Ask the Test Maker

Hi everybody,

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I just took GMAT again for the second time yesterday and scored only 620. I am beyond disappointed and discouraged, and I really don't know how to proceed next. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I am a musician, I haven't taken a single math course since 2000, and the highest level of math class that I have taken is Algebra 2 in high school before I enrolled full time into a music school. I am also not a native English speaker, but I have been in the country for 14 years now. I took GMAT for the first time last Dec and scored 640. I prepped about 3 months for the test, and studied the quant section in OG Guide 12th, 13th, as well as OG Quant Review 2E. I also did Princeton Cracking the GMAT and Kaplan GMAT 800. I was so hyped about the test that I didn't sleep at all the night before, so I thought if I prep longer and rest well, I can do better in my next try.

For the preparation for the second GMAT test, I went through all the quant books in the MG GMAT set of 8 strategy guides, reviewed everything I did before, as well as redoing OG guide 13th. I did about 10 practice tests online, from MG (660, 690, 700), Kaplan (660), GMAT software (690, 700, 710, 730), Veritas (700), and one by Oxford MBA School (630-650). I thought I was well prepared this time, and instead I scored lower than last time. I really start to question my ability to take GMAT and maybe I should just give up.

How should I go forward with my preparation? I have gone through everything that I can on my own, and I just don't know what I missed. Please advice.

Thank you so much.

Discouraged MBA hopeful

Hi rosa9923. I'm really sorry to hear that you feel disappointed and discouraged after taking your GMAT exams. Both your scores are actually very good. Do you know what scores you need to get for the schools and programs you're applying to?

There are a few GMAT prep strategies you can review on the mba.com website. Please follow the link: https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/prepare-for-the-gmat.aspx

If you haven't already viewed these pages, you might find the information on the 'GMAT Preparation Checklist', 'Test-Taking Strategies' and 'Do This, Not That: Avoid These GMAT Test-Taking Mistakes' pages helpful.

I would also recommend that you post your email on the main forum so other test-takers can provide you with further advice.

Stay positive and all the very best!

Tina