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Mission Unaccomplished...500(Q36,V21)

Find out how Beat The GMAT members tackled GMAT test prep with positive results. Get tips on GMAT test prep materials, online courses, study tips, and more.
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by nothinglessthan780 » Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:17 am
Hi Folks,

Just from sitting my exam.Didnt believe my eyes when i saw 500(Q36,V21)......considering my prep mock tests have been ranging between 610 and 670...

My major weaknesses are:
Quant:
Data Sufficiency
Pacing

Verbal:
Concentration
Stamina/Endurance
CR

I want a score of 700+ .I plan to resit the exam in 6 weeks...

Your ideas on an improvement strategy will be most appreciated.
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by karmayogi » Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:29 pm
Here is my point of view:

I don't know which all colleges you are targetting at and when are you going to apply. However, looking at your GMAT score, your practice test scores and your target score, I would suggest to relax and give yourself a little more time than 6 weeks. You can't improve much in 6 weeks, util you are already good at GMAT and couldn't able to do to the best of your ability in the previous attempt due to some last moment bad circumstances. If you are confident then going for second attempt within 6 weeks is ok. Otherwise, it's better to give yourself a little more time, find your weak points, find the mistakes you did last time, and then go for the second round. Every attempt matters in GMAT, so we should not hurry in taking the test.

The idea is not to discourage you, but to see you successful.

Regarding the strategy, this site has already ample amount of info on strategy; you need to go through the old posts.

Best of luck.
Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divine within.
--By Swami Vivekananda
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by cramya » Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:28 am
Karmayogi, covered it all so I second that.

Take atleast a couple of months before u reappear to conquer the wonderful beast.

Juts my 2 cents...

Regards,
Cramya
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by DanaJ » Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:31 am
While I strongly believe that anyone can get a great score with some hard work, my opinion is that you should really try to set less rigorous standards for yourself.
Your user name vs. your scores... IMHO, 780 is a very high score and only less than 1% of test-takers touch that mark; you need to open your eyes and evaluate your situation realistically. I know we all want that score that makes everyone just say "WOW!", I'm pretty sure it feels great to have people say how good/talented you are, but you need to consider this: the GMAT is only one step towards an MBA. Just setting goals 60 points over the average score for most top schools in the US won't help and you might end up very disappointed.
I'd say: be optimistically realistic and give yourself a break!
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by henryhenry » Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:35 pm
Hey,
Don't let anybody in this forum discourage you that your target is too high,that you need to be realistic about your score,and that you should lower your target score.Go ahead with your target score.If you cant get 780,just make sure you get close to 700.I believe it is when you take task higher than you that realise your potentials.

There are some people here who delight in discouraging others.They are cynics and naysayers.i have seen many people score over 700 from 500+.Thus,your case is not new.It is just that it may take extra time,strong will,and efforts than many people.So,dont let anybody tell you what you are worth.Dont let anybody define what you can do.

My advice.

a)Take holistic view about your strategy.If you pay special attention to your mistakes, i am sure you will notice them.GMAT is all about pattern. Once you notice the way test-writer construct questions and answer choices,every other things will fall into places.

b)Look for inherent traps in every questions that you get wrong and figure out what tempts you to overlook the right answers.What tempts you to pick wrong choice as your anwer.These tips alone will increase your score by 100 marks.

c) Get the needed materials;quality is better than quantity

d)Work hard on your weaknesses.You can turn your weak areas to your strength with efforts

e)Work on fundamentals. Almost all GMAT questions are based on fundamental.

f) Search this forum very well. There are tons of free and cool preparatory materials here.

g) Above all,stay away from negative folks what will say you cant get 700 in GMAT.

Good luck and i wish you well.
David.
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Re: Mission Unaccomplished...500(Q36,V21)

by logitech » Sun Mar 08, 2009 2:43 pm
nothinglessthan780 wrote:Hi Folks,

Just from sitting my exam.Didnt believe my eyes when i saw 500(Q36,V21)......considering my prep mock tests have been ranging between 610 and 670...

