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doggdetroit
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:52 pm
Just got done with my second GMAT attempt and I must say I'm at a loss for words. Here is a quick rundown:
First attempt was on back on November 16th. I took a prep course with ManhattanGMAT, and studied on my own for about a month and a half after it concluded. Did all the standard exercises, problems, etc. Took a few practice tests, generally scoring in the low 600's to mid 600's. My final prep test via GMATPrep, about 3 days before the exam ,was a 680, (lower in quant, higher in verbal like all of my practice tests.) Heading into the exam, I didn't really know what to expect, so I was relatively pleased with my result, a 640. I was extremely pleased with my verbal score, a 41, good for the 92nd percentile, however I sucked it up on the quant portion, checking in with a 36, good for the 45th percentile. As an added bonus, I received a 6.0 on the essays, so overall it was a decent experience. I knew that if I could just bump up the quant I would get into the range I was looking for. (High 600's, possibly 700-710.)
Now here is where things start to get interesting. Today, January 29th, after about a month and a half of pretty intense preparation, (about an average of two hours a day,) I just got done with my second attempt. From what I heard, typically, you score higher on the second attempt just because you are more familiar with the test setup, and overall you are just less anxious. I was a little nervous, but felt confident, unlike last time. My last two scores on practice tests, were two 710's, (one on MGMAT and the other GMATprep,) but here is the key: on the quant, i was in the 60% range, where as on the verbal i was in the high 80% to low 90% range. I figured if I could just come close to what I was doing on the practice tests, I would be set.
On my first attempt, timing was a major issue, especially on the quant, and it was again an issue on my second attempt, however I did improve. After finishing the quant, I felt like I did awful, but thought to myself, that's how its supposed to feel, so I said forget about it, try to finish strong with the verbal, after all, this is your strength. Going through the verbal, I actually felt real confident, and better than I had the last time. I even took the step of slacking off on the AWA, figuring I could at the minimum save some energy and still knock out a 5.0 Timing was a slight problem, and I had to guess on two of the final three questions, but still I figured I was good for at least the 80% range.
Next came the score report option, I chose yes, and fully expected to see something like 660-670, only because I felt like I did horrible on the quant, but felt that I aced the verbal. Again, I would have been completely fine with a 20-30 point increase, because I'm not looking at applying until fall of 2011, and figure that I have one or two more attempts in me. To my complete and utter dismay, my score report read 630 total, with a 42 quant (actually what I was hoping for, getting into the 60% range,) but more importantly and frankly disturbingly, a 34 in verbal, with an appalling percentage of 68%.)
My question is, how does this happen? I mean I went from scoring in the 92nd percentile on my first exam, to scoring in the 68th percentile. Was it a fluke that I scored that high? I would find it hard to believe just because on all my practice tests I was consistently up in that range. Was this second attempt a fluke? I mean, I am honestly at a loss for words. In terms of preparation, I basically stuck to the script, meaning I emulated what I did the first time around, devoting a bit more time to the quant section, but still managed to look at the verbal every time I studied. I should mention that I did not write the essays in any of my practice tests leading up to the second exam, but this could not have made such a huge difference, especially because I deliberately dumbed down the essays, and felt extremely good about the verbal, meaning no fatigue or anything.
Certainly, I'm going to have to take another attempt, but now I'm wondering how I should go about it? After my first attempt, at the very least I could take away my great verbal score, but now it looks like I have no strengths and may have to go back to the drawing board. I have also exhausted all the MGMAT practice tests and have gotten to the point in GMAT prep where I am seeing some repeats. Call me crazy, but is there any chance in hell that the scoring was in error? The only reason I would even consider this is that I have never scored that low on the verbal portion, not even way back when I took my first practice exam over a year ago. Anyway, I just had to get this off my chest, and honestly can't believe I'm sitting here typing on a Friday night, but it was just a complete shock. Any thoughts / suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
First attempt was on back on November 16th. I took a prep course with ManhattanGMAT, and studied on my own for about a month and a half after it concluded. Did all the standard exercises, problems, etc. Took a few practice tests, generally scoring in the low 600's to mid 600's. My final prep test via GMATPrep, about 3 days before the exam ,was a 680, (lower in quant, higher in verbal like all of my practice tests.) Heading into the exam, I didn't really know what to expect, so I was relatively pleased with my result, a 640. I was extremely pleased with my verbal score, a 41, good for the 92nd percentile, however I sucked it up on the quant portion, checking in with a 36, good for the 45th percentile. As an added bonus, I received a 6.0 on the essays, so overall it was a decent experience. I knew that if I could just bump up the quant I would get into the range I was looking for. (High 600's, possibly 700-710.)
