From a 410 to ??? I need help!

[csysantos85]

I'm posting on here because I need help and this community seems to be the foremost experts on helping with the GMAT. I'll try to provide as much background as I can and I am certainly open to any and all suggestions. I originally scheduled the GMAT in February of 2014 after doing a month of studying from the Manhattan GMAT prep guides (all 8) but I was distracted by my job due to a promotion to a new position. On test day I had just gotten over Strep throat and my score ended up being a 400. I was disheartened and seriously considered giving up but decided to try one last ditch effort to make a high enough score to possibly get into a MBA program at nearby OU during the third round. I rededicated myself and studied for another month and retook the exam this past April. I felt confident and the nerves at the test center were gone but when I finished, I was staring at a 410 overall and I felt crushed all over again.

I've come close to giving up on the MBA dream but I can't because I know that I am better than a 410 and I certainly don't want to live my life with that on the back of my mind. I recognize some of the mistakes I made, notably not placing enough time between studying at the test and becoming desperate to get into any MBA that I can just for the sake of getting the MBA to better my career options when I should have just taken the time to strive to get into the school that is the best fit for me and where I want to be. I have to score high on the GMAT because my undergrad GPA was not that stellar due to me transferring colleges 4 times.

I've decided to retake the test again but this time I am aiming for a late August date to give me over 90 days to study at least 2 hours a day if not more. What would people suggest to help me get that dream score over 700? I know my Quant is incredibly low and I am considering buying the Manhattan Foundations of Math or the Total GMAT math. Any recommendations? My verbal is horrible as well, to the point that I might as well be a foreign student in the eyes of the test makers, that mostly could be attributed to me not investing as much time into Verbal as I should. I am also considering using a online test prep service like Kaplan or EMPOWERgmat after I have seen so many success stories from using them, notably joshcollins.

Here is some background to help:

Degree: Political Science - George Washington University BS 2012
Undergrad GPA: 2.7
2+ years of professional employment; 7+ years total employment

Dream MBA programs Fall 2015:

Anderson - UCLA
Haas - Cal-Berkeley
Kenan-Flagler - UNC
McCombs - Texas

I welcome any advice, help, criticism, motivation etc. I'm here to learn and beat the GMAT like everyone else.

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Hi csysantos85,

Even though your past Official GMAT scores didn't end in a high score, you can still learn from each of those experiences. It does not sound like either set of circumstances was ideal, so the extra time that you've planned to spend this time around should give you a better chance to succeed.

You mentioned studying with some books, but how were you scoring on your practice CATS? Also, what were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on your two Official GMATs?

When it comes to preparing for the GMAT, there are certainly plenty of options. This Forum is a great place to ask questions and learn from the experts. I'd suggest that you take advantage of any free resources, trial accounts, etc. that the various GMAT Course providers offer and pick the one that best matches your personality, budget and timeline. You're going to have to work hard, but since the GMAT is a predictable, standardized exam, you can learn to crush it.

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

[csysantos85]

Thank you for responding so quickly Rich. I do agree that neither of the GMATs that I took were under the ideal conditions. I rushed it trying to go off of my memory of math and english from college but this is truly a test I need to give everything I have to preparing for it. My practice CATS were around the 550 range give or take 10 points. My quant score on this previous test was a 21 and my verbal was a 25.

I feel that the biggest problem I am having with studying and getting the material down is the lack of structure. I tried going through the books in order, tried mixing up order, tried OG problems in order and random but I think I have been rushing. I stayed calm throughout the GMAT but my studying has been so scatterbrained that I don't think it has benefited me.

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Hi csysantos85,

With the Scaled Scores that you've provided, it's clear that you have plenty of opportunities to pick up points in both the Quant and Verbal sections. Since the GMAT is a standardized, predictable exam, you can count on certain categories in each section representing a certain number of questions. It sounds like you don't know which categories are the "big" categories and which ones are the "smaller/rarer" categories. To score at a higher level, it's important to get comfortable with (and really nail) the tactics/knowledge that focus on the big categories.

Choosing a course that focuses the proper amount of time on each of the categories will help you to maximize your performance. Most GMAT Courses provide a set structure to help you focus on the subjects that matter (the EMPOWERgmat Course is based heavily on that principle), but most of that information is common knowledge.

If you're not sure which areas to focus on, then here's some perspective:

In the Quant section, the BIG categories are Algebra, Arithmetic, Number Properties, Math Formulas, Geometry and Ratios.

In the Verbal section, each of the 3 categories represents a big piece of the total, but they typically fall into this order (from largest to smallest): SC, RC, CR.

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