GMAT Strategy

Hi there. Im sure whoever clicked on this is sick of seeing all these posts from this super-humans who announce they are scoring in the 700's and those who complain about a 680. Its cool that there are people this smart out there. It really is... but I have never meet any of them in real life interactions and it makes me wonder where they all are. ANYWAY enough with that rant. So this post is for all the regular people out there hoping to get in to business school. I studied for 3 months for the GMAT and scored a 370 on Sept 13. I then enrolled in Kaplan classroom tutoring and scored a 440 on the diagnostic test. Today I took my first Kaplan CAT and scored a 520! Im very excited because my goal is 550 and Im so close! I just wanted to write this to give hope to all the very cool REGULAR people out there in the world. So dont get discouraged about all these crazy smart people on this website.

Well done! Only you're first practice CAT and you're already close to where you want to be. And from what I hear, the Kaplan practice CATs are way harder than the real thing, so maybe you're already at your goal.

I have to agree though. I love this board- and I'm actually striving for a very high score myself- but I'm sick of hearing people complain about their "pathetic" 680+scores.... Posting your excitement about a great score and explaining how you did it is one thing, but complaining about a 710 is just plain abnoxious...

'bout time someone said something.

I agree with you both. A 3 hour gmat result -as I posted before- can not be compared to 5 years of full work experience.

LUK

I like this post. I was happy with my score and it is much lower than what so many of these people post but I didn't need it to be astronomically high for the schools I would like to get into. I think my work record (even as short as it is) and my previous academic history (not just a 3 hour test as you said) show that I'm going to be sucessful in an MBA program and after an MBA program.

I achieved my score on a 2 month limited study period and with only a self study method so I was happy. I know with the right resources and time invested I could crack those 'high scores' if I had to. On the same note, my score was above the national average, which I think a lot of people lose sight of on this board given the high-achievers here. I think the national average is 540 these days... Don't get me wrong, the high scorers do have something to be proud of and they should be.

On that note-550 with Kaplan may leave you pleasantly surprised. Kaplan is generally tougher and you may get higher than you needed. Best of luck to you no matter!

LOL hilarious...i can tell you I have met many ppl who have scored in a range of 600-800 and they are regular ppl - they are not super human. they work regular jobs as IT guys, Interns, Clerks, Research Analysts, Retail Salesppl, Single Parents, English or Math Undergrads, CPAs, CFAs, Lawyers, Bartenders, Waitresses, Office Managers, Admin Assistants, even a Gas Station Attendent...How do I know these ppl - study groups and it doesnt hurt to be a social butterfly!!! LOL...

I can attest that these ppl are regular ppl and they have worked hard to get where they are and they aren't bragging to make you feel bad...they don't even know you...so don't take it personally. The ppl that I know, when I ask them how they score - they tell me about their trials and tribulations...it wasn't easy for them and their strengths did not happen overnight. Acquiring and finetuning skills takes time, weather those skills involve communication, art, math, english, sales, whatever...it takes time to build skills in general.

Anyway, the only person you need to compare yourself to is yourself and the progress you have done so far. You have come along way, who cares about what others have done...you don't know them, they don't know you...just put up your blinders and focus on your individual goal...if you look at how much others are doing better than you, you are sure to set yourself up to feel inferior and to a certain extent resentful - now, why do that? you are a much stronger person than that right?

Hello!

How did you find the Caplan class?

I want to get in there, but I don't know where should I look for it?

I just need to get 500 score.

Thanks!

Margaret

couldn't agree more with jazzcat4u.

It's really tough to get a good score ... but it doesn't mean that you are a super-anything. And ultimately a LOT of luck is involved. You have to focus on your own progress and avoid comparisons with others... some of the posts on here are very insightful though and it doesnt hurt to take tips from ppl who scored high. I remember that reading too many of those posts during the days leading up to the test would stress me out a bit though ... so enjoy with care

Good Luck.

Yea Jazzcat I know what your saying. Blinders are a good idea. Cuz I can see myself getting frustrated with people in my tutoring class who can do all this long math in their head! Thanks for the advice.

