I just Beat The GMAT!

I gave my GMAT on the 3rd of Dec (sorry for the late debrief I was away on a nice vacation for 9 days ) Well I did not have a pleasant experience with GMAT and ultimately scored a 650 (Q46 V35) on D-day.

I started my exam really well. Got some decent AWA essays and moved on to the quant section. Things were going fine till the 22nd question in quant after which my scrap book got over. The test center where i gave my test you are supposed to ring an electronic bell and call for assistance. So I kept ringing the bell next to my pc but no one came and after ringing the bell continously i realized that the bell was not working!!! So basically, due to lack of working space, I had no option but to sit and solve the remaining 15 questions with whatever space I could find and I ultimately lost my cool and did some mental calculations and made educated guesses on most questions, that is what cost me those extra 3-4 points on the quant section.

Somehow I finished my quant section but had unfortunately lost my confidence. I just wanted to cancel my score, break the PC and walk out. I left the room during the break, went out and cooled my self down and then I remembered the following line schakiiieee had mentioned in his debrief

"Okay Mr. GMAT, if you take my strength away from me, watch out what I do to yours (Verbal)."

That line (and the fact that I couldn't waste the $250 I had paid) actually helped me gain back some of my confidence and go back and continue my exam. So basically I had a frustrating fight with GMAT got punched really hard, but I tried to fight back with whatever energy I had.

Now the big question. I know this sounds cliched but Im confused if I should give the gmat another go. I know that in the quant section I can get a score higher than 46 but whats confusing me is that if I can achieve a score of 35 in verbal again, considering verbal is not my forte and English is not my second language (Im of Indian origin). And also the fact that if it wouldn't have been for that stupid bell I could have scored a 49 in Q and 700 in GMAT (that feeling is not letting me live in peace).
I know 650 is a decent score but then its just the borderline, my aim is to be in the 680+ league.
Need advices badly!!!

GMAT Prep VS Actual GMAT

The quant section in the actual GMAT is way tougher and had more lenghtier calculations than the gmat prep questions. For people who hate DS I have bad news majority of my questions were DS that too inequalities (some even had absolute values in them!!!)

The difficulty level in the verbal section was more or less the same. However, my CR was a mixed bag. I got 2-3 evaluate the following, 1 Bold faced, 2 inference, 1 complete the following, 1 assumption and very few strengthen and weaken. So make sure your good in all sections of CR. RC was easy and written in a humanly understandable form (thankfully!!).

Thank yous

Ok my following section will sound as if Im giving an oscar speech or something but these guys deserve special attention and a hugee thank you.

King of Verbal: Undoubtedly iamcste. Dude your verbal tips and the way you attack SC questions by doing a grammatical post mortem of the question is brilliant. My advice: anybody who wants to improve their verbal accuracy considerably should definitely check out iamcste's posts they are absolutely priceless!!!

Kings of quant: who else but parallel chase and cramya. you guys have the most amazing shortcuts and methods to solve maths questions explained in a user friendly way

Gods of GMAT: Stuart Ron Stacey I mean they are GMAT simplified. I can go on and on regarding how helpful their tips and advices have been in improving my performance. And definitely BTG. Thanks a tonnnn Eric for creating this forum I mean I cant imagine what my score would be if this forum was not there. (420 I guess)

And Ive saved the biggest THANK YOU for the last to the KING of GMAT: Logitech . I owe 150 points to this guy seriously. Hes a walking talking OG and Manhattan and BTG forum in short. His advices and tips on anything (not just GMAT) are simply priceless. He selflessly guided me throughout my last few days of my prep. If it wasnt for him I doubt I would have crossed 600. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH BUDDY. I owe you big big time bro.

Ok I got a little carried away while writing this debrief and I apologize for the length!!!
So guys, coming back to the main point, feel free to give advices regarding what I should do next. Should I go for another shot at GMAT? [/u]

Thanks and all the best !


more via PM

I never felt sorry for GMAT before but this time..I have to say it:

WATCH OUT GMAT! She is coming for you!

I don't think you can score more than 6.0 AWA but GMAT still owes you 5 points on quant. here is the golden tip:

WRITE SMALL!

Mals24 vs Verbal

well this fight should be on PAY PER VIEW...

And I really am sorry what will happen to you GMAT. You just have woken up the sleeping Verbal Beast in her!

RUN!!

mals,

what was your testing center?

650 is a decent score. From my little experience of admissions process I have come to find that if you are aiming for TOP 5 b-schools GMAT is not even an issue. They always consider the entire application.

If you are aiming for below top 5 i.e. top 20 something, GMAT sadly becomes a big issue, because these guys cannot afford to go down the ranking system and GMAT is an important part of every ranking system used.

Here is link that will give a clear idea what Wharton thinks about GMAT
https://www.pagalguy.com/index.php?categ ... icleid=492

GSB, HArvard think along the same lines.

So if those schools are on your list kindly forget about GMAT and get down to applications coz deadlines are approaching swimmingly.

