not gearing much for MBA but for masters courses in Management that accept GMAT scores. But with this score I am embarrassed even to apply. It has also been a great setback to my confidence in quant skills.


Anyways decided to work on timing issues for 2 months and retake the GMAT. So I greatly appreciate your help and advice.

Thanks
Devi

Sorry for your luck. There is a great quant guide from GMAT Prepster that they are offering deals on because it is not quite finished. Send a note to them and they should respond quickly.

Hi Devi,

I'm sorry to hear about your score. I struggled with time management myself.

Some advice:
-> First tell that little voice in your head to stop talking in the exam While actively solving, you shouldn't be thinking about whether you've done well or not. You cannot know that until the test is over. Be fully immersed in the question at hand. I did this by practicing hard questions for 5 days continuously. When you're constantly solving tough questions, you will not self analyze. For all you know, the question that you thought was easy was actually hard, but you knew a vital piece of information to solve it.

-> I think you can solve your time management by doing more mock tests. When you do a lot of them, you become used to solving them in under 2 minutes. That way, you won't have to keep checking the clock.

-> Ask yourself if your score was due to improper time management, or lack of quality practice, or both. Don't fret You can always raise your score. Just be aware of the various factors that affect your performance. Then work on them one by one. The best thing about the GMAT is that the scores get better and better with practice.

Hope this helps

Hi Devi,

what a co-incidence!

i appeared for my GMAT today and scored a 610 (Q41,V33). i was nodding all along while reading through your post. i have exactly similar issues w.r.t timing and it got pretty intense for me as well..most of the questions in the end did not make sense as i was struggling to keep pace with the clock..

I'll also reappear in a month and a half and am looking forward to solutions/suggestions to beat the gmat.

Thanks for all the replies here. I guess my lack of practice cost me a lot. I read through all MGMAT books and OG but did not practice with mock tests too much. I was in a hurry to meet date before IR. Bad idea! I also I did not invest much time into tackling the known issues such as timing, certain weak areas such number properties etc. In short I just learnt all the concepts, did not effectively practice with it. Also my background as a traditional problem solver in math takes a lot of time. If I see two variables, I start writing down x, and y and try to solve them like in high school. If I see a quadratic equation, then I go with the -b +/- formula . I need an emotional make over and different strategy now.

Thank you all for the support, I will keep trying and Thanks Zivi, I read through your post and it is inspiring. Congratulations on your great score

And Pinkray good luck for the next attempt