-
brianm
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 7:28 am
- Thanked: 10 times
- Followed by:1 members
- GMAT Score:710
*Disclaimer: I am aware the term "bombed" is relative. I've read a few posts around here saying that words like that in this context might be offensive to some. I don't mean to offend anyone by saying I "bombed" the exam with the score that I got. I have very high expectations for myself, I am planning to apply to top 10 schools, and I had reason to believe I would get 700+ (my original goal).
This is long - my apologies. I think it helps me to write it all out and just get it out there.
I only registered for an account today, but I have been reading the forums for a few months now and have gained a lot of information in preparation for my GMAT. I was hoping I would be able to share a happy story today, but instead, I'm mentally preparing myself for more studying and a re-take.
A little background about me - I'm 25 years old, US citizen, graduated with a BBA with high distinction from Michigan, and work at a boutique marketing strategy/new product development consulting firm.
I picked up the OG 11 in December of last year as I started to think about taking the GMAT. I did a few problems and left it lying around as I focused on other commitments. Come April I realized I better get my butt in gear and I buckled down to study. Overall, I studied 2-3 days a week during the work week and 2-3 hours on the weekend.
Shortly after I bought the Kaplan complete study guide because I heard it was harder than the actual exam. Breezed through that and took my first practice test online. Got a 650. I could handle that - after all, it was my first practice test, things had to go up from here.
I continued to fit studying in between long work days and ended up scheduling my GMAT for July 21st. It was shortly after a major deadline at work and before my birthday, so I thought it would be a good birthday present to myself to get it out of the way. Unfortunately, because of the major work deadline, I didn't get any studying in two weeks before the exam.
I think I got nervous and overcompensated by taking a lot of exams. I analyzed the problems I missed, but I don't think I spent enough time with them. Still, on the practice tests I took, the scores I got gave me confidence that I would meet my 700+ goal.
My practice test breakdown is as follows:
6/14: Kaplan CAT: 650 total, Q43, V39
6/20: MGMAT CAT #1: 680 total, Q47, V36
6/28: MGMAT CAT #2: 690 total, Q43, V40
7/3: GMAT Prep #1: 710 total, Q45, V42
7/18: MGMAT CAT #3: 710 total, Q42, V45
7/18: MGMAT CAT #4: 650 total, Q44, V35
7/19: MGMAT CAT #5: 740 total, Q46, V45
7/20: GMAT Prep #2: 700 total, Q44, V41
As you can see, my practice test schedule got very stupid the weekend before the test (including taking 2 in one day - one in the AM, one in the PM. DO NOT DO THIS EVER!!!). I think I psyched myself out knowing that I hadn't been able to study for a week while I took care of a major work deadline, and tried to cram for it. In retrospect I should not have done this for multiple reasons, but all in all, I still felt good going into the test given I was getting mostly 700+ scores.
I got to the test center Tuesday morning for my 8 am exam. Signed in and got cracking on my first essay. The proctor immediately taps me on my shoulder and points to the screen. I look at the top of the screen where I notice the name at the top is not my name! They signed me in as the wrong person. Our names were not even close to the same.
So I have to leave and re-sign in, re-scan my palm, and get my picture re-taken. I plop back down at the computer and get started again. The essays were pretty easy and I felt good about them, so I thought I was off to a great start. I took my break, ate a banana, and sat down for quant.
Quant was my biggest concern. I was up and down with quant. Overall, I felt about as good as I could have hoped with the quant. I had to guess on a few but was able to make educated guesses, and I never really felt stuck or panicked. Finished up that section with 5 seconds left and took a short break, knowing that my bread and butter, verbal, was the last piece of the puzzle.
I sat down and tackled the first few problems. I think the first 3 were sentence correction, which I feel really confident about. RCs were alright, but the second one was long and very complicated. I had a feeling I missed one or two of the 3 questions about it but I didn't feel like I bombed it. The rest of the verbal section wasn't too bad in my opinion - I felt pretty good about all but maybe one or two answers.
I finished up with about 5 minutes left over and finally got to the report score screen. I clicked "report scores" and felt my heart beating out of my chest (I suffer from panic attacks so this is a bit scary for me). The score comes up...
