Not any other Story...............

[ankit1383]

My GMAT Score 640 (Q50 V26)
Right now I am numb,don’t know how to react,devastated seems not appropriate word to potray my mind state and my vocablury seems limited
My scores In various practice test are as follows

GMAT Prep 1 690
GMAT Prep 2 720
MGMAT 700 Median (highest 740,lowest 660)
Kaplan 610 Median(highest 640 lowest 600)
Princeton 690 Median (highest 710 lowest 680)

My verbal score was always between 37-41.I never got such a low score ever in my practice test.

My target score was around 730……………yes ………you may say that it was too high after seeing my actual score.

Need advice on few issues.

Should I give my GMAT again just after 1 month. Are all application rounds over??
I can give my GMAT around mid November. Will it be too late?????
I am ready to apply in any round
How do I reflect what went wrong???
I have exhausted all material on verbal. Can anyone advice me what to do. Material already covered

OG10
OG11
Princeton
Kaplan
Power score CR
Manhattan SC
Spidey’s Note
Sahil’s Note
1000 SC (have done around 500)
1000 CR(have done around 500)


Now my actual debrief starts……
English is not my first language, so please ignore any mistakes.

Here it goes

Quant
I did OG 10 and OG11 ach two times and I was comfortable in getting in each and every aspect of quant.MGMAT practice test helped me a lot.There is also one more document called Manhattan GMAT archive…….question in this document are difficult but they are so good because they clear your concept and actual GMAT questions seems a lot easier after doing these questions.
Must gmat problem document of BTG is also good.So try and complete these two documents and you will sail through in Quant.
I guess these documents and MGMAT tests are enough for good quant score.



Verbal
I cant provide you much information about verbal, you can make out from my score.One thing I did was I made my own notes from manhattan SC,spidey’s note,sahil notes.

Whenever I got any SC question wrong, I made it a point to include what I got wrong in my notes….just like correct usage, idiom, redundancy etc.So I had my own list of idioms, correct usage in my notes which proved handy in last minute revisions.

I copied all the comments on various problem of 1000 SC from thousandssc.com site.They were very useful like they tell you... for eg why answer is A and not B……
I did this because I needed explanation for every SC question whether I answered it correctly or not .So this was a tedious task of clicking on every question of this site and then copying it to word documents….i have around explanation of around 500…of 1000 SC questions…………………….. if anyone needs them…I will mail it to you

CR
Dis powerscore CR bible and I improved my CR accuracy to almost 90%.Please do this book ,it will take around 3 days to complete it but its worth investing those 3 days

RC
Did only OG10 and OG11

will continue......................

[ankit1383]

Background

Indian Male 25 year, Chartered Accountant by profession and have a experience of around 3 years in IT industry. Yes this sucks ,being a chartered accountant working a in IT industry and doing software testing for a banking solution.
Last year I studied hard for CAT(Indian version of GMAT) and got 85 percentile which was a awful result……and after today’s result I feel I am not made for this management thing.I am devastated and need your advice too beat GMAT.Kindly help me too overcome my biggest fear i.e failing to amanagement course.
I have made lot of scarifices for this
I have ruined my steady relationship for this GMAT
I cant remember how long its been since the last time I went for any excursion.
I am working in IT industry,being a charterd accountant and doing software testing just for the sake that i get ample time to study for GMAT,what you get is 640.I don’t know what I am writing but I feel like sharing my tribulations what all I went through and still got a pathetic scoreof 640
Please I don’t wanna discourage anyone…and I know its not the end of the world…but m shattered, gmat was not a exam for me but to prove myself that I can do it after my CAT debacle.Some may feel I am exaggerating things but this was the priority in my life even more mportant than my relationships………..and after such a debacle…I feel like I have failed in everything………………………..

[bleacherseat]

don't be discouraged. Stuff happens . It's not the end of the world.

app deadlines are not over. You can reapply in round 2. I intend to do that.

and I havent taken GMAT yet. I plan to take it mid october. I had to postpone it as I work 13/14 hr days and I have serious responsibilities at work.

But neverthless if you think you can do better. go for it again.


Remember, score is just one part of the process. I personally know ppl who went to ivy league with as low as 620. But these ppl I know are stalwarts. They took GMAT with a week or two of prep and their app and essay was super strong.

Business schools know that. So , evaluate your applicant pool and see where you stand and restrategize. But dont give up.

[ankit1383]

May be i got too far in writing,but seriously write now i cant think of a way to improve my score,what exactly i need to do,If i know what i need to do believe me i will put everything in it............

[gmataholic]

I have exhausted all material on verbal. Can anyone advice me what to do. Material already covered

ankit1383, I got a 760 on the GMAT (47 verbal), and here are some verbal resources that I've found helpful:

- Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review
- Verbal Study Guide
- Sentence Correction
- Critical Reasoning
- Reading Comprehension

My best advice, though, would be to go back to the Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review and rework problems--and make sure you read the answer explanations--until you understand why the correct answer really is correct.

Good luck!

