Despondent over my GMAT Prep Scores - Please Advise!!!!

[smock]

Hello,

I took the official GMAT exam twice last year. I scored a 530 on my first exam without much preparation and a 620 on my second attempt after about a little over a month of preparation. Both times, I was going to school and working full-time. Feeling dejected, I decided to take a break and focus on school in hopes of doing the gmat one more time after sufficient preparation.

Well, it has been a year and I've been studying for about 2 months and I felt like I was making significant improvements during practice. I took the GMATprep CAT 1 and scored a woeful 590!!! I'm scared, freaking out, panicked! I plan on applying to top 20 schools this year and worse of all, my gmat is in 2 weeks. My problem is that I suffer from anxieties and poor time management. I had 10 questions with 10 mins left on both verbal and quant.
I don't know how to help myself.

Please, please, please help me!

[[email protected]]

Hi smock,

It sounds as though you're not comfortable enough with the material to take the GMAT right now and score in the range that you want to be scoring in. You might consider paying the $50 and pushing your GMAT back 1-2 months. You can use that time to review what you've been doing and continue studying.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Hi Smock,

Don't place too much weight on one practice test. You may have had a bad day. Perhaps take another test soon to see how accurate the first test was. That said, I typically suggest that students achieve their target score on at least 2 practices tests before they take the official test. So, as Rich suggested, you might need to consider rescheduling.

Regarding time management: I suggest that you use a Milestone Chart to keep you on track. This is covered in our free time management video: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

We also have a free video that addresses test anxiety: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1252

Cheers,
Brent

[David@VeritasPrep]

You should not go into the test room with the feelings that you currently have.

Remember, most of the energy that you feel in a room is what you bring with you.

First, you need to decide that this is what you want to do. That is the hardest decision of all. Knowing that you really want to take the GMAT and go to business school is more valuable than already having a great score but not knowing if business school is really your dream. Seriously, just scoring well on the GMAT does not necessarily make a person a good candidate for business school. It is the desire to attend that is the most essential characteristic. For example, I scored very well on the LSAT and graduated from a top law school, but I had no real desire to be a lawyer. I have always been an educator. That is where my passion is. If your passion is for business school then you are well on your way.

Here is an important article on the subject: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2013/01/ ... n-the-gmat

As for test anxiety, you may not know it, but there are lifestyle issues that can come into play:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/02/ ... asking-now

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/05/ ... e-the-gmat

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/03/ ... n-the-gmat

[David@VeritasPrep]

As for Test Anxiety during the test, there are many things that you can do about this:

Here are some thoughts:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... ay-anxiety

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... ay-anxiety

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/07/ ... n-the-gmat

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/10/ ... n-the-gmat

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/06/ ... n-the-gmat