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Semi-Epic (Regular)
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:22 pm
- GMAT Score:570
I took the GMAT this week and did poorly (570: Q35, V34). My target school is duke so I know that I need to be in the 650-680 range. I've already taken a Kaplan course and that didn't seem to help. Here are the results of my practice exams.
Diagnostic - 530 (Kaplan Percentile Q42%, V33%) - I honestly wasn't super worried about this because I rushed through the test so that I could have 'a score' before starting the class
CAT 2 - 510 (Q38%, V33%) - I tried to answer all the questions using the Kaplan method and failed. My teacher assured me that it would take some time for my score to rise
CAT 3 - 600 (Q59%, V43%) - Finally broke 600! I was pretty pumped
CAT 4 - 560 (Q34%, V56%) - I realized the 600 was a fluke
CAT 5 - 590 (Q51%, V58%) - Better, still not good
CAT 6 - 570 (Q38%, V78%) - Please make note of the difference in quantitative vs. verbal. I didn't see it at the time but this would become a trend
CAT 7 - 620 (Q42%, V95%) - This was 2 days before the exam. I thought that if I could do well enough on the verbal and decent on the math I could bang out a 650
Well, you can see from my actual GMAT that that didn't happen. So my questions to the forum:
Does anyone know how Kaplan's higher score guarantee works? I think I may be eligible for some king of refund.
I know that I need to take the exam again, and I need to do better in the quantitative section, I'm thinking about doing the veritas self study or even a veritas class. Any thoughts?
Also, I'm still not close to the 650-680 range that I need. My low quant scores indicate a basic misunderstanding of some of the concepts tested. Most people that make the type of jump I would like to do end up studying for up to 3 years. Can this be fixed with a class or do I need to do some self-study for the next 6 months (to get an understanding) and then revisit the exam?
Any advice, especially some harsh criticism (but not too harsh), is appreciated.
Diagnostic - 530 (Kaplan Percentile Q42%, V33%) - I honestly wasn't super worried about this because I rushed through the test so that I could have 'a score' before starting the class
CAT 2 - 510 (Q38%, V33%) - I tried to answer all the questions using the Kaplan method and failed. My teacher assured me that it would take some time for my score to rise
CAT 3 - 600 (Q59%, V43%) - Finally broke 600! I was pretty pumped
CAT 4 - 560 (Q34%, V56%) - I realized the 600 was a fluke
CAT 5 - 590 (Q51%, V58%) - Better, still not good
CAT 6 - 570 (Q38%, V78%) - Please make note of the difference in quantitative vs. verbal. I didn't see it at the time but this would become a trend
CAT 7 - 620 (Q42%, V95%) - This was 2 days before the exam. I thought that if I could do well enough on the verbal and decent on the math I could bang out a 650
Well, you can see from my actual GMAT that that didn't happen. So my questions to the forum:
Does anyone know how Kaplan's higher score guarantee works? I think I may be eligible for some king of refund.
I know that I need to take the exam again, and I need to do better in the quantitative section, I'm thinking about doing the veritas self study or even a veritas class. Any thoughts?
Also, I'm still not close to the 650-680 range that I need. My low quant scores indicate a basic misunderstanding of some of the concepts tested. Most people that make the type of jump I would like to do end up studying for up to 3 years. Can this be fixed with a class or do I need to do some self-study for the next 6 months (to get an understanding) and then revisit the exam?
Any advice, especially some harsh criticism (but not too harsh), is appreciated.
And I don't want you to think I am some authority to comment. 
