Well, took the GMAT for the first time today and as you can see from the subject, my score wasn't exactly anything to write home about.
My problem now, as I try to get my head back into the game so I can prepare for round two, is that I don't know what I did wrong. My actualy score was 110 points lower than the last practice test I took and 50 points lower than my average practice score. I studied every day after work for a full month doing timed drills for 2-3 hours a night and carefully reviewed the problems I did. I took atleast one practice test a week, except for the week right before the exam. I reviewed all of the MGMAT labs and study guides...
I just feel like I did everything I was supposed to and still bombed. I'm disappointed and pissed I have to take another $250 pain-in-the-butt exam, but mostly I just don't know where to begin studying again because I really felt like I did all I could.
Does any one have any advice or words of encouragement or is this just how it goes sometimes with the GMAT? Should I just do more of the same and get back to the grindstone and hope for a better score next time?
Thanks!
GMAT Forum
2 postsPage 1 of 1
- Alaviva03
- vapnet4
your experience sounds remarkably like mine. i studied for one month, working through the problems in the GMAT official guide and the manhattan CATs. the first GMATprep CAT i took, at the beginning of my studies, was a 730. then i took 3 manhattan GMAT tests, scoring between 700 and 750. 2 days before the test, i took the 2nd GMATprep and scored a 680, which i was very disappointed by. and then on test day, i scored a 670 (35V, 47M, 6 AWA).
what stood out to me was how my verbal score fell apart. i'd been consistently scoring 41-45 verbals on the manhattan GMATs - my accuracy wasn't great (i'd usually get 10-13 questions wrong) but i was able to do well on the more difficult problems. so that's how the GMAT is scored, i told myself. and then i didn't worry about it. i focused on the quant and did little preparation for verbal, relying on my ear for sentence corrections and cruising through reading comprehension. 2 days before the test, my complacency crept up on me as i scored a 35 verbal on the 2nd GMAT prep. i honestly had no idea what happened.
so it's back to the drawing board for me as well. i'm just going to try to maintain my quant (hell, even improve it!) and nail down the verbal. i'm going to spend some real time with sentence corrections and reading comprehension instead of taking my previously unstructured approach of just taking the practice tests and not analyzing my weak areas. like you, i'm a bit nervous b/c i've essentially exhausted a lot of my CAT practice options. but i'm hoping diligence and smart studying will pay off this time. really hoping...
if anyone's got other advice, i'd love to hear it.
what stood out to me was how my verbal score fell apart. i'd been consistently scoring 41-45 verbals on the manhattan GMATs - my accuracy wasn't great (i'd usually get 10-13 questions wrong) but i was able to do well on the more difficult problems. so that's how the GMAT is scored, i told myself. and then i didn't worry about it. i focused on the quant and did little preparation for verbal, relying on my ear for sentence corrections and cruising through reading comprehension. 2 days before the test, my complacency crept up on me as i scored a 35 verbal on the 2nd GMAT prep. i honestly had no idea what happened.
so it's back to the drawing board for me as well. i'm just going to try to maintain my quant (hell, even improve it!) and nail down the verbal. i'm going to spend some real time with sentence corrections and reading comprehension instead of taking my previously unstructured approach of just taking the practice tests and not analyzing my weak areas. like you, i'm a bit nervous b/c i've essentially exhausted a lot of my CAT practice options. but i'm hoping diligence and smart studying will pay off this time. really hoping...
if anyone's got other advice, i'd love to hear it.
2 posts Page 1 of 1