A little background about me:
I took a GMAT test last year around May, without much studying and preparation, and I score a 590 (can't remember the exact breakdown between Quant and Verbal, I think it was Q36/V33). While not that impressive of a score, nevertheless it was still a good starting point for a novice. I've been out of school for a while (28yr old, finished undergrad back in 2005) and I figured it'd be good for me to enroll in some college level math and other biz related classes and I did well, got A in all 3 classes (2 college Algebra and Macroeconomic).
I think I am somewhat of an avid follower of BTG: I followed quite a few experts on here and the most active posters/responders since it'll save me some time from having to browse through all the questions in the forum. I set myself up to receive the daily feed from the people I follow and I am able to crack a lot of questions that I've come across, about 7-9 out of every 10 quant questions and 6-8 for every 10 verbal. I've yet to study any offical source of GMAT materials/publication beside following along with the questions posted here. I've been doing this for about 3-4 months now.
Feeling fairly confident about my ability, I took a GMAT practice test from GMAC and gauge where I stand, expecting myself to score better 590. And what a surprise (more disappointment) it was when I see my score - a whopping 580! :<
I am scheduled to take the exam on 11/19. I realized I don't have much time left but I am fairly confident that I can do better than a 580, possibly around 650 is where I think I should be at. For some reason when I took the practice test at home, despite having gone through the experience once already in the actual setting, I sat frozen in front of my laptop as I was taking the test and just could not think straight for the life of me. I've decide to sign up for the free exams to get myself more familarize with the actual test (and find some confidence that I should know most of the stuff and can do well). I am looking at the free materials on this site, among others.
I think it just comes down to actual practice, since I never really dedicated much time on any official GMAT testing materials. But I still want to share my dilemma here and see what if anyone here, especially the experts, have any advises for someone like me who is in a bind...
Thank you very much in advance, and good luck to you all applicants as well! I've learned a lot from every one of you and please keep up the good work!
I took a GMAT test last year around May, without much studying and preparation, and I score a 590 (can't remember the exact breakdown between Quant and Verbal, I think it was Q36/V33). While not that impressive of a score, nevertheless it was still a good starting point for a novice. I've been out of school for a while (28yr old, finished undergrad back in 2005) and I figured it'd be good for me to enroll in some college level math and other biz related classes and I did well, got A in all 3 classes (2 college Algebra and Macroeconomic).
I think I am somewhat of an avid follower of BTG: I followed quite a few experts on here and the most active posters/responders since it'll save me some time from having to browse through all the questions in the forum. I set myself up to receive the daily feed from the people I follow and I am able to crack a lot of questions that I've come across, about 7-9 out of every 10 quant questions and 6-8 for every 10 verbal. I've yet to study any offical source of GMAT materials/publication beside following along with the questions posted here. I've been doing this for about 3-4 months now.
Feeling fairly confident about my ability, I took a GMAT practice test from GMAC and gauge where I stand, expecting myself to score better 590. And what a surprise (more disappointment) it was when I see my score - a whopping 580! :<
I am scheduled to take the exam on 11/19. I realized I don't have much time left but I am fairly confident that I can do better than a 580, possibly around 650 is where I think I should be at. For some reason when I took the practice test at home, despite having gone through the experience once already in the actual setting, I sat frozen in front of my laptop as I was taking the test and just could not think straight for the life of me. I've decide to sign up for the free exams to get myself more familarize with the actual test (and find some confidence that I should know most of the stuff and can do well). I am looking at the free materials on this site, among others.
I think it just comes down to actual practice, since I never really dedicated much time on any official GMAT testing materials. But I still want to share my dilemma here and see what if anyone here, especially the experts, have any advises for someone like me who is in a bind...
Thank you very much in advance, and good luck to you all applicants as well! I've learned a lot from every one of you and please keep up the good work!
