I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi guys,

Gave my GMAT yesterday and got a score of 660. I was devastated after seeing the computer screen. Quant was definitely tough in the actual GMAT. I did the mgmat tests while the mgmat tests had a lot of tough questions i managed to get 49-50 in them but yesterday in the GMAT i got only 47 and that I'm sure brought me down to below 700 for i kept scoring 710-740 in my MGMAT and GMATPrep tests. Also verbal felt so damn easy to me but somehow i was shocked after seeing a paltry 34. I was consistently scoring in the 39-42 range in MGMAT Tests.

Now that I am planning for a retake in the first week of August Please suggest me the proper material to read. As far as my opinion goes OG12 is useless for quant teh real deal is WAAAAAYYY tougher.

I have been reading a lot about LSAT RCS and CRS could you give me the names of the exact sources of these? Also i need some practice for SCs. I'm think i do scs reasonably well as I did go through MGMAT SC guide.

Now i will settle for nothing less than a 99%. Please help me achieve this goal.

Thanks and regards,
Phani Deepak.

Why were you devastated with a 660 score? The last time I checked 660 was the typical average (and above the median) for schools in the top 20.

Which schools are you trying to get into? Why will a school which will accept a 660 score not help you achieve your long term goals? Or do you not know what they are?

Are you part of an over-represented group where the only differentiator is the GMAT score in lieu of work experience or remarkable achievement beyond promotion?

Or is it a status thing? As in, "I cannot face my friends and family unless I achieve over 700."

I'm just trying to understand a trend I keep seeing on this forum where 650+ is considered bombing the GMAT.

ferma wrote:Why were you devastated with a 660 score? The last time I checked 660 was the typical average (and above the median) for schools in the top 20.

Which schools are you trying to get into? Why will a school which will accept a 660 score not help you achieve your long term goals? Or do you not know what they are?

Are you part of an over-represented group where the only differentiator is the GMAT score in lieu of work experience or remarkable achievement beyond promotion?

Or is it a status thing? As in, "I cannot face my friends and family unless I achieve over 700."

I'm just trying to understand a trend I keep seeing on this forum where 650+ is considered bombing the GMAT.

It's likely a mix of all the things you mentioned. A high GMAT score is something you can taut and relish in. It improves your chances of getting into a strong B-school when your work experience is shorter (<5 years).

ferma wrote:Why were you devastated with a 660 score? The last time I checked 660 was the typical average (and above the median) for schools in the top 20.

Which schools are you trying to get into? Why will a school which will accept a 660 score not help you achieve your long term goals? Or do you not know what they are?

Are you part of an over-represented group where the only differentiator is the GMAT score in lieu of work experience or remarkable achievement beyond promotion?

Or is it a status thing? As in, "I cannot face my friends and family unless I achieve over 700."

I'm just trying to understand a trend I keep seeing on this forum where 650+ is considered bombing the GMAT.

Hey ferma I am devastated because i have about 2.5 years of exp as of now and i will be applying for the admissions in 2012.

Given that my experience is in the IT the only differential factor that i can project in my application can be my GMAT score. There's nothing great about being an IT guy in the present world there are so many of us. Yeah i do some volunteering and organizing but my profile isn't that awesome.

So by securing a good GMAT score i can at least be confident of 25% of my application right?

havok wrote:

ferma wrote:Why were you devastated with a 660 score? The last time I checked 660 was the typical average (and above the median) for schools in the top 20.

Which schools are you trying to get into? Why will a school which will accept a 660 score not help you achieve your long term goals? Or do you not know what they are?

Are you part of an over-represented group where the only differentiator is the GMAT score in lieu of work experience or remarkable achievement beyond promotion?

Or is it a status thing? As in, "I cannot face my friends and family unless I achieve over 700."

I'm just trying to understand a trend I keep seeing on this forum where 650+ is considered bombing the GMAT.

It's likely a mix of all the things you mentioned. A high GMAT score is something you can taut and relish in. It improves your chances of getting into a strong B-school when your work experience is shorter (<5 years).

You understood me perfectly! Cheers

phanideepak wrote:

ferma wrote:Why were you devastated with a 660 score? The last time I checked 660 was the typical average (and above the median) for schools in the top 20.

Which schools are you trying to get into? Why will a school which will accept a 660 score not help you achieve your long term goals? Or do you not know what they are?

