Didn't do too good!!!

[maxim730]

Didn't get a 700 like the other threads here, but I didn't get my target score.

I got a 540 - q37 and v26. I'm not worried that much about math, I had to guess on about 5 questions because of time. Verbal is something I need to improve a lot.

My target score is around 620-660.

The exam wasn't that bad. Math was like GMAT prep, there weren't any crazy questions. Verbal was a bit tricky. There were a few SC questions that had - (hyphen) in the question and answers. I haven't seen these type of problems at all. RC and CR were standard GMAT questions. There were also a few |absolute value| questions, which can be very tricky.

My Strategy

- Finished PR book first
- Completed OG 11
- Completed Manhattan SC
- Week of exam, all i did was take online exams (3 Manhattan, 1 PR and 1 GmatPrep).

I also happen to get really stressed out the week of the exam because of studying after work, then the next morning and also because of the crazy cold here in New Jersey.

Why I didn't do well

I did ok in math, but poorly in Verbal. When I studied from PR and OG11, I did really well in RC and CR, while SC was weak. SC then became my strong point and for some reason, I started to do horrible in RC and CR. I attribute this to reading RC and CR passages on a computer screen.

I've always had this "problem" where i read too fast and tend to skip words (but still understanding what I'm reading). I guess this doesn't bode well for the GMAT where each word is crucial. I have to somehow fix this "problem". I'm thinking of reading the Economist.cm daily and reading it slowly.

Time Management - I had to guess on 10 questions for both math and verbal because I simply didn't have time to answer the questions. This definitely hurt my score. I'll have to pace myself better.


Strategy going forward

- My next exam date is Mar. 17. I plan on taking this week off and doing other things such as completing my application, resume, etc.
- AFter my week off, I'm going to take either GMATPrep or a Manhattan GMAT online exam and then review my results
- Review OG11 twice a week and take exams twice a week until the week of the exam.
- Review strategy for RC and CR. I guess I finally have a reason to check out the RC and CR forums
- Possible review of Kaplan 800 to glean some math/verbal tricks
- Week of exam, I plan on only taking 1 or 2 exams and then relaxing.

Any other advice welcome

[beatthegmat]

Didn't get a 700 like the other threads here, but I didn't get my target score.

I got a 540 - q37 and v26. I'm not worried that much about math, I had to guess on about 5 questions because of time. Verbal is something I need to improve a lot.

My target score is around 620-660.

The exam wasn't that bad. Math was like GMAT prep, there weren't any crazy questions. Verbal was a bit tricky. There were a few SC questions that had - (hyphen) in the question and answers. I haven't seen these type of problems at all. RC and CR were standard GMAT questions. There were also a few |absolute value| questions, which can be very tricky.

My Strategy

- Finished PR book first
- Completed OG 11
- Completed Manhattan SC
- Week of exam, all i did was take online exams (3 Manhattan, 1 PR and 1 GmatPrep).

I also happen to get really stressed out the week of the exam because of studying after work, then the next morning and also because of the crazy cold here in New Jersey.

Why I didn't do well

I did ok in math, but poorly in Verbal. When I studied from PR and OG11, I did really well in RC and CR, while SC was weak. SC then became my strong point and for some reason, I started to do horrible in RC and CR. I attribute this to reading RC and CR passages on a computer screen.

I've always had this "problem" where i read too fast and tend to skip words (but still understanding what I'm reading). I guess this doesn't bode well for the GMAT where each word is crucial. I have to somehow fix this "problem". I'm thinking of reading the Economist.cm daily and reading it slowly.

Time Management - I had to guess on 10 questions for both math and verbal because I simply didn't have time to answer the questions. This definitely hurt my score. I'll have to pace myself better.


Strategy going forward

- My next exam date is Mar. 17. I plan on taking this week off and doing other things such as completing my application, resume, etc.
- Review OG11 twice a week and take exams twice a week until the week of the exam.
- Review strategy for RC and CR. I guess I finally have a reason to check out the RC and CR forums
- Possible review of Kaplan 800 to glean some math/verbal tricks
- Week of exam, I plan on only taking 1 or 2 exams and then relaxing.

Any other advice welcome

Hi maxim:

Sorry to hear that you didn't reach your target score. The two takeaways I see from your description are:

(1) You need to read more deliberately with RC and CR--reading a little bit slower may actually increase your overall speed.
(2) You need to work on pacing. You don't want to find yourself guess on the last few questions in your next GMAT because you ran out of time.

Other than that, I think reaching your target score is certainly possible!

[gmat_enthus]

All the best for the next attempt. Dont let this score bug you. You can certainly do it.

Take a lot of full length tests to get your timing right and make sure you are consistently in the vicinity of 680 in tests.

[GCHall840]

I have taken the GMAT before, but my score was nowhere near what people who post on this board, get. I am starting the Manhattan GMAT virtual online course on March 11. I would be very happy with any score over 500. I have a much higher than average undergraduate GPA, so my school would accept any score over 500 in my case. Someone scoring a 580 or 620 would be doing very well, in my opinion.