I just Beat The GMAT!

Hello Everyone,

Took my GMAT last week and was knocked down with a 640 (Q44/V33).Feeling terribly depressed.somehow, a score of 44 in quant is tough to assimilate because i am an engineer.The biggest challenge is, i am not able to figure out what went wrong? I seek advice from all of you and experts.

AWA:
I had a framework/template within which the two essays fit nicely and breezed through it.It helped me to be at ease and take some tension off the exam.I suggest people to prepare for the AWAs nicely and complete it within time because faltering on this section may snowball into bigger disasters.(not that i haven't inspite of doing well in AWA)its like a domino effect!! so do not neglect this bit at all.

QUANT:
It started with moderate difficulty questions. i started getting easy questions after 30-32 questions.Ran out of time in the end and had to quickly guess 2 questions at the end which looked like no-brainers.Probably faltering on the easiest questions has led to a higher penalty.

VERBAL:
Started with an easy SC.The RC's became tougher each time.in CRs i could paraphrase most of the questions before answering.some of the SC's were tough initially which did not fit into the 7 error types or combos.after that i started getting easier SC by the end , probably i had lost the battle by then.I completed the questions with 1 minute to spare.
i am unable to derive any conclusion or learning out of the verbal part.


Anyways thats my story of the failure and i pray to god that no one else gets a score like this.I had put 4 months of honest study.Never scored below 690 in either MGMATs or GMAT preps and thats what hurts the most, the futility of 4 months of effort.

Though i am terribly depressed i have not given up and plan to take up the GMAT once again in a month so that i can salvage my previous efforts as much as i can.so can everyone please suggest if its okay to take the GMAT within a month?

thanks for reading through such a long post and pardon me for the colloquial language i have used here.

The GMAT rule is that you cannot take the test for one month after an attempt.

Cheer up and go strong the next time. It may have been a one off day.

Sid

Thanks for the kind words Sid.

Thanks for sharing this with us. Don't give up!!!

Can you please share the AWA framework/template you had?


Thanks again!

Sandeep, I got the same score too ! I have been preparing for 3 months straight - Full time, no distractions whatsoever! On the test day, I screwed up in Quants section coz I got tensed when I saw the clock ticking and when I realized I was lagging behind the schedule by 8 mins or so. I had to rush to catch up and I invariably messed it all up. I am planning to give it again too but I really need to work on the verbal part.

However, it is better to give your next try after 2 months (my honest opinion) .. Assuming all concepts are in place, GMAT becomes more of a mind game and it doesn't necessarily eliminate the strategies or best methods one must follow to nail it. I wish you luck ! I am planning to take it again in Oct 2011.

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It is never too late to do anything

Dude, shit happens. Next time you will taste the victory in GMAT and that will be SWEET. Go for it with a big heart. All the best.

Thanks Prodizy and Rami for the encouraging words.
@Rami- same here, i lagged by 5 minutes after i got a really tricky DS question and stuck to it for a long time.the whole game changed thereafter.However i believe i need to take the GMAT while all the concepts are still fresh in my mind so i am taking it as soon as GMAC allowed me to schedule another appointment.
There is one question i am grappling with, where to practice from ? as i have exhausted almost all the practice material i had.This time i am plannning to take it easy on myself and avoid the brute force approach to make it a question of life and death.Its easier said than done, but i am gonna give it a good try

can someone suggest if going through OG again will be good?

I think OG is the golden master. One should go through it as many times as possible. Try understanding how the questions are set, why the wrong choices are wrong etc.

What is OG?

The 'Official Guide'.