640 (Q 39, V38)

[Kansonne]

Hi, All--

Just wanted to share. I took the GMAT for the first time today and got a 640 (q 39, V 38 ).

Here's some info on how I was doing:

GMAT PowerPrep (the official simulation) this past spring - 490.

The past 3 months:
MGMAT CAT 1 - 310
MGMAT CAT 2 - 580
MGMAT CAT 3 - 650
MGMAT CAT 4 - 690
MGMAT CAT 5 - 650
GMAT PowerPrep 2 - 710.

I'm pretty bummed out because the mean GMAT score at my top choice school is 690, with an additional requirement of at least 80% on the quant section. I had high hopes going into this test because I had scored well in the last few practice exams.

Here's what test day was like for me:

*NERVES AND LOW CONFIDENCE killed me on this test. I've read multiple posts about how it's key to get your nerves under control, but you know what? Easier said than done! Ultimately I let it get the best of me.

*Quant - I wasn't doing well and thus did not see any tough questions during the exam. None of the questions I had involved overlapping sets, combinatorics, or probability. Other than that, the MGMAT and GMAT PowerPrep exams were pretty good representations of the actual test.

*Verbal - Same, MGMAT and GMAT PowerPrep do a good job; you'll see pretty much the same kind of questions on the actual exam. I didn't feel it was especially hard or easy. Got one boldfaced question in CR. I recognized one of the SC problems from the OG 11, which threw me off guard because I thought the OG only had retired problems.

*Those markers they give you are awful. I went through 3 of them. When the felt tip splits, it becomes impossible to write with them.

All and all, a part of me wonders if I should had listened to that little voice inside me that was saying that I should postpone my test date. I think this past week I really started panicking and if I hadn't been such a cheapskate (it costs $50 to reschedule), I wonder if I would have done better. If I gave myself a week longer to just drill some "performance" concepts into my head and really just feel CONFIDENT about this exam, I'd like to think I'd be posting a different kind of message here now.

But on the other hand, I learned a pretty valuable lesson here, which is to really know how you'll perform under pressure. I think having gone through this disappointment tonight better prepares me for next time. This was kind of a wake up call.

Some people do great under pressure. Good for them. I know that I'm the type of person who can't have any lingering doubts sneaking up on them during the test.

Long story short - I needed to do more practice exams. I noticed that, especially on this forum, the 700+ crowd takes a TON of practice exams.

I hope this helps someone.

[beatthegmat]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Are you planning to go ahead with apps, or do you intend to retake?

[Kansonne]

I'm planning on retaking this exam in January. As for the applications, right now I'm probably going to push them off. I know the later rounds are more competitive, but I figured I have a better shot in a later round with hopefully a higher score than I do at this point.

[beatthegmat]

Best of luck! I think your strategy definitely makes sense...

[mayonnai5e]

Thanks for this great outbrief.

Overcoming the nervousness and anxiousness is definitely a hard thing to do. What I did the last two or three days of my prep was to do practice timed practice sets (available from MGMAT, GMATPrep, and Kaplan). That was primarily just to remind myself of what it's like to work on the computer under timed practice sets just before the real deal. Also, my main mental trick was to repeatedly tell myself that this was just another CAT like any other CAT I've taken. "It's just another CAT...it's just another CAT." I found that once I hunkered down and focused, I had no time to be anxious and nervous.