640. Scheduled retake for Aug 8th

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jjk: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 43; Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:56 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times; GMAT Score:730

by jjk » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:31 pm

Hey all,

So I took the GMAT on Monday and got a 640 (40 Q, 38 V). I definitely think my nerves got to me a bit and the data sufficiency questions seemed to be a step in difficulty above what I was expecting.

I'm just having a hard time figuring out how I lost my composure when the quant section began. I did all 1400 practice problems in the official original, quant, and verbal guides and got 85% of them right on my first run through. I redid all the problems and paid particular attention to the ones I missed and figured out why I missed them.

My practice exam scores were as follows:

Powerprep 1: 690 (47 Q, 40 V)
Powerprep 2: 730 (49 Q, 41 V)
GMATPrep 1: 710 (48 Q, 41 V)
GMATPrep 1 (retake): 720 (48 Q, 41 V)
GMATPrep 2: 740 (49 Q, 42 V) (2 days before the real thing)

I even did some extra Powerprep practice problems the morning of the real test and got all those right. I felt real good and calm going in.

What started it all was the first difficult data sufficiency problem. Knowing that it required more care than other problems, my concentration got paralyzed by my nerves and I started worrying about time management. I wasn't jittering or shaking, but I could definitely feel my heart pounding faster and I felt "stuck."

I'm looking into shortcuts to help me work through more difficult problems faster b/c I don't want to panic over time management when such problems appear. I also noticed I had some trouble retaining about a third of what I read in RC and CR problems.

Maybe it's just a matter of nerves and maybe I'll be relaxed and unflappable the next go-round. Anyone got any advice?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — I just Beat The GMAT! | Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:31 pm

jjk: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 43; Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:56 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times; GMAT Score:730

by jjk » Sat Jul 04, 2009 12:21 pm

Hey guys, if anyone can help, it'd be greatly appreciated.

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ogbeni: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 186; Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 7:50 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times

by ogbeni » Sun Jul 05, 2009 3:35 pm

Just stay calm on your retake and you'll be just fine.

On that note, let that be the aim of your upcoming practice tests (to attack difficult questions in a calm manner and without freaking out). In my case I noticed I wrote quicker but as I did so, my writing would not be clear and my thinking as well. Then I told myself 'wait a minute', how much time am I really saving? I'm going to be calm and think through things (though not as sloth).

You seem to know the material. Just work on the nerves and you'll get your target score

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jjk: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 43; Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:56 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times; GMAT Score:730

by jjk » Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:15 pm

Thanks, ogbeni. I think another cause of my downfall was that the OGs don't have enough super-difficult quant problems. I could easily burn through the quant problems that were a step below in difficulty, but the quant problems on the actual GMAT were excruciating. The shock of not being adequately prepared for certain problems really got me.

GMATHacks has helped me a lot the past few days b/c Jeff's articles cover helpful strategies that show you how to do problems faster w/o abandoning fundamentals.

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ogbeni: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 186; Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 7:50 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 10 times

by ogbeni » Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:17 am

Can you post the articles from GMATHacks?

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indir0ver: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 45; Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2009 2:42 am; Location: UK

hi

by indir0ver » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:05 am

my question is related to yours a bit. if I am appearing second time and my second score is less than first which one will be counted by the school am applying to?

Last edited by indir0ver on Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

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rockyb: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 17; Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:35 am; Location: Wellesley, MA; Thanked: 3 times; GMAT Score:740

by rockyb » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:05 am

hi jjk,

tough luck! i feel it was a matter of nerves for you since ur test scores are in range.

i also found the ds problems on the gmat a lot tougher than the gmatprep tests.

i guess in ur case, just relax and keep calm in ur next take. i guess u have the ability. just believe in urself and u shuld be fine.

all the very best!

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El Cucu: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 236; Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:16 am; Thanked: 9 times

Re: 640. Scheduled retake for Aug 8th

by El Cucu » Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:27 am

jjk wrote:Hey all,

So I took the GMAT on Monday and got a 640 (40 Q, 38 V). I definitely think my nerves got to me a bit and the data sufficiency questions seemed to be a step in difficulty above what I was expecting.

I'm just having a hard time figuring out how I lost my composure when the quant section began. I did all 1400 practice problems in the official original, quant, and verbal guides and got 85% of them right on my first run through. I redid all the problems and paid particular attention to the ones I missed and figured out why I missed them.

My practice exam scores were as follows:

Powerprep 1: 690 (47 Q, 40 V)
Powerprep 2: 730 (49 Q, 41 V)
GMATPrep 1: 710 (48 Q, 41 V)
GMATPrep 1 (retake): 720 (48 Q, 41 V)
GMATPrep 2: 740 (49 Q, 42 V) (2 days before the real thing)

I even did some extra Powerprep practice problems the morning of the real test and got all those right. I felt real good and calm going in.

What started it all was the first difficult data sufficiency problem. Knowing that it required more care than other problems, my concentration got paralyzed by my nerves and I started worrying about time management. I wasn't jittering or shaking, but I could definitely feel my heart pounding faster and I felt "stuck."

I'm looking into shortcuts to help me work through more difficult problems faster b/c I don't want to panic over time management when such problems appear. I also noticed I had some trouble retaining about a third of what I read in RC and CR problems.

Maybe it's just a matter of nerves and maybe I'll be relaxed and unflappable the next go-round. Anyone got any advice?

For DS it is important to rephrase the question. Sometimes the question seems very difficult but after some factoring or some 10seconds thought the question can be simplify.
For RC you can take notes on only the important ideas of each paragraph.
For CR pay attention to the conclusion and premises and the scope of the argument. Final advice, I wouldn´t focus to much in verbal as your score is already a very good one.

Can you tell us what kind of issues do you remember having in the test? Example too many geometry problems, some combinatorics, and so on. Verbal: lot of modifiers, etc.
Tks

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ozzy10fl: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 28; Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:18 am; GMAT Score:700

by ozzy10fl » Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:30 am

Same exact thing happened to me. I got a 620 the first time, but I was nervous and not relaxed. I took it the second time and got a 700. I also made sure I took an afternoon test and not a morning exam. Going in there relaxed with nothing to lose is the best way to score high (provided you studied hard).

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benissleeping: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 1:20 am; Thanked: 2 times

by benissleeping » Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:41 am

I agree that the real test is certainly a step up from the OG. But do enough DS questions and you will start to get a feel for it. Worst comes to worst, you can quickly eliminate some choices and make an educated guess on the most difficult DS questions. (i.e. the answer tends not to be E on difficult questions).

That was my method......did the test on Monday got 730, will post my prep in the upcoming days.

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