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mpc0004
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 5:55 pm
- Location: Birmingham, AL
Alright, so it is the day after I bombed the GMAT. I am still very bummed out and feel defeated, but atleast my thoughts are slightly more clear. Here is the scenario, please provide your feedback.
After just shy of 4 months of preparation, I hit 650 on my Manhattan practice exam last Thursday (6/25/15). I was pumped as I felt my studying was starting to pay off. My prior practice tests were in the 570-590 range but usually were taken under differing circumstances that probably slightly affected my score. Nevertheless the 650 seemed to be a breeze for me as a rolled through the test and was methodical in every answer I selected. All said, I was confident that I would hit 650 yesterday when I took the real thing. Much to my chagrin that was not the case.
My weekend started with a 2.5 hour drive to an AirBnb I was staying in from Saturday until Monday right before my test at 2:00 PM. I traveled in hopes of taking the test on a Monday after refreshing over the weekend from work. When I arrived Saturday, I picked up some groceries and hunkered down for the evening and the next day studying and preparing for the exam. I made sure I ate the right types of food, exercised Saturday & Sunday and made sure I had plenty of sleep.
When Monday rolled around I tried to sleep in a little, but couldn't and I was up around 8:00 AM. I ate a light breakfast of yogurt and granola, read a little bit, watched some of Wimbledon and ESPN, and then went for about a 15-20 minute run around 10:30 AM. After my run, I relaxed, hydrated, and started to cook a little bigger meal for brunch. After I ate I hoped in the shower and cleaned up and got ready for my exam by about 12:15 PM* which gave me about 45 minutes or an hour just to relax before I walked out the door.
I drove to the test center about 15 minutes away, and when I arrived I had 35 minutes until my exam was expected to start. I waited in line while Pearson struggled to get their check-in equipment to work. They then proceeded to warn us that they were expecting a fire alarm to go off that afternoon and they did not know what time it would occur. They said it would last about a minute and include strobes and sirens, but we did not need to evacuate and we should just proceed on with our test during the alarm. As if my stress about doing well on the exam had not already peaked it kept going up. Finally, I got into the testing room and began my exam. The essay went alright, it was not the strongest assumptions I had every been able to pull together, but the structure was good and would have probably pulled a respectable score. Next, was the IR which went fine. Then it was time for the main show: Quant & Verbal. I had my page setup in grid pattern to help me with my timing through the quant, but had to use the first tow for IR and the Essay, so my timing was thrown off throughout the entire quant section. During the quant section I felt as if I "blacked out" it was almost like I had never seen anything I was being tested on before. During the break, I tried to regroup and pull it together, but my composure was shot. I sat back down for the verbal and started hammering it out. I was doing alright early on and then the problems either were significantly harder or my brain was shutting down. I started second guessing myself and rereading things multiple times. I finally finished and when my score popped up on the screen I was shocked. I knew I had done poorly, but I never in my life expected to only hit 470. I think I looked at my scores for 5 seconds before going to the next slide and cancelling my results.
This is a lot to take in, but someone please give me some advice moving forward.
*It should also be noted that there was external pressure to do well on the exam and be finished with studying as well as other issues that influenced my stress level on test day.
Thanks,
MC
After just shy of 4 months of preparation, I hit 650 on my Manhattan practice exam last Thursday (6/25/15). I was pumped as I felt my studying was starting to pay off. My prior practice tests were in the 570-590 range but usually were taken under differing circumstances that probably slightly affected my score. Nevertheless the 650 seemed to be a breeze for me as a rolled through the test and was methodical in every answer I selected. All said, I was confident that I would hit 650 yesterday when I took the real thing. Much to my chagrin that was not the case.
My weekend started with a 2.5 hour drive to an AirBnb I was staying in from Saturday until Monday right before my test at 2:00 PM. I traveled in hopes of taking the test on a Monday after refreshing over the weekend from work. When I arrived Saturday, I picked up some groceries and hunkered down for the evening and the next day studying and preparing for the exam. I made sure I ate the right types of food, exercised Saturday & Sunday and made sure I had plenty of sleep.
When Monday rolled around I tried to sleep in a little, but couldn't and I was up around 8:00 AM. I ate a light breakfast of yogurt and granola, read a little bit, watched some of Wimbledon and ESPN, and then went for about a 15-20 minute run around 10:30 AM. After my run, I relaxed, hydrated, and started to cook a little bigger meal for brunch. After I ate I hoped in the shower and cleaned up and got ready for my exam by about 12:15 PM* which gave me about 45 minutes or an hour just to relax before I walked out the door.
I drove to the test center about 15 minutes away, and when I arrived I had 35 minutes until my exam was expected to start. I waited in line while Pearson struggled to get their check-in equipment to work. They then proceeded to warn us that they were expecting a fire alarm to go off that afternoon and they did not know what time it would occur. They said it would last about a minute and include strobes and sirens, but we did not need to evacuate and we should just proceed on with our test during the alarm. As if my stress about doing well on the exam had not already peaked it kept going up. Finally, I got into the testing room and began my exam. The essay went alright, it was not the strongest assumptions I had every been able to pull together, but the structure was good and would have probably pulled a respectable score. Next, was the IR which went fine. Then it was time for the main show: Quant & Verbal. I had my page setup in grid pattern to help me with my timing through the quant, but had to use the first tow for IR and the Essay, so my timing was thrown off throughout the entire quant section. During the quant section I felt as if I "blacked out" it was almost like I had never seen anything I was being tested on before. During the break, I tried to regroup and pull it together, but my composure was shot. I sat back down for the verbal and started hammering it out. I was doing alright early on and then the problems either were significantly harder or my brain was shutting down. I started second guessing myself and rereading things multiple times. I finally finished and when my score popped up on the screen I was shocked. I knew I had done poorly, but I never in my life expected to only hit 470. I think I looked at my scores for 5 seconds before going to the next slide and cancelling my results.
This is a lot to take in, but someone please give me some advice moving forward.
*It should also be noted that there was external pressure to do well on the exam and be finished with studying as well as other issues that influenced my stress level on test day.
Thanks,
MC
