HELP! The GMAT Beat Me :( 510 - Q27 (18%), V33 (66%)

[JonieMBA2B]

So today was my first attempt at the GMAT. I looked at my score and couldn't believe how low my Quant was. For the past two weeks, all I focused on was Quant. I was actually surprised by my verbal considering Quant was my only focus during review.

So what to do? I know I am DEFINITELY taking my GMAT again. But when should I retake it? I know June is when the test changes, so obviously before then. I'm considering early to mid-May. Are 4 - 6 weeks enough to improve my overall score? I'm considering of applying to the top 10 schools.

I used Manhattan GMAT as my prep course. They have great resources. I definitely did not take advantage of them all. I will definitely do that now.

Is there anyone out there that has a similar situation like me? Do you have a game plan or suggestions on how to beat this?

Thanks!!!

[PinkBox]

if i were u i would go through all 8 prep books, take practice exams, and retake in like 3 months. don't wait too long bc u will just end up procrastinating and don't retake too soon bc u wont have the necessary time to master the material. don't be discouraged. many people end up with surprisingly low scores in their first attempt but end up doing very well the second or third time around.

[JonieMBA2B]

I appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

[rjain5]

I just posted my story on this forum, (see: a little different perspective). You may want to revisit your study method and identify your weak points. Focus on the reason and logic, not just blindly trying to solve a problem. In my opinion, and that's just my opinion, 1 or 2 GMAT prep books are more than sufficient.

[jadakiss]

You're good man don't freak out. You need to rip up some Quant so lets hit get a nice mixture of learning content/formulas and problem strategies as well as practice doing problems. Figure out where you're doing well, where you're getting hurt. I wouldn't worry too much about the testing changing in June that Integrated Reasoning section is pretty much a total tweak-job the first couple years while they get it right. You're a total guinea pig on that part of the exam doesn't really matter. Stay sharp stay motivated and punch in for work, you got this.

[nitin1009]

I am in a very similar situation as Jonie. I took MGMAT's in person course didn't finish through all the homework and practice questions because of full time work load. I took my first official GMAT on April 14th and scored 530. Verbal 27, Quant 36 AWA 5.5

My MGMAT practice 1 (pre-course) was 480 (35Q/22V), practice 2 (during course) was 550 (41Q/25V) and practice 3 (towards the end) was 590 (37Q/34V). When I took the MBA.com official practice exam on April 8th I bombed it, got a 310 and wanted to reschedule. At that point it was too late since I was within one week and had to pay the full fee to reschedule so I thought I will just take it.

I really need to retake the exam and get over 700. When I study I tend to spend 1-2 hours early morning before work, an hour at lunch at an hour in the evening before bed (on average 3 hours) during weekdays. I have too many summer plans and weekends are booked.

I am planning to retake it May 26th before the June 5th exam change. Is that a good idea? Should I be scheduling the exam end of summer? Practice strategies to increase my score. Everyone's advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[JonieMBA2B]

Hey nitin1009,

I feel your pain. I rescheduled for July 21, which is 86 days from now. I do have a countdown on my phone lol. As you can see in the above posts and what I've read around the site, in order to get the 700 score we both want, 1 month from now is NOT enough time to prepare. You even said you have a full work schedule.

I suggest reschedule after the test change. I know there's a new section, but it should not be bad since it's the first time it's being tested and the admisssion committees won't exactly know what to do with the score until a few years out. There's a lot of resources out there already that address the new section IR. I took an IR webinar on Manhtattan GMAT. Quant and Verbal are the sections that matter.

Since you have MGMAT, take advantage of ALL their resources. They have plenty. My mistake the first go around was not taking advantage of their resources.

Look at your weaknesses and start there. For me, it's Quant - big time! Then focus on your strengths and brush up on them. Practice, practice, practice is the key to this!



I wish you the best of luck!

[nitin1009]

Thanks so much Jonie for your response. Good luck with your exam in July, I'll schedule mine shortly. I guess you are right, scheduling it 4 weeks from now just for IR section that doesn't really count is not a wise deciscion.

I didn't want to keep too much gap in between but end of July seems reasonable amount of time to study.

Thanks again and wish you the best as well.

[BLittlejohn3]

I did just about the same score a day before the test switched over. I'm now going back through my Kaplan Math workbook, but I'm looking into other books as well. I feel like I just didn't get any of the data sufficiency questions correct (not enough in Kaplan, one section) Not to mention I was rushed to take the test before integrated reasoning and didn't have time to review the OG enough. Nowhere but up from here for both us though. Keep trying!

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

I feel like I just didn't get any of the data sufficiency questions correct (not enough in Kaplan, one section)

Your Data Sufficiency (DS) skills will inevitably make or break your quantitative score, so it's important that your DS skills are at the same level as your Problem Solving (PS) skills. The problem is that DS questions are totally unique to the GMAT, and many find them to be extremely difficult. As a result, they don't practice them as much as they should.

If you're interested, I have a complete series of free videos on the topic of DS: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-data-sufficiency

Cheers,
Brent