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Re: Drop in GMAT score on second try ... Please help!

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Re: Drop in GMAT score on second try ... Please help!

by factor26 » Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:48 pm
So test day didn't exactly go as planned. First off I got lost getting to the test center and barely made my 8:00 am test time. The AWA essays I found myself pressed for time and did not have a chance to finish one the conclusions. In the math section i started out very well, but took to much time on the first 10 questions, leaving myself very little time for the remainder of the questions, having to guess on a string of 5-7 in the and even leaving 2 questions blank. Verbal section went the same way, having to guess the last 7 questions and leaving one answer blank. Needless to say i didnt get the grade i was looking for. I wound up scoring a miserable 370 (Q28;V14) by far my worst score and nearly 70 points lower than my first test (440) and 180 points worst than one of my practice tests. It just doesnt make sense. leading up to test day was great and the questions seemed to get harder as i progressed while taking the test(leading up to when i had to guess). I know my timing is way off now, but how much of a factor is this? can guessing on that many questions truly be this detrimental to my score? I really don't have the money right now to enroll in a formal course so my learning is solely through myself and this forumn. What should i do now? Should i take some time off to let myself cool down? If so, how long? i studied nearly 3 months for this exam and i did worse. it doesnt make sense to me. i also should mention that this test has engulfed my life and i havent had the ability to truly enjoy myself or properly diet and exercise like i normally do. sorry for the rambling but i could really use some help here. thanks.

Bt the way my native tounge is english and i'm 26 years old.
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by jk2010 » Sun Mar 13, 2011 6:13 pm
First off.... don't feel so bad. Many posts on this board may lead you to believe a 720 is an average score. I think that the rest of us who struggle to hit 600+ just don't go on and on about it. I can promise that you will never see a post from me like "awww..... I only got a 740 on my GMAT....should I retake it??? [insert pouty face emoticon]" If it makes you feel better, I also spent a ton of money on prep courses only to scrap out a marginal (to me) score. I took TWO yes TWO 40 hour courses on "how to beat the GMAT" and still knocked out an absolutely average (as in the 45 - 50% range) score. I realized that I still had not truly prepared for the test. You can not simply study for the GMAT. You have to PREPARE. Preparation takes a lot of time. You must MASTER the basics. Only then can you really apply all of those expensive "beat the GMAT" tips. I am older than a lot of folks on this board; it's been 25 years since I bothered to care about a right triangle, exponents, inequalities, or anything of that nature. So...don't feel so bad. The first time I took the GMAT, I did what you did. I studied (poorly) for hours and hours, took practice CATs over and over, and figured I was good. I actually took TWO practice tests the day before the test, didn't sleep all night, and was working problems on my iPhone while on the Metro to the test center. BOMBED it!

OK.... so you should feel better a little in knowing you are not a stupid loser and that you are not alone in your miserable test scores. Here is what I did and I feel a LOT better about my upcoming test. I enrolled in the BTG 60 day course. I bought a few more books from Manhattan and Kaplan. I also paid for the BTG practice questions, which proved to be an AWESOME resource!! I followed the 60 day program to a Tee, and reviewed my old (expensive) class material. I don't know how I am gonna do next Friday when I take GMAT #3, but I feel a lot better about it. My timing is much better. I still miss plenty of questions, but I know why I missed them. I am almost at the point of finding my Zen and simply reviewing my trouble spots (probabilities are my current bane) and just going with what I got.

Hang in there friend. It's just a test.
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by Psychodementia » Fri Mar 18, 2011 3:07 am
Based on the way you have written the post, AND described your test experience I can say that you believe in execution, and planning is not one of your virtues :-)

You need to take a step back and analyze things before you attempt the GMAT one more time. I think some of the issues are very clearly fixable - mental stamina, timing your test etc. That alone can lead to an improvement of over a 100 point. Secondly during your analysis you need to see what are your strong points, and what are your weaknesses. Try to capitalize the former and mitigate the latter.

Sit back and think through it!

Arun
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