I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi guys,
I gave my GMAT today and scored 680 (Q50, V32). This was my first attempt and I was very disappointed when I saw my score, because I had been studying quite hard for last two and half months. I had given about 6 CATs and was scoring consistently above 700. But I don't know what happened during the exam, like really a bad question set showed up.

I had done the following over the course of verbal prep:
OG 12
Verbal Review 2nd Ed
Manhattan SC
PowerScore CR Bible
LSAT CR sets (around 200)
Manhattan 700-800 level RCs set (probably biggest mistake)
Manhattan 700-800 level SCs set

Also the The last tests I've taken (weekly) are as follows:
GMAT Prep 640
MGCAT 1 630
Knewton CAT 690
MGCAT 2 700
MGCAT 3 720
GMAT Prep 740

I was pretty confident that I'd score above 700.
During the actual exam, I realized that the quant section was much easy. I had solved Manhattan 700-800 level sets for Maths, and GMAT math was a lot easier. HOWEVER the verbal portion was on different level. I got two long passages and two short passages, which I think is unusual. Many of the CR questions were assumption questions. Very few SCs were short. Verbal questions were considerably harder than OG. MGCAT's math section is tougher than actual GMAT, but Verbal is nowhere near. I used to score in the range of 39-40 in MGCAT verbal section, and NEVER once ran out of time. In fact I used to finish verbal section with 4-5 mins left...And during actual exam I lagged so much that I had to click last 3 questions randomly..

Could someone please help me out as how I should approach the verbal section, as I'm planning to retake GMAT in two weeks. And I really want to score better.
Pls suggest me on how I can improve on this and get a score of 720+.

Million thanks in advance,
Vikrant

Vikrant,

I'm sorry to hear that you scored less than you expected. Still, 680 is not a bad score by any measure. Trust me, I speak from experience when I say that your GMAT score is more like a gating criterion, and can be offset by outstanding resume+essays+interview. Having said this, I agree that different schools have different cutoffs. If you especially belong to the overcrowded Indian IT Male category and you have a specific school with a mean GMAT score of 680-690, then it pays to have a GMAT score at least 20-30 points above the average GMAT score.

Your GMAT prep scores are varying hugely. That's probably because your first attempt was at the beginning of your preparations and the final one was at the end. Still, I would peg you in the 700+ category based on your CAT scores. Your GMAT was probably just a bad day. I second your decision to re-take the GMAT. But I believe you need to wait at least a month after your test. I'd sincerely recommend you don't lose out on your momentum.

You might have already gone through this. 3 amazing articles by Dana and Stacey -->
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/01/ ... study-plan
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/08/ ... -game-plan
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/08/ ... -to-review

Cheers!

vikrantr93 wrote:Hi guys,
I gave my GMAT today and scored 680 (Q50, V32). This was my first attempt and I was very disappointed when I saw my score, because I had been studying quite hard for last two and half months. I had given about 6 CATs and was scoring consistently above 700. But I don't know what happened during the exam, like really a bad question set showed up.

I had done the following over the course of verbal prep:
OG 12
Verbal Review 2nd Ed
Manhattan SC
PowerScore CR Bible
LSAT CR sets (around 200)
Manhattan 700-800 level RCs set (probably biggest mistake)
Manhattan 700-800 level SCs set

Also the The last tests I've taken (weekly) are as follows:
GMAT Prep 640
MGCAT 1 630
Knewton CAT 690
MGCAT 2 700
MGCAT 3 720
GMAT Prep 740

I was pretty confident that I'd score above 700.
During the actual exam, I realized that the quant section was much easy. I had solved Manhattan 700-800 level sets for Maths, and GMAT math was a lot easier. HOWEVER the verbal portion was on different level. I got two long passages and two short passages, which I think is unusual. Many of the CR questions were assumption questions. Very few SCs were short. Verbal questions were considerably harder than OG. MGCAT's math section is tougher than actual GMAT, but Verbal is nowhere near. I used to score in the range of 39-40 in MGCAT verbal section, and NEVER once ran out of time. In fact I used to finish verbal section with 4-5 mins left...And during actual exam I lagged so much that I had to click last 3 questions randomly..

Could someone please help me out as how I should approach the verbal section, as I'm planning to retake GMAT in two weeks. And I really want to score better.
Pls suggest me on how I can improve on this and get a score of 720+.

Million thanks in advance,
Vikrant

Hi vikrant,

sorry to hear that.I am not going to advise you a strategy, probably you know it better. But what i have gotta say is that the amount of sweat that you have put in for the preps is not going to go waste.Perhaps you might get a much better score next time thats why it was destined this way. why am i telling this ?- i know a friend of mine who had prepared well for three months and got a 660. Dejected to the core, but equally optimistic ,He immediately booked the next available date (after a month) and scored a 760.
so keep the faith and move on....i am sure there is a better destiny waiting out there if you have prepped with your heart and soul.