If you dont plan to apply this year, then go for another shot, I am sure you can do it.

On GMAT there is only one King - Verbal, Verbal & VERBAL.

All the best.

Mals24,
First of all congrats on a good score & thanks for the kind words!

Personally I think u r of 700 caliber on the GMAT. You could have easily got a 50/51 in quant if not for the rough sheet mishap.

If 650 score is enough to get u in to your school of choice then I woudnt be spending $250 again. If not then u should defintely take the GMAT again. U could definitely get 50-100 points more IMO.

Best of luck and keep us updated on your decisions! Do keep sharing your thoughts on the qaunt forum from time to time

If u do decide to take the GMAT again mye best wishes for your debrief to read "I killed the CAT"

Regards,
Cramya

Hi Mals,

Yes as everyone said 650 is a very decent score and almost falls in the mid 80% of most of the top schools. I and PC have been doing extensive reseach on the B school( TOP B schools - Finance) and have been chatting with lot of current students and Adcoms ..

Have a look at that the wharton Adcom link which Pc has sent u .. really very very good and inspiring ..

To be very honest to you ... i would say if ur aiming for top 10 schools, GMAT is just a number for them . I f u done very well in u career till date .. a mere 3-4 hrs exam cannot decide ur future or calibre. It can only offset ur low GPAs in ur undergrads. and shows the adcom that the applicant can fare well @ 1st yr at a top school considering their rigorous academics..

I can give u lot of examples of girls/women who have made to top schools even with a very low gmat . Believe me being a girl itself is a huge advantage. I wish i were one Bschools cant run with only male applicants. I personally know Simba ( pagalguy - 640 gmat i guess) is in Duke , Burku ( Businessweek - 600 gmat) is in Wharton ( sakina - beatthe gmat - 610) cornell johnson ..

Believe me there are certain schools like GSB Chicago booth - dont look favourably at applicants who have given gmat more than thrice.

If i were in ur stage , i would probably sit back and concentrate on application. Believe me it takes 100 % more time than preparing for Gmat with All R2 deadlines in jan 5- 15th and being an international Applicant . we dont have any time left..

As u move on the ladder of ranking say 15- 25 .. Most of these schools have to concentrate on gmat to be in reckoning .. but HSW dont have to . even if tomorrow HSW are ranked 30 31 and 40 in thw world . Applicants will not stop applying to them . so they have that freedom to play with gmat ranges which unfortunately isnt the case with most of the school outside top 10-15.

Stop thinking abt gmat if u wanna be in top 10 schools.. ...its done !!! ..Move ahead with ur application .. and All the very best..

Now .. We wanna see ur name in "Admissions Success stories" thread. I am sure u can do it ...

Do let us know if u need any more help ...

Sudhir

Congrats, Mals!

I am fairly new here, and your debrief (plus the comments from other "experts") is inspiring to me. It's giving me a positive feeling towards my own GMAT goals.

Cheers!

Thanks a tonn guys for all your replies and also about the whole female applicants thing (I dint know about that). Im not applying for next year's batch (my target is 2011 batch) but since I had ample free time with me right now I thought Ill give a shot at GMAT and get over with it. I know 650 is a good score, its just the fact that I was soo close to scoring a 680+ but got pulled back doesnt let me rest in peace.

My target schools are ISB, York, Duke and Wharton. Now Duke and Wharton are not that fussy about the GMAT scores, but from what Ive heard about York and ISB, the minimum GMAT score just keeps increasing (especially in ISB). So I guess Ill give my GMAT another (and final) shot in Jan.

@niraj

My test center was New Horizons in Dubai. But they've added a new test center (I hope they have better and working bells, if not Im planning on carrying my own bell).

@ logitech

No comments pay per view seriously!!!

I feel like my next attempt will be more like a war or something.

So I guess its time to kick some GMAT ass and get back to action.

thanks for the info mals

from my research and talks with adcoms ranging from columbia to virginia (cbs included), i concur with what everyone else here has attested, that when it comes to mba admissions, you are at an advantage being female. its their whole diversity funda.

congrats!

Congrats Mals24...

Take the test once more .The Score is far below ur standards

Thanks crazy4gmat... Im raring to go for another try now (I feel like writing an exam tomorrow itself.)

@ajrulez

woah im glad I could inspire someone...good luck with your prep.

Thats the spirit Mals! Looking forward to your posts again on the quant forum...

Tip of the day:

If you really want to increase your chances to get into a business school..Have a GMAT reassignment surgery guys!!

You can always change it back once you are accepted!!

Okay...enough with jokes!

Mals24, sista!!

V35: should be your base from now on. And I know you can put points on this.

Q46: I don't think you have ever scored 46 in any of your prep tests and in this case, your 46 was due to the logistic problems.

Just take 4 more GMAT prep ( 2x2) and review your weak areas and slap the GMAT in the face...

IT IS ON!! Put your mask on! It is G-time!!

"If better is possible, then good is not enough.." G.L. Graziadio