Got Beat By the GMAT - 590

[themarkac]

I just got beat by the GMAT and feel terrible. I think I was putting too much pressure on myself to perform well on the test. I enrolled in a MGMAT course and really enjoyed the classes. I followed their guides and completed them over the two months of the course. My practice tests were as follows

1st - 580
2nd - 640
3rd - 720


I never took the Practice Prep test because I have a MAC and the software doesn't download. I figured that it was a sign that I shouldn't download it - I guess I should have actually used the powerprep software from a PC computer.

In the week before the test I bought a math book by Jeff Sackman of GMAT hacks and worked through it and found that I was able to understand most of it.

When I studied through the books I completed the OG questions that were recommended by the guide and felt good about them but the actual test taking experience went a little different.

I noticed that my analyze the argument did not go as well as I planned. I spent too much time on it and that caused my stress level to increase. My marker was terrible and I had to raise my hand to get a new marker. I drank a lot of caffine, which I think elevated my level of stress instead of increasing my focus.

Now I want to take the test again. Are there any people out there that have taken the test twice that can give me some advice? I really want to score a 700 to go to a good business school and don't know what to do.

Please help.

Thanks,

AC

[sonibubu]

What did you think of the GMAT Hacks book and problems? Are they similar to what you saw on the real test?

[themarkac]

Just took the practice prep software and got a 690

I think I made the following mistakes and look forward to retaking

* I rushed through the test to finish in time instead of trying to get questions in the beginning right
* I drank too much caffeine
* I did not sleep well enough before the actual test

I have let the pain of getting burned by the actual test turn to the excitement of retaking.

Godspeed.

[mayonnai5e]

Good luck with the retake! Slow and steady wins the race on the GMAT so stay focused and don't rush too much to get through the exam (lots of careless mistakes are made while rushing), but also don't go too slow and not complete the exam.

The combination of not enough sleep and caffeine is something that is generally a bad idea on exam day. I normally drink 3 cups of coffee throughout the day (2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon), but I only allowed myself one small cup before the exam. If you're like me and have a big crash a few hours after drinking a lot of coffee, you might face the terrible possibility of the crash occurring mid-exam.

Now that you've taken the real exam in a real setting, you can focus on learning from your experience and beat it next time.

[themarkac]

I just took the Princeton Review practice test. I missed 3 of the first 10 questions in the Quant Wrong (stupid mistakes) and then got the first 3 verbal questions wrong. I ended up getting a 590

So here is where I stand

MGMAT1 - 580
MGMAT2 - 640
MGMAT3 - 720
GMAT - 590
GMAT practice - 690
PR - 590

It's so volatile and unsettling. I've seen a few people that had low PR test results and I find it weird that if you answer just 1 of the first few questions wrong it throws off your results - I don't think the actual test works like that - I hope not.

Lesson learned is not make stupid mistakes - 1 of the questions I got wrong in quant I even meant to put the correct answer but wasn't paying attention.

Have a great saturday night all. I will keep coming back. Thanks for your help!!!

[themarkac]

Ok

It's been a while since I posted but I have since taken the GMAT two more times and my last time, today, I scored a 710 Q 44 V 42 (72% / 95%). I think I blew my second essay but I don't give a shi*. I scored a 640 Q 39 V 36 on my second attempt.

I would first like to thank others that have posted on this forum as you have been an inspiration and your recourses have been helpful.

I'm so elated that I can't even describe it.

Now to the preperation & tips

The first time I took the test my marker ran out of ink twice and I was nervous.

I would absolutely recommend that you test the marker
Use earplugs
Sleep well (take sleeping pills if you have to)
Do not study anything for 48 hrs before your test except basic review

Do not use practice tests to give you an indication if you are ready. I was oddly testing in a weird range on all the practice tests from 580-720

I think my score improved my second time because I was less stressed than the first time. However, I was not ready for my second time. The reason I was not ready is because of the verbal questions I got wrong on my last Power Prep test, 3/4 of incorrect verbal questions were sentence correction.

Ok so if you see a big problem area - Improve that area before the test.

Fortunately SC is an easier area of the test to improve - And I hired a tutor to teach me how to do this.

I've been to Kaplan and MGMAT and I can tell you that splits are crucial.
When going over sentence correction answers don't just review why the right answer is right but review why the wrong answers are wrong.

I can't stress enough how important that is and how quickly you will improve. Just go through the entire question and make notes of why each section is incorrect and you should get better with each try.

Improving my verbal was the key for me beating the GMAT because my math was never consistent.

So save yourself the money and follow this tip methodically.