[aj5105]

ankit1383, do not be so discouraged.
I assure,you will get the returns,if not today,prolly tom.

best for you.

[ankit1383]

Thanks for your reply..................i am not able to get htis thing out of my system that i scored 640 after so much of hard work............
Secondly,i dnt know from where should i start again...........i need to start from the basic.....for sentence correction and for RC.............so please tell me any material from which i can start...............

[aj5105]

I wonder if I am the right person to give advices,at this moment.
There are lots of champions around in this forum.
Hope they help you.

best,
aj

[amitdgr]

First take a short break from GMAT. Don't make it too long.

Seeing your practice tests, I can assure you that it was just a Bad Day. You sure can score higher at least 700. Regarding materials, you'll have to use OGs again.

Get GMATFocus for new questions in quant. And maybe the GMAT paper tests but they are easier than GMATPrep so not sure if they are really useful. Don't take GMATPrep now take it a week before your next test.

There is nothing much I can say. Just focus on verbal more, it is possible you made a couple of silly mistakes in the first 10-15 questions that cost you your score.

I have one question ankit, You mentioned the Manhattan Archive. are these questions from the Manhattan GMAT CAT tests ??

[crazy4gmat]

Hi Ankit,

Looking at you practice test scores ur real GMAT score just looks like an aberration .You just had a bad day. This happens to quite a few people. Just take it one more, u will perform to ur potential. Most of 2 round deadlines begin from 1st week of january so u still have time. All the best.

[ankit1383]

amitdgr......
Manhattan gmat archive is compilation of few difficult questions from manhattan site.....they are reallly good........MGMAT questions and this document are different...if you need them i will mail them to you........thanks for your response...guys like you make this site so helpful for people like me.......

One more advice.....
Please do as many practice tests as possible....
Dont worry about the score and dont practice them too near your exam date.....
My plan was that for every mistake a committed..a made a document on my desktop like...Kaplan mistak,Manhattan Mistake,Prep Mistake.....This document got all the screenshot of mistakes i committed with my comments on each problem..plus good question i need to revise in the last week of my preparation.....

[whytdelight]

Ankit,

Dude i think one of the things that you might need to correct and work upon is something you,yourself, stated ....'I sacrificed relationships...the GMAT was everything for me'. I think this might be a scenario you'll have to try and change.

I understand that you really wanted to prove to yourself that you are capable of acing the GMAT and passion is a great thing but don't confuse obsession with passion. Take a step back and develop a third person view of your life to understand where you want to be a few years down the line - this will help you realize that the GMAT plays a small part in reaching your destination and the GMAT itself isn't the destination.

If we're talking about management, I think you'll have to take all this into consideration. After all that's a part of management, isn't it?

Sorry if it sounds to preachy, just meant to be friendly advice. I'm about to take the GMAT myself in about a month and these are things I keep in mind. Hoping they'll help you out as well.

[ankit1383]

whytdelight............
This is for you...........
I will start with a question for you...

When you give something such a priority in your life and u dnt get expected result even after putting a lot of efforts.....it hurts....Plus i m getting this vibes......is this thing worth the sacrifices i have made to achieve it???

I think you are 100% right about my attitude........i accept things like i was not able to manage all the things in my life simultaneously.....

U r right that GMAT is not the end of world...and third person point of view..may suggest that i made a mistake.........may be few years down the line i may regret and think whether it was worth it....
U know what u just showed me the mirror.....i already knew my mistakes about the attitude i had....thanx a lot........something u need to be preachy n rude to conveyu point......

You may say that m expecting alot from a xam...n how can a xam prove something to someone...i guess it differ from person to person...
Lastly....maybe this attitude was just because ....... for me GMAT is not only about getting in to Management ..but from the starting of my career i had major doubts about clearing GMAT......and i wanted to prove it to myself that i can do it at any cost........this was important for me.....
Some may its just a exam,but for someone its just to prove to yourself thatu can do it.

But i guess this is no explanation for what i did........

[whytdelight]

My point being...if this is a way for you to prove things to yourself...then go ahead and do it! Just adjust some points which you felt were wrong the first time around(in your first attempt)

I replied to your post because I could relate...I've given the CAT a couple of times..and gotten 90%ile both times! In my last attempt, the CAT was everything for me as well and I'd felt that I'd put in a lot of effort. Yet the same result... After the initial disappointment, you must put your bad experiences behind you and take the good out of them.

Cheer up!

N fight on...

[ankit1383]

whytdelight...........
I need one help from you................i am not able to identify what went wrong......m thinking of taking a break for a week and then start again but my mind is still not at peace and one thing which is troubling me is how to start again......
Next time i dnt wanna give to chance to anything......

I have exhausted all the material plus from where to start afresh......
Now i need to work upon my basic but how.....?

I need to find answers for these question and after that i will take a brea and come back with full focus on improving on those fields......

What things you did different when you attemoted CAt second time...and what are you doing different when you are preparing for gmat.....
Please provide some insight form your expereince if possibleit will be useful for answering my doubts.....