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infraredpursuit
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 5:07 pm
October 1st, 2010 @ 4:07pm in Austin, TX.
I just got back from taking the GMAT and let me start by saying as an understatement - I am appalled. My score: 530.
Short and sweet: I could use all the the help I can get so that I can develop and implement a very solid strategy so that next time around I can beat the GMAT. I want to get as close to 700 as I can, if not much higher. Please post a comment on this thread if you can help me out and offer any advice in any shape or form. If the help you offer me is sincere, I will be extremely grateful - however small or big it may be.
If you feel inclined and can spare a few minutes of your precious time, please read a little background information on my GMAT story thus far: It was was around this time last year when I first decided that I should and want to go to Business School for various reasons. I had just left my corporate job, 9 - 5p. Since then I've been starting up a few start ups and working at small companies. I did this so that I wouldn't be locked into working hours and not be able to study for my test. ...In hindsight, I'm not sure how helpful this really was.
After about a month of deciding how to approach this monster while becoming nervous of the fact that Round 1 & 2 was quickly approaching, I decided to get into Kaplan. A lot of people gave me good reviews. That Kaplan course took me about 2 months to get through, it finished up early December. I took my first GMAT December 29th, 2009. I'm not sure what happened to me right when I finished the test but I accidentally canceled my score. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I didn't think at that point I wasn't even cut out / I didn't even deserve to go to Business School! I mean, how many people sit through so much headache, not just in the actual test, but also preparing for it - only to cancel their score at the end!? I had spoken with my instructor before the test and I knew I wasn't going to report my score to any schools...so I was just expecting those questions and not any questions after the test. When the question appeared on the screen to ask me if I wanted to report my scores or not, I thought it was asking me if I wanted to send it to any schools. Obviously with that stupid thinking, I clicked no. ..That led to my downfall and I had no idea what I did until I went to collect my test score report at the front desk only to find out that there was nothing printed because I canceled it!
My self esteem was shot. My confidence, shattered into a million pieces. What was I to do now? I threw myself a pity party for a few days, however un-productive it was, and then I tried to get back on the GMAT bandwagon. Emphasis on try because even though I was physically preparing for my GMAT again, I wasn't mentally into it because of what happened. I didn't know when to schedule my next exam so I procrastinated in scheduling it and ended up registering for the date of February 3, 2010 day. Guess I didn't prepare well enough because I only got a 540 on that day. V 29, M 35
At that time, I remember Round 3s were almost over and Round 4s were on the horizon. With that low of a score, I didn't see any chance at getting into a decent school at all. Somehow I got an MBA Admissions Consultant and they told me that they would strongly suggest I sit out a year and retry. I was going to apply and then expect not to get in. The only reason I was going to do that is so that I could receive "feedback" on my application and get it stronger for next time. I decided against that and focusing my time and efforts instead on the GMAT.
Months passed and my confidence and motivation were taking roller coaster rides. Same story, different day. I would open the book but not really absorb anything..just sort of coast through the day, only to do the same thing every day for months. In the mean time, I was devoting my time to different companies I was starting and projects I was managing, which was all very exciting! That's what I looked forward to, not so much the GMAT studying everyday.
For different reasons I kept pushing my tentative test date. Friends and family would ask me all the time about how my studying was going or when I was going to take it. I felt myself dodging those questions because I didn't really want to talk about it...I guess because of how much it was making my life a living hell, slowly coasting in 2nd gear. My tentative test dates moved from July 1st, to July 16th, then August 16th, then August 30th...then September 15 and then in mid September I told myself it was now or never because I started to feel the encroaching pinch of Round 1s coming again. I wanted to take it on the last day of September but only found a slot for Oct. 1st.
I told myself that the following 15 or 16 days I would really get serious about studying and block everything else out of my life. HA! ..I even stopped going to the gym because I 'tricked' myself into being more focused. Was I really focused? Let me just tell you that right now was not a good time to start getting addicted to the new Fall line up on Hulu.com or the show LOST, which I had never seen in all the years it was actually playing, and now I'm trying to catch up via Hulu!
The hours in the day just go by extremely fast when you aren't a GMAT nazi with yourself, its ridiculous. The days flew by faster than I wanted them to or expected them to. I didn't take as many practice tests as I wanted to and I didn't feel 100% confident like I told myself I'd feel before I schedule my test. A part of me thinks that the reason I scheduled my test is because the others were bothering me about when I'll take the test and I just wanted to get the damn thing over with. Towards the end of my 16 day run, I started becoming nervous. Nervousness sprouted the fear which propelled me to study harder and concentrate more. I think it was a case of too much too late. Actually, too little too late, but I was trying to do too much in the very last stretch - when actually people say you are supposed to relax and ease up right before your test.
This brings us to present day. Oct 1st, 2010...5:21p, Austin, TX time. I just bombed my GMAT. Got a measly 530. Q35 V27. I'm not really quite sure what the 'scaled score' means. Last time I took the test, I got a 35 scaled score in Math but scored a higher percentile compared to this year. I'm so discouraged. So distraught. So torn and humiliated. Tons of people were rooting for me, including my family and friends. I know I want to retake it again. I know I want to retake it in 30 days, which is the quickest I can retake it. I'll be cutting it very close to Round 1 deadlines but I'm going to try to have the rest of my application ready to go so all I have to do is take the GMAT and have the scores sent to the schools.
I'd like any and all help that anyone would like to grace me with. Thank you soooooooooo much to each and everyone of you that help me in advance!
Indebted to your kindness,
Infrared Pursuit.
