I just Beat The GMAT!

All,

I am posting as a follow-up to my first experience with the GMAT. During my first exam I encountered and issue with my workstation. I ultimately scored V47Q35 for a combined 680. I was aiming for 700+, and believed I could do better on the verbal section. Pearson issued me a voucher to retake the exam for free because of the hiccup.

I faired better on the second go-round but was completely confused by the results. I took GMAT Pt. Deux yesterday and ended up with a Q42V42 for a combined 690 -- a decent score, but barely short of my stated personal goal. The challenge this time around was my drop in the quantitative section.

My question for the group at large is whether or not it's worth going a third round? I know that many schools take your best overall performance but I really feel like each exam only partially represents my capabilities (i.e. the huge "flip-flop" in percentile ranking of each respective section between the two seatings).

At this point, my gut is leaning toward not taking the exam again. Either which way, I will not be applying until next year for the 2010-2011 programs.


Now that I've gotten that out of the way, for those of you who care to hear my approach it is as follows:

*Used Manhattan GMAT self-guided preparatory course -- I highly recommend this program if you've been out of school for 4+ years.

*Reviewed all of the information on this website
-Take note of the SC links and information, they really helped -- the flash cards are also excellent but I wouldn't utilize them until you've established the fundamentals on your own

*Do an inordinate amount of problems built as miniature GMAT tests.
-I would typically do 16-20 quantitative problems and a equal-weighted mix of RC/SC/CR problems. I would then review the problems noting those that either took me too long, those that I answered incorrect, or those that I was less sure of.
-For verbal problems, really scrutinize what makes a wrong answer just that...wrong. There are a lot of subtleties to learn, but once you pick up on them you'll understand the patterns; try to recognize the patterns and master them.

*I took one practice CAT per weekend.
-This is where it gets frustrating, without hashing out my experience during each, I typically scored 680-730 on any given seating (typically 700+).

*Your best resources are the OG books. Use prep course material as a foundation to understand concepts and fundamentals. No one's simulated materials (style of question, nature of subtleties, on-par level of difficulty) truly replicates the GMAC's OG problems. Become familiar with these and your studies should pay off.

*Lastly, if you're anything at all like me and think anxiety might get the best of you on test day, then truly plan to take the GMAT twice. While my particular experience didn't pay off with respect to a massive score increase, I will tell you that it was much less stressful taking the exam the second time.

Good luck to everyone out there.

In advance, I thank the group for any responses to my questions above.

Best,


Josh

I'd agree with you on probably not taking the test again, unless you're absolutely certain that you'll score better on a third test. Keep in mind that the scoring margin of error on the actual GMAT is +/- 30 points, so your scores of 680 and 690 are pretty much in the same range as your practice tests. Also, depending on which practice tests you took, the margin of error could be even bigger (meaning, all the test companies can only take their best guesses as to how the algorithm on the actual GMAT works).

Good luck, whatever you decide!