I took the GMAT today and got a horrible score

[Gringo]

Hi everyone

I took the GMAT today and got a horrible score 430 (30 math, 15 verbal). I did very bad in the verbal part. I’m a non-native English speaker and my English is actually my third language. My reading speed is bad, especially when it comes to RC and CR. Without timing I am able to get most of the answers correct in the OG 11th.
I really don’t know how to improve my score. My target score is 500-540.
There are two factors that have a great impact on my reading speed. The first and most annoying factor is that I suffer from anxiety (not test anxiety) and I have partly recovered from depression. Secondly, English is my third language, which also has an influence on my reading skills.
My future plan is to study MS in HRM in New York (the best city ever).

Any help would be appreciated.

[res123]

I am sorry to hear about your disappointment in the test results. I think I have a so-called fear of the test myself. Personally, I have not taken the test and if I could, I would totally avoid it. But, this is something that has to be done. In my case, I have plenty of work experience and I am trying to see if the school would waive the GMAT requirement, and may be you can try the same.

As for reading skills, I had a friend who had a learning disability. I am not implying that in your case, but, I do think that his strategy may help. He use to time himself in reading editorials of newpaper and have a dictionary handy at all times. I think he actually counted the amount of words he was reading, and then he would see how well he understood the topic. This guy went on to take LSAT, did very well and graduated from GeorgeTown Law. My understanding is that LSAT has lot more critical reasoning verbal than GMAT.

English is my second language too. I find it helpful that I almost always communicate with my friends, girl friend and colleagues in english. It is spoken practice, which helps in verbal section. You start to sense or hear, what is right or wrong. Obviously, this cannot compensate for preparation. However, if your quant section is outstanding and you do well in TOEFL or whatever other english testing. There is a good chance that you can explain your linguistic shortcoming in a college essay. I have had friends with not so great scores, who were admitted to great colleges. Remember, GMAT is NOT everything that colleges look for. In your case, you should probably aim for a higher score. I feel that personally when I have my self set for a mid 600's score, I end up getting lot lower on tests. When I psychologically prepare my self for a higher score, it does affect or atleas uplifts my enthusiasm to score.

I am not sure how helpful my post is to you, but I hope you find some encouragement in it and I would highly suggest improving your quant and at least not get sidetracked or let it slid, as you may end up preparing too much on your weakness and let your strength slide into a weakness as well.

[Gringo]

Thanks for your post. I'm pretty sure that I can use some of your suggestions.

[Jen Kedro]

Hi there,

It does sound like really focusing on improving your English to a limited extent between now and your next test date will be one of the best approaches. A lot of practice with GMAT verbal materials and reading passages, etc, is obviously the first priority, but I strongly encourage you to read as much as possible in English as often as you can, for the coming weeks as well. The more you read in English, the more you improve your speed, vocab, comprehension, and grammar, all of which will help on test day. Be sure to work on your timing as well.

Finally, on long reading comp passages, try not to get dragged into the details the first time you read the passage. It's impossible to fully memorize those details, and if you get a detail question about one of them, you'll need to look back at that part anyway. So focus on the main ideas-- main idea of the whole passage, main idea of each paragraph, any important themes or statements/conflicts, and speed up your reading through the details.

Good luck, and stay positive!