what to do now? terrible experience

[AnitaW]

I took the GMAT today and got totally decimated by the Quant. Don't know what to do now. I have been studying very hard for the last 5 months. Quant has always been a weakness but I kept going over the concepts and focused on the OG. Last week I scored 690 and 660 on the GMAT pratice tests. I had a 43 on test one and 44 the second test in quant.

I found the quant hard today but I had no idea how terrible it was until I got the score. 33 in quant and 41 in verbal for a total 610. I scored very well in verbal but it is a waste with such a low quant.

Should I just take the GRE instead? I need to apply for round two for this year and time is running out. I don't know if taking the GMAT again will work out better. Any suggestions?

[beatthegmat]

Hi Anita,

I'm really sorry to hear about your disappointing experience. It sounds like your actual test day didn't match your practice performance.

I didn't have a strong opinion about whether it's better to take the GMAT or GRE until I read this article. I'm now definitely in the camp that the GMAT is generally better to take for business school.

Were there any other factors that could have contributed to the drop in your score? Do you suffer from test anxiety? If so, focusing on improving that issue alone could produce a marked improvement in your retake.

Additionally, what was your GMAT score target? A 610 is still quite respectable.

Keep your head up--you ARE better than this test!

[cramya]

Anita,
Congrats on a great Verbal score and don't beat yourself up over quant. I am sure u can score higher if u plan to take it an another time. Also what schools are u targetting at? Have u researched on what GMAT score range they generally prefer. After taking the GMAT I have relaized it's all about the schools that u target at. 610 is a decent overall score and this score may be acceptable to the schools u r targetting at. Let us know and hopefully we can provide you with more suggestions.

Good luck!


Regards,
Cramya

[AnitaW]

Hi,

My target score going in was a 660 or higher. Very achievable (I believe) with a higher quant score. The problem is that a 610 that has a more even split between quant and verbal is better than the 610 I got because b schools (especially the ones I want to go to) will feel I cannot handle the math and I will not get in with this particular score.

To answer your question about why the quant down....well I do have test anxiety especially with math but it was there on practice tests but maybe not as bad. I encountered some questions I had never seen asked in that way and it threw me off. Also near the end of the test I have trouble with time management. I start to panic and finish the questions very quickly and end up with a bit of time left that I could use more effectively.


I read the article and I feel I need to do what it takes to get into the schools I want and with this quant score it will be impossible.

[AnitaW]

Cramya,

Thanks for the encouragement. My dream is to go to a top 10 school like Columbia, Stern, or Cornell so with the research I've done it is clear this score won't do. Overall b schools look to see that a candidate can handle quant and in undergrad I didn't take any math so this will raise a major red flag.

I think anything less than 680 maybe a 660 would not do. Do you agree?

[beatthegmat]

For your school choices, it seems like retaking the GMAT definitely makes sense. And your history of GMAT scores seems to indicate you can definitely perform better the next time!