Are you part of an over-represented group where the only differentiator is the GMAT score in lieu of work experience or remarkable achievement beyond promotion?

Or is it a status thing? As in, "I cannot face my friends and family unless I achieve over 700."

I'm just trying to understand a trend I keep seeing on this forum where 650+ is considered bombing the GMAT.

Hey ferma I am devastated because i have about 2.5 years of exp as of now and i will be applying for the admissions in 2012.

Given that my experience is in the IT the only differential factor that i can project in my application can be my GMAT score. There's nothing great about being an IT guy in the present world there are so many of us. Yeah i do some volunteering and organizing but my profile isn't that awesome.

So by securing a good GMAT score i can at least be confident of 25% of my application right?

Perhaps, but deciding to retake a $250 exam before speaking to an Adcom about your profile seems to be putting the cart before the horse, so to speak.

A lot of top schools I've looked at encourage applicants to discuss their profile prior to formally submitting an application to find out whether any glaring issues need to be addressed.

The point of these discussions is not to promise an applicant if xyz issues are addressed they will guaranteed admission but rather act as a pre-approval process.

So wouldn't you better off if you discuss your profile first with the schools you're interested in before automatically deciding your score isn't good enough? They might tell you otherwise.

As for Havok replying that many retake the GMAT to achieve a higher score for (among other things) bragging rights, that sounds kind of silly to me and is losing the point of the GMAT - which is to become eligible for admission into your program choice. In the end, if you got a 660 and your buddy got 760 but the both of you ended up in the same program, then who cares? The end result is the same.

ferma wrote:

phanideepak wrote:

ferma wrote:Why were you devastated with a 660 score? The last time I checked 660 was the typical average (and above the median) for schools in the top 20.

Which schools are you trying to get into? Why will a school which will accept a 660 score not help you achieve your long term goals? Or do you not know what they are?

Are you part of an over-represented group where the only differentiator is the GMAT score in lieu of work experience or remarkable achievement beyond promotion?

Or is it a status thing? As in, "I cannot face my friends and family unless I achieve over 700."

I'm just trying to understand a trend I keep seeing on this forum where 650+ is considered bombing the GMAT.

Hey ferma I am devastated because i have about 2.5 years of exp as of now and i will be applying for the admissions in 2012.

Given that my experience is in the IT the only differential factor that i can project in my application can be my GMAT score. There's nothing great about being an IT guy in the present world there are so many of us. Yeah i do some volunteering and organizing but my profile isn't that awesome.

So by securing a good GMAT score i can at least be confident of 25% of my application right?

Perhaps, but deciding to retake a $250 exam before speaking to an Adcom about your profile seems to be putting the cart before the horse, so to speak.

A lot of top schools I've looked at encourage applicants to discuss their profile prior to formally submitting an application to find out whether any glaring issues need to be addressed.

The point of these discussions is not to promise an applicant if xyz issues are addressed they will guaranteed admission but rather act as a pre-approval process.

So wouldn't you better off if you discuss your profile first with the schools you're interested in before automatically deciding your score isn't good enough? They might tell you otherwise.

As for Havok replying that many retake the GMAT to achieve a higher score for (among other things) bragging rights, that sounds kind of silly to me and is losing the point of the GMAT - which is to become eligible for admission into your program choice. In the end, if you got a 660 and your buddy got 760 but the both of you ended up in the same program, then who cares? The end result is the same.

I believe the underlying issue isn't so much the bragging rights, it's the fact is that a person who scores a 660 is going to need a lot more on his/her resume than someone who scores a 760. In the long run, a high score means more options.

I see what you mean though - it's like the (sorry for this story) girl from MTV's birthday show where the birthday girl is displeased because her parents bought her a Lexus instead of a Mercedes... but hey, life is short. Some things are more important to us than others: if you want the Mercedes, get the Mercedes.

In any case, that's great advice on speaking with the B-school first about how the application looks. I've never thought about that before.

dude I don't agree with your post, maybe nerves got the better of you.

I never scored above 45 in any MGMAT cat but consistently got 47+ in gmat preps and a "47" on real GMAT. So its not tougher than MGMAT by any means. MGMAT math is a monster.


ON a positive note maybe you just had a bad day with quant.
Seeing your practice scores I can say that if you are scoring above 700 in cats you should just reappear in a couple months with a better state of mind and you should be good.