I just Beat The GMAT!

Hello,

I went into the GMAT with overwhelming anxiety. Much to my surprise, I came out on top (relatively speaking). Here's a breakdwon:

Profile background:
Male, 23, English, 1 year of management experience; addicted to the following: pot, video games, poker

GMAT Experience:
<Study Period September 4th- November 4th>
No practice tests, just reviewed the books and studied the harder questions.
Actual GMAT- 700 Q47 V38, AWA yet to be received, Nov 4th 2009

GMAT Resources:
Barron's 2008- This book seems to get a lot of flack on review sites. Truth is, there are only two errors in the whole book, but the rest is pure gold. Excellent review of concepts, in-depth answer explanations.

Kaplan Premier Program 2008- Good variety of questions, despite some being a bit too easy. Excellent coverage of math concepts at the end.

OG 12th Edition- Great practice, but some of the answer explanations were lacking.

Structure Breakdown:

AWA- Glanced over a few examples, that's about it. The issue question on the actual GMAT was identical to a practice sample in the Barron's text.

Verbal- I spent about 1/3 of my study time reviewing verbal concepts. About 3/4 of that time was spent on sentence correction.

Quantitative- This comprised the remaining 2/3 of my study time, and the studying paid off. The math on the actual GMAT struck me as very difficult. Needless to say, I was delighted to get a 47.

Overall Impression

The GMAT wasn't easy, nor was it insanely mind-boggling. Studying pays off, I put in about 2-4 hours a day. Forget the classes, those are a waste of time and money. Better to study at your own pace in your own environment.

I smoke for insomnia and stress on a nightly basis. Every night, when the study session ended, the smoking session began. It's a great way to relax, and as you can see, there are no adverse effects on test results

If you have any questions about the GMAT, let me know. I'm going for an MSA at an above average school, wish me luck!
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Congratulations on the great score!

haha. A pretty unorthodox method for study and relaxation, but whatever works I guess

Someone else scored 47Q 38V but only received a 690, does anyone know why this scoring differential occurs?

BTW congrats on the distinguished 700.

Someone else scored 47Q 38V but only received a 690, does anyone know why this scoring differential occurs?

I was perusing the threads and noticed this as well. Perhaps someone can shed some light on this...

Thanks, Eric. I posted a reply in another post about score discrepancies as I received a 690 (Q47, V38) but took the test within one month of the person who got a 700.

I just followed up with the GMAC people and they're going to send me a response. I'll let everyone know what happens.

If what they reported to me is accurate, something needs to be done on their end to avoid confusion. Without any further verification about one's score aside from the splits and total, it's very unsettling not knowing why someone got a different total but identical splits.

pkw209 wrote:Thanks, Eric. I posted a reply in another post about score discrepancies as I received a 690 (Q47, V38) but took the test within one month of the person who got a 700.

I just followed up with the GMAC people and they're going to send me a response. I'll let everyone know what happens.

If what they reported to me is accurate, something needs to be done on their end to avoid confusion. Without any further verification about one's score aside from the splits and total, it's very unsettling not knowing why someone got a different total but identical splits.

good one mate...I appreciate your efforts.
It will be interesting to know GMAC's response.

So I received the following response from GMAC:

Thank you for contacting Pearson VUE GMAT Customer Service with your concern. You and your friend may have scored the same on the unofficial scores, but once the essay scores are calculated, scores will vary person to person.

Awesome. Obviously, this reply makes no sense at all as essays (obviously) have no impact on your overall score.

So I'm following up again with both an email and a phone call tomorrow.

This fight will not be over until I have received a sufficient response.

Follow up to come...

pkw209 wrote:So I received the following response from GMAC:

Thank you for contacting Pearson VUE GMAT Customer Service with your concern. You and your friend may have scored the same on the unofficial scores, but once the essay scores are calculated, scores will vary person to person.

Awesome. Obviously, this reply makes no sense at all as essays (obviously) have no impact on your overall score.

So I'm following up again with both an email and a phone call tomorrow.

This fight will not be over until I have received a sufficient response.

Follow up to come...

Let me tell you something. In my GMATPrep tests, i scored a 680 twice. In one test, i got a split of 50 and 32. And in another, a split of 50 and 30 for the same score of 680.

The scoring algorithm depends on various factors which we people are not aware of. Only GMAC knows! Although the response from GMAC seems non-sensical reg the scoring, in my opinion it's a waste of time for you to quarrel with them. Neither a 700 is not going guarantee you a MBA admit nor a 690 is not going to deny you a MBA admit. Just move forward with your score and concentrate on your application.

This is just my opinion ! No hard feelings! Good luck!

Let me tell you something. If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you be a little curious and a little pissed as to why you received a lower score than someone with the exact same scaled splits? If you weren't curious then I would actually be a little concerned.

No hard feelings

pkw209 wrote:Let me tell you something. If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you be a little curious and a little pissed as to why you received a lower score than someone with the exact same scaled splits? If you weren't curious then I would actually be a little concerned.

No hard feelings

To be absolutely honest, I wouldn't care actually although i would have been a little disappointed that i couldn't touch that 700 mark (which everybody does, it's a human nature). Because, I have seen such cases many a times before in BTG. There is no point in comparing your score with others.
Be realistic! Your score is nonetheless great and your score is no different from a 700 from an adcom perspective. You can still get to top b-schools with a 690.