650. Q46. V34.
I think I sighed really loud and a few others heard me. Based on my practice exams I thought for sure I was on pace for a 700+. I felt like someone just sucker punched me. I didn't think the verbal was THAT hard, so I was stunned at my craptastic verbal score.
I left the test center so distraught and frustrated, I didn't know what to do. It was such a lonely feeling.
Today I'm feeling a bit better, so I thought I would share my story and what I learned from my experience.
1. Pace your studying properly. I took way too many practice exams before the test. I didn't feel like they were wearing me down, but I'm sure they did. I should know better - I have trained for 2 marathons. I should know the week leading up to the marathon is time to rest for your best performance. I screwed myself for that test as well as my next ones because I don't have as many fresh questions as I should.
2. LEARN from the practice tests. I'll be honest - I reviewed my wrong answers, but did not fully digest exactly what the answer explanations were teaching me. I paid for this big time.
3. Don't think you "deserve" anything on the real test because you did well on a practice test. I like to think I am fairly humble, but I think a small part of me thought somewhere deep in my brain thought I would just waltz in and get my 700+ because of my practice exam scores. For whatever reason, the real thing was a completely different animal for me. I tried my hardest, but I think part of me somewhere in my subconscious thought I had it in the bag before I got into the test center.
I'm sure there are other things I could come up with, but right now I'm just focusing on my game plan for round 2. I want to apply to Haas, Kellogg, McCombs, and possibly Anderson and Fuqua for full time Fall 2010. I am not going to let this one test get in my way.
(By the way, is anyone still reading this?)
So my plan is to do the following before I take it again in late August/early September:
0. Birthday party and forget about GMAT for a week or two.
1. Go through all my OG questions and create an error log. Study this.
2. Browse this site for other tutorials I could use to study. I am going to use this opportunity to improve my quant AND verbal. I'm going to do better than I ever thought I could.
3. No more than one practice test a week. Spend time going over EVERY question, right or wrong, and add to the error log as needed.
4. No tests 5 days before the actual exam. Only practice problems, and spend as much time reviewing the answer as I did completing the problems.
So thanks for reading. If you have any comments or suggestions I am obviously open to them. This site has been a great resource for me and I hope this story can help someone if they have a disappointing test day relative to their expectations.
-Brian
This is long - my apologies. I think it helps me to write it all out and just get it out there.
I only registered for an account today, but I have been reading the forums for a few months now and have gained a lot of information in preparation for my GMAT. I was hoping I would be able to share a happy story today, but instead, I'm mentally preparing myself for more studying and a re-take.
A little background about me - I'm 25 years old, US citizen, graduated with a BBA with high distinction from Michigan, and work at a boutique marketing strategy/new product development consulting firm.
I picked up the OG 11 in December of last year as I started to think about taking the GMAT. I did a few problems and left it lying around as I focused on other commitments. Come April I realized I better get my butt in gear and I buckled down to study. Overall, I studied 2-3 days a week during the work week and 2-3 hours on the weekend.
Shortly after I bought the Kaplan complete study guide because I heard it was harder than the actual exam. Breezed through that and took my first practice test online. Got a 650. I could handle that - after all, it was my first practice test, things had to go up from here.
I continued to fit studying in between long work days and ended up scheduling my GMAT for July 21st. It was shortly after a major deadline at work and before my birthday, so I thought it would be a good birthday present to myself to get it out of the way. Unfortunately, because of the major work deadline, I didn't get any studying in two weeks before the exam.
I think I got nervous and overcompensated by taking a lot of exams. I analyzed the problems I missed, but I don't think I spent enough time with them. Still, on the practice tests I took, the scores I got gave me confidence that I would meet my 700+ goal.