I am happy to hear that Kaplan Cat's are harder. But does anyone know why or in what way? Are the questions different? or are they scored differently?

PS. I took CAT 2 and got a 540. Slowly but surely!

I like the post's where people score low at first and then score high. It gives me hope that I can improve with effort. I look forward to seeing your wrap up report. It's good to see the super human posts, but when they score the same on their first practice test as they score on the actual test, I'm not inspired.

"I got a 730 on my first practice test, then I worked really hard and got a 740 on the rest of my practices and then scored a 750. I was hoping for more..."

I need to hear about the person that scored 400 on the first try and then trained themselves into a 700 score. That means the test is beatable.

tngearhart, there are definitely people like that here on this forum. What makes them different from some of the others who scored much lower than they hoped is their attitude. They ranted and tore their hair a bit over the lower score, then picked themselves up and moved forward once again. And sometimes again, and sometimes yet again. The GMAT didn't beat them because they didn't *let* it beat them!

I think a number of people here get too focused on the final score and not on how much progress they've actually made since they first started preparing for the test. If you get a 480 the first time and then a 590 the second time, that's great! Maybe it's not the 650 you wanted at the time you wanted it, but you made progress and that means that you can still make even more progress.

So maybe the next time you break 600. Great, you're not at 650 yet, but you're still getting there. You may even seem to go backwards a time or two, but those times are even more opportunities to learn and you end up going forward once again. That's pretty exciting!

Those people who complain about their 750 scores simply have their own issues. It could be that they feel they are less of a person if they don't do everything perfectly. That's just setting themselves up for failure right there since no one can do everything perfectly. But yet, some people genuinely feel that way. They sincerely believe it is something to be unhappy about and that it's some horrible shortcoming in their lives.

Some people sadly try to use it as a way to get other people to praise their effort. "Oh woe is me, I should go jump off a cliff, I only got 750!" so that the response might be, "Oh no no no, please don't do that, a 750 is a wonderful score and you're so smart. I will worship you and your score if only you don't jump off that cliff!"

And others are just maybe taking the test again and again for fun to see if they can beat the 750 score they received the last time. They may even have no intention of going back to school, they're just in it for the challenge.

It could be that some people have spent the first 30 years of their lives holed up in a cave with nothing but the OG and they just don't realize that they are being annoying when they announce their pathetic 790 score.

(Disclaimer: I know there are very valid reasons for needing a 700+ score, but I don't let it stop me from having fun once in a while. I promise, if I get a 790 when I take my GMAT in December, I'll come here first thing to complain too!)

You just never know about people sometimes. Live and be amused, that's all you can do.

Took the GMAT today, and .

Are you planning on paying for MGMAT, Princeton, or Kaplan?

Nothing I did worked for my performance on Test Day.. On the Kaplan practice tests my average was 560 . Yes thats a mean. The average was greater than my actual.
History:
OG 11. Official Guide -
PrepFortests.com
MGMAT SC, as well as 2 summary notes from Word Documents..spidey?
Kaplan CD-Rom Exercises.

The GMAT Prep Program is the best indicator. During D-day, I was doing so horrible on the Verbal that the ETS gave me the exact same RC passage from GMAT Prep, one that was downloaded 6 months ago.

LifetimesofSC wrote:During D-day, I was doing so horrible on the Verbal that the ETS gave me the exact same RC passage from GMAT Prep, one that was downloaded 6 months ago.

Really? That's fascinating. I didnt think that was possible. Are you sure?

Anything is possible. such as Scoretop. It's the ETS folks, not god.

There are still resources on the web that offers 1000CRs, 1000SCs, Paper Tests all for free.

Look, I may not be good at the GMAT, and I don't need optimistics to wish me luck. I'm intact with reality and beating the system. Plus I rather get the AIG Spa Treatment .

I came I saw I conquered. No trust funds, inheritance, or sponsors.

Life time what did you get on the actual GMAT?