My major weaknesses are:
Quant:
Data Sufficiency
Pacing

Verbal:
Concentration
Stamina/Endurance
CR

I want a score of 700+ .I plan to resit the exam in 6 weeks...

Your ideas on an improvement strategy will be most appreciated.
Nobody really needs to score a 700+ to get into a B-School. When I set my goal as 680, people were thinking that I am being modest and I actually wanted to score a 800! -That was not the case.

You are already sitting on a fantastic minority in Business School application pool. I have not seen any Business School, which has more than 40 % women. ( This number is usually between 20-30 %) , and you are from Kenya!

What school on Earth would not want a contributor like yourself in their classroom ? You are a perfect candidate for a diversified student body.

Let's go back to GMAT.

GMAT+ YOU = MBA

That's the equation.

What schools are you planning to apply ? Look at their class profiles ? Are you a fit ? What is their GMAT range ?

For example:

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL:

https://www.hbs.edu/mba/profiles/classprofile.html

GMAT Score Range 550-800

Well, so let me tell you something: You are only 50 points away from Harvard my friend, if the rest of your profile is strong.

Nobody should rely on their GMAT scores.

Oh by the way in the same page you will find out:

Middle 50% GMAT Score Range 700-750

This is just a show off and they are simply just numbers!

We all sometimes forget why we study GMAT...Do you want to go to a business school or score 780 on GMAT ?

Now take a break and get back to GMAT field.

Good luck!
LGTCH
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by DanaJ » Mon Mar 09, 2009 4:58 am
@henryhenry: The only reason why I advise people to be cautious when setting high goals is because I've been through similar situations in my life. The most recent example: I took my high school graduation test some years ago and I'd set the perfect score as my target. Everyone expected nothing less from me, seen as how I had performed in high school. However, it was a disaster: I totally bombed the literature section of the test, even though I'm an avid reader...
I was devastated: crying for nights, couldn't rack up the energy to continue with my prep, since I had my college admissions in less than a month.... However, I realized that I needd to snap out of it and started working on my admissions exam again. This time I set more modest targets: all I wanted was to get in and nothing more, just having a spot over there would have been enough. However, as fate my have it, I managed to get such a high score on the admissions test, that I was the second to be admitted, with a fine scholarship...
So the bottom line is, IMHO: be optimistic and keep your eyes on the prize, but just set a more reasonable target and you will avoid disappointments.

I would NEVER even dare tell nothinglessthan780 what she's worth - no way! I strongly believe that it's not our job to do that, but merely provide different ways of dealing with certain circumstances. The great part is that more than one opinion might come up and she can decide for herself which piece of advice fits her best. This was just my advice and she can either follow it or just forget about it.
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by nothinglessthan780 » Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:44 am
Y'all are great people....Really appreciate your comments:


Logitech,Cramya,henryhenry,Karmayogi:
Was targeting the 3rd round Harvard,Wharton,LBS and IESE for the fall of 2009, but thats out for now.Will try R1 for fall of 2010.
My general profile.
I have 5 years WE,3.68 GPA, an IT graduate and currently an IT team leader in a cellular company.I want a good MBA and want to be a management consultant.I believe a good GMAT score i.e 700+ will enhance my profile.I like setting superhigh standards to test my limits :D :D :D
I really appreciate your encouragement and i have decided to take a one month break...and start gmat prep again in April for 3 months...That should be in good time for R1 applications.Yap, my plan is to focus on my weaknesses and not to neglect my strengths. I know with more practice i can achieve Q51 and V40+ .
Yeah, in Kenya noone really knows about gmat(so beatthegmat gives me a very big sense of belonging and source of inspiration) and 500 is such an achievement since MBA schools here allow scores as low as 450, while some schools dont even need GMAT as an admission requirement.I went for a weekend gmat prep class that lasts for 8 weekends(4 verbal lessons and 4 quant lessons) in Aug-Sept and got nothing much out of it....I should have googled and found beatthegmat before going for that course :) :)