My practice test breakdown is as follows:
6/14: Kaplan CAT: 650 total, Q43, V39
6/20: MGMAT CAT #1: 680 total, Q47, V36
6/28: MGMAT CAT #2: 690 total, Q43, V40
7/3: GMAT Prep #1: 710 total, Q45, V42
7/18: MGMAT CAT #3: 710 total, Q42, V45
7/18: MGMAT CAT #4: 650 total, Q44, V35
7/19: MGMAT CAT #5: 740 total, Q46, V45
7/20: GMAT Prep #2: 700 total, Q44, V41
As you can see, my practice test schedule got very stupid the weekend before the test (including taking 2 in one day - one in the AM, one in the PM. DO NOT DO THIS EVER!!!). I think I psyched myself out knowing that I hadn't been able to study for a week while I took care of a major work deadline, and tried to cram for it. In retrospect I should not have done this for multiple reasons, but all in all, I still felt good going into the test given I was getting mostly 700+ scores.
I got to the test center Tuesday morning for my 8 am exam. Signed in and got cracking on my first essay. The proctor immediately taps me on my shoulder and points to the screen. I look at the top of the screen where I notice the name at the top is not my name! They signed me in as the wrong person. Our names were not even close to the same.
So I have to leave and re-sign in, re-scan my palm, and get my picture re-taken. I plop back down at the computer and get started again. The essays were pretty easy and I felt good about them, so I thought I was off to a great start. I took my break, ate a banana, and sat down for quant.
Quant was my biggest concern. I was up and down with quant. Overall, I felt about as good as I could have hoped with the quant. I had to guess on a few but was able to make educated guesses, and I never really felt stuck or panicked. Finished up that section with 5 seconds left and took a short break, knowing that my bread and butter, verbal, was the last piece of the puzzle.
I sat down and tackled the first few problems. I think the first 3 were sentence correction, which I feel really confident about. RCs were alright, but the second one was long and very complicated. I had a feeling I missed one or two of the 3 questions about it but I didn't feel like I bombed it. The rest of the verbal section wasn't too bad in my opinion - I felt pretty good about all but maybe one or two answers.
I finished up with about 5 minutes left over and finally got to the report score screen. I clicked "report scores" and felt my heart beating out of my chest (I suffer from panic attacks so this is a bit scary for me). The score comes up...
650. Q46. V34.
I think I sighed really loud and a few others heard me. Based on my practice exams I thought for sure I was on pace for a 700+. I felt like someone just sucker punched me. I didn't think the verbal was THAT hard, so I was stunned at my craptastic verbal score.
I left the test center so distraught and frustrated, I didn't know what to do. It was such a lonely feeling.
Today I'm feeling a bit better, so I thought I would share my story and what I learned from my experience.
1. Pace your studying properly. I took way too many practice exams before the test. I didn't feel like they were wearing me down, but I'm sure they did. I should know better - I have trained for 2 marathons. I should know the week leading up to the marathon is time to rest for your best performance. I screwed myself for that test as well as my next ones because I don't have as many fresh questions as I should.
2. LEARN from the practice tests. I'll be honest - I reviewed my wrong answers, but did not fully digest exactly what the answer explanations were teaching me. I paid for this big time.
3. Don't think you "deserve" anything on the real test because you did well on a practice test. I like to think I am fairly humble, but I think a small part of me thought somewhere deep in my brain thought I would just waltz in and get my 700+ because of my practice exam scores. For whatever reason, the real thing was a completely different animal for me. I tried my hardest, but I think part of me somewhere in my subconscious thought I had it in the bag before I got into the test center.
I'm sure there are other things I could come up with, but right now I'm just focusing on my game plan for round 2. I want to apply to Haas, Kellogg, McCombs, and possibly Anderson and Fuqua for full time Fall 2010. I am not going to let this one test get in my way.
(By the way, is anyone still reading this?)
So my plan is to do the following before I take it again in late August/early September:
0. Birthday party and forget about GMAT for a week or two.
1. Go through all my OG questions and create an error log. Study this.
2. Browse this site for other tutorials I could use to study. I am going to use this opportunity to improve my quant AND verbal. I'm going to do better than I ever thought I could.
3. No more than one practice test a week. Spend time going over EVERY question, right or wrong, and add to the error log as needed.
4. No tests 5 days before the actual exam. Only practice problems, and spend as much time reviewing the answer as I did completing the problems.
So thanks for reading. If you have any comments or suggestions I am obviously open to them. This site has been a great resource for me and I hope this story can help someone if they have a disappointing test day relative to their expectations.
-Brian