BTW where did you get Manhattan-700-800 level sets? are they available for download somewhere?Mind if you share the info?


Thanks
Sandeep

itheenigma

Thank a lot for your encouraging words, I really appreciate it. I know 680 is not a bad score, but because I have low work ex, I had to even off by getting better than median score. I'm from Civil Engg Background, and I don't know how crowded Indian CIVIL male category is.
And yeah, you were right. I checked out at mba.com, they make you wait 31 days before reappearing for exam so I'm gonna have to reschedule the appointment in the next month...


Sandeep
Thanks for your reply. I got Manhattan 700-800 level sets from a friend. I have them as hard copies, I don't know if they are available for download.
Maths sets are beyond excellent. If one manages to solve all the problems from the 700-800 level sets, then Q51 is guaranteed.
Verbal sets, especially RC are not as good though.

vikrantr93 wrote:itheenigma

Thank a lot for your encouraging words, I really appreciate it. I know 680 is not a bad score, but because I have low work ex, I had to even off by getting better than median score. I'm from Civil Engg Background, and I don't know how crowded Indian CIVIL male category is.
And yeah, you were right. I checked out at mba.com, they make you wait 31 days before reappearing for exam so I'm gonna have to reschedule the appointment in the next month...


Sandeep
Thanks for your reply. I got Manhattan 700-800 level sets from a friend. I have them as hard copies, I don't know if they are available for download.
Maths sets are beyond excellent. If one manages to solve all the problems from the 700-800 level sets, then Q51 is guaranteed.
Verbal sets, especially RC are not as good though.

Dude,
if you dont belong to the dreadful IIM (indian, IT, male) category, be rest assured that a decent score combined with a powerful application can catapult you to the Top B schools.

Thanks
Sandy

Hey guys

Even i got a 650 ( Q50, V28 ) on 16th May.
And i made the same observations !!
Even my MGMAT scores were always 700+. This V28 is the lowest ever for me(including mocks and real GMAT ). Whats worse is that i belong to IIM category..Indian IT Male.. this was my second attempt and the first one was another 650 !!

Some institute faculty today advised me that i should not go for another attempt because inside story is that the colleges consider average of all scores ! . How true is that ? Can any EXPERT answer me please ??

Also what do you guys suggest ? Should i go for another attempt after a month? My prep seems fine, though i will pay more time to verbal now.. but is it worth trying ..this would be the 3rd time..

Malik_Jat,
Please don't worry about hearsays. Most colleges are very clear on their stand that they consider your BEST gmat score. So if you're confident of getting a higher score the second time around, please go ahead and give it a shot.
If you've been informed about any specific college, then I'd suggest you contact their adcom. College adcoms don't hold grudges and diabolically sabotage your application. If they really consider the mean GMAT scores, then they'll tell you so if you ask them!

Cheers!

Malik_Jat wrote:Hey guys

Even i got a 650 ( Q50, V28 ) on 16th May.
And i made the same observations !!
Even my MGMAT scores were always 700+. This V28 is the lowest ever for me(including mocks and real GMAT ). Whats worse is that i belong to IIM category..Indian IT Male.. this was my second attempt and the first one was another 650 !!

Some institute faculty today advised me that i should not go for another attempt because inside story is that the colleges consider average of all scores ! . How true is that ? Can any EXPERT answer me please ??

Also what do you guys suggest ? Should i go for another attempt after a month? My prep seems fine, though i will pay more time to verbal now.. but is it worth trying ..this would be the 3rd time..

Hey Malik_Jat,
Just forget about your prev attempts and go with a positive mindset. Just, concentrate more on the topics which you are not too comfortable and review your tests. That's the most important part.Take your time and consider this your last attempt(because most of the institutes look for prev. test scores if your no. of attempts exceed 3) and give your best shot. After the kind of prep you must have had, it is more of a psychological aspect for you to tackle the test this time. So, just stay positive and don't let anything distract you, be it in your practice tests or real test. Good Luck!!

Cheers!

vikrantr93 wrote:
I was pretty confident that I'd score above 700.

Hey,
May be just a bad day at office. Just stay confident as your prep seems to be heading in the right direction. you can perhaps work on RCs and review your prac. tests to feel more confident and beat the GMAT this time..Good Luck!!
Cheers!

Hi friends, thanks a lot for your moral boosting feedback... i am going to start again with full force and i ll make sure i get the score this time
Thanks a lot for the responses..

Be happy and God bless you all