Now here is where things start to get interesting. Today, January 29th, after about a month and a half of pretty intense preparation, (about an average of two hours a day,) I just got done with my second attempt. From what I heard, typically, you score higher on the second attempt just because you are more familiar with the test setup, and overall you are just less anxious. I was a little nervous, but felt confident, unlike last time. My last two scores on practice tests, were two 710's, (one on MGMAT and the other GMATprep,) but here is the key: on the quant, i was in the 60% range, where as on the verbal i was in the high 80% to low 90% range. I figured if I could just come close to what I was doing on the practice tests, I would be set.
On my first attempt, timing was a major issue, especially on the quant, and it was again an issue on my second attempt, however I did improve. After finishing the quant, I felt like I did awful, but thought to myself, that's how its supposed to feel, so I said forget about it, try to finish strong with the verbal, after all, this is your strength. Going through the verbal, I actually felt real confident, and better than I had the last time. I even took the step of slacking off on the AWA, figuring I could at the minimum save some energy and still knock out a 5.0 Timing was a slight problem, and I had to guess on two of the final three questions, but still I figured I was good for at least the 80% range.
Next came the score report option, I chose yes, and fully expected to see something like 660-670, only because I felt like I did horrible on the quant, but felt that I aced the verbal. Again, I would have been completely fine with a 20-30 point increase, because I'm not looking at applying until fall of 2011, and figure that I have one or two more attempts in me. To my complete and utter dismay, my score report read 630 total, with a 42 quant (actually what I was hoping for, getting into the 60% range,) but more importantly and frankly disturbingly, a 34 in verbal, with an appalling percentage of 68%.)
My question is, how does this happen? I mean I went from scoring in the 92nd percentile on my first exam, to scoring in the 68th percentile. Was it a fluke that I scored that high? I would find it hard to believe just because on all my practice tests I was consistently up in that range. Was this second attempt a fluke? I mean, I am honestly at a loss for words. In terms of preparation, I basically stuck to the script, meaning I emulated what I did the first time around, devoting a bit more time to the quant section, but still managed to look at the verbal every time I studied. I should mention that I did not write the essays in any of my practice tests leading up to the second exam, but this could not have made such a huge difference, especially because I deliberately dumbed down the essays, and felt extremely good about the verbal, meaning no fatigue or anything.
Certainly, I'm going to have to take another attempt, but now I'm wondering how I should go about it? After my first attempt, at the very least I could take away my great verbal score, but now it looks like I have no strengths and may have to go back to the drawing board. I have also exhausted all the MGMAT practice tests and have gotten to the point in GMAT prep where I am seeing some repeats. Call me crazy, but is there any chance in hell that the scoring was in error? The only reason I would even consider this is that I have never scored that low on the verbal portion, not even way back when I took my first practice exam over a year ago. Anyway, I just had to get this off my chest, and honestly can't believe I'm sitting here typing on a Friday night, but it was just a complete shock. Any thoughts / suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
However, I began from the very beginning and set up very tough schedule and study plan. After one month I took the test the third time and scored 680 with Q.47, and V.37. I was very happy with Quant, and not very much happy with the Verb - it increased insignificantly. However, I already had a great fear to be tricked by Gmat again and score low, therefore this score appeared as a gift, rather than a deserved score.