Danaj,
I appreciate your concern on my targetting 780....I would be happy with anything above 700,Its just that i asked myself WHY NOT 780, when i was setting my standards. I understand how frustrating it can be when all eyes on you.I have a couple of friends, one in LBS, another in LSE and another in Yale and some here in Kenya and even my mentors and all their 'eyes have been on me' so i felt the pressure.but you know what i still believe i can score 700+ even 790, its just a matter of time.
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by henryhenry » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:00 pm
@DanaJ

I am not naive to buy your story.I know when someone fabricates story or prevaricates to cover things up.Besides,I took unsentimental look at your posts in this forum and i couldnt find any where you encourage someone who scores 500+ on GMAT. So, don't tell me your comment does not have ulterior motives.Aint buy that at all.Just make sure you dont be on this forum to discourage or disparage folks because they are from Africa or Kenya.And for the record, i am not from Africa or kenya.I am an American by the special grace of God.
This is America.We dont begrude success and we dont discourage people to achieve their full potential.

Let your conscience,if you have any, guide you in all what you do.
David.

Logitech, Cramya,karmayogi
Thanks for the great works you guys are doing in this forum.Keep them up.
God bless you all.
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by aim-wsc » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:20 pm
Forum is for sharing opinions. And people may have different opinions on different subject. It's acceptable & perfectly all right.

we dont have to agree with each poster here.
BUT, BUT, we should respect their views. Please be aware that this is international forum;
and we'll never tolerate country, race or demographics specific comments on the forums. nor personal attacks are acceptable.

.... may continue the discussion but please stick to the topic.
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by TedCornell » Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:49 pm
nothinglessthan780,

I like your revised plan to take a month off and then launch another 3 month assault on the GMAT.

You said you were scoring 600-670 in your practice test. Which tests did you take? If they were good tests and you scored so much lower on the real exam, in my opinion, one or both of the following are happening:

1st possibility: You experience high test anxiety. This happens sometimes with people who feel a lot of pressure (you mentioned that everyone was looking at you and expecting you to achieve) and have trouble focusing on the test alone. During your test if you find yourself wondering what others will think, how you're doing terribly, how your time will run out, how you're probably making careless errors etc... You may have high test anxiety. This is debilitating because it keeps you from focusing on the question at hand.

I think everyone gets anxious for the GMAT because whether we admit it or not, it's a big deal. If you think test anxiety might be a major problem for you, have a look at a book I've used, called Taking the Anxiety Out of Taking Tests by Susan Johnson (ISBN 1-57224-068-7). It's old but it's great :-). I've also attached a document for combatting anxiety that you may find helpful.
*Get it here: https://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/PRAXIS/p ... nxiety.pdf

2nd possibility: You spent plenty of time studying, however you studied "hard" but not "smart" Did you follow a rigid study plan? Did you spend time going over each question? Did you track your progress for specific topics rather than just overall score? Someone else has mentioned, and I would agree 100%, that studying yourself (how you work, how you think, why you pick particular answers) and studying not just what the right answer is, but WHY it's right is extremely important.

This 2nd point was my own downfall. Before my first exam, I studied hard but not smart and I had so-so results. I did much better the second time around. Take a look at my debrief for details https://tinyurl.com/gmatpost

I hope this helps

* Moderator's note: Added link for ETS reducing text anxiety.
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by logitech » Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:51 pm
@ TedCornell - you are a trooper! Thanks for the great post. I will upload this file to "tip of the day" thread, with your permission of course!
LGTCH
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by TedCornell » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:30 pm
Logitech, sure and thanks a bunch.

This forum, along with magictest and gmatclub forums have been very helpful to me, even though I wasn't registered
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by aim-wsc » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:52 pm
TedCornell wrote:Logitech, sure and thanks a bunch.

This forum, along with magictest and gmatclub forums have been very helpful to me, even though I wasn't registered
Thanks for the kind words, & sharing materials with us.
Notice I've added link to that pdf file you uploaded.

thanks.
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by TedCornell » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:58 pm
aim-wsc,

"Adding a link" <-- not sure what it means as I'm a newbie. I thought once a user uploads a file it automatically shows up as a link for all who browse that topic to download. You moved the link to a central location?
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