I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi,
I have given the GMAT exam twice with different levels of preparation that are not reflected in my score. I am planning to apply to colleges for the 2014 session, but before that I needed to understand what my GMAT scores really indicate. I need to understand this to help me write my MBA application and to move forward with the MBA process. So I just wanted to narrate my both my experiences with the GMAT and ask for help in interpreting my scores in context to my preparation.
My first attempt at the GMAT was sometime last year in the month of April; I scored a 660 in this attempt and the breakup of the score is below-
Scaled Score Percentile
Quantitative 48 80
Verbal 33 66
Total 660 81

I was not too happy with my first attempt because the score was not what I had expected or wanted. I believed that there was room for improvement because (i) I was unable to complete the Quantitative section (ii) My verbal score was extremely low. So, with these two factors in mind I began my preparation once again this year in full swing. It will be fair to say that I put in more than a hundred percent this time around. I say this because I devoted more time, solved four to five times as many questions, gave innumerable mock tests, and revised thoroughly. Also, I was more confident this time as I had worked extremely hard for the GMAT. Despite the high level of preparation and increased self-confidence I got a 610 in my second attempt at the GMAT. While I was attempting the exam I thought I had knocked it out of the park, but after I looked at my score I was unable to fathom what went wrong. I am completely shattered after my second attempt because my score dropped by 50 points despite having done everything right the second time. I write because this fact keeps pinching me every time I start to move ahead with the MBA process. The 610 keeps haunting me that hard work does not matter. The feeling that I get right now is that the entire life out of me has been sucked by my preparation for the GMAT that did not yield fruitful results.
I will be extremely grateful if the anyone can help me out.
Best,
Shruti Kirti Sharma

What study materials are you using? I used the Manhattan GMAT Foundations of GMAT Verbal, Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction, and Reading Comprehension guides and was able to raise my verbal score from a 35 to a 41. People learn differently, but they were very helpful for me.

Good luck!

-MBAreapplicant84

sorry to hear about your experience. this story is familiar to me, as a close friend of mine went through the exact same experience several years back: he scored 660 without too much prep. then he hired a private tutor, did everything right, and scored a 600 in his second attempt.

what he did (not saying this is for you - i'm merely giving you some perspective) was move on and concentrate on killer essays and recommendations.

happy to report he got invites from hbs, wharton, and booth; ultimately dinged by hbs and wharton, and marticulated/graduated from booth class of 2011.

stay positive and dig deep! good luck to you!!

I am just curious and wondering to know whether timing (what time of the year you take the test) is an issue to have such a huge gap between scores. Can anyone shed some lights on it?

Thanks.

@shrutikirtisharma : I'm trying to be in your shoes. Compared to the amount of effort you put in,your results were horrific and in no way reflect your true ability( I guess).

If I were you, I will book the next available slot and re-take the test.
Reasoning:
1) After such results, I will have no motivation to put in any more effort in preparation.
2) If you are confident that you deserve more than this score, you should assume you had a really unlucky day.

Good luck in whatever you decide!!