Down, but not out. 690 Q49 V35 AWA 5

[scavenger]

690 Q49 V35 AWA 5

I am thoroughly disheartened but not going to retake the GMAT.
It started in a bad way. I had my test centre - PATNA. It was a clumsy centre... basically a computer class tuition centre which had a separate room allotted for Pearson PUV.

I visited the centre one day before but they didnot even allow me to see the washrooms and other facilities. I had appointment at 9.45 am on Saturday. I reached the centre at 9.30am. I was asked to wait by the proctor and the he went inside. Every 10 mins the proctor will come and ask me to wait for sometime. He told that the system has hanged and they are fixing it.
There were so many students entering or leaving the centre for their tuition classes. It was very noisy. Later one fellow started discussion with me. He told me that he had also GMAT appointment at 9 am and he had been waiting since 8.30am. He told me that the system had data encryption eror whenever the proctor tried to log him in.

The system was fixed at 12 noon. I had been waiting for almost 2.5 hours! I was feeling so sleepy by then....mainly due to the strong AC in the waiting hall. The other guy was allowed in at 12.10 noon. I was told that I will be allowed only after another 30 mins! I protested but to no avail.

Finally, I was in at 12.30. Started exam by 12.40.

AWA was smooth.

1st to come up was Analysis of Argument. I managed a decent 5 Paragaph essay with 2 examples each for both of my reasons. I had 2 min to proof read and proof reading was helpful... I could correct some typographical mistakes.

Issue topic was also an easy one. I typed a 5 para essay again and had some trouble getting examples. Lost time here a bit. I could not proof read the essay. I had left one un finished sentence in second paragraph for an example. So, that will surely cost me.

I took the break and went to the washroom. It was a filthy place. Like a typical dirty, stingy bathroom of the waiting rooms in railway stations.
I had a chocolate and went in, fully charged to tame the quant section. My range had been 49-51 in the practice tests. So, I was pretty confident.

The first 5 questions looked as if they are from GMATprep test..just with the values changed!!! Still, I took time double checking all the calculations.
The nex five questions were DS questions and by the time I was at 11th question, I was averaging 3 mins per question. I decided to go fast. But the toughness level didnt allow me to go fast. I got so many questions from Number Systems, Inequalities and Absolute Values that I felt like smashing the head of the paper setter. I couldnt increase my pace.

Result - I was at Q#33 with 27 seconds left !!!
I randomly guessed #33, 34, 35, 36, 37.

The centre was very noisy throughout the test. I asked the proctor to go and ask the students in other rooms to maintain silence. Also, the traffic horns were constantly bugging me as the centre was on a busy road.
As I finished the section, I knew it was my bad day and I would not be getting more than 49 by any means.

In the break, I still had to go for washroom because of the strong AC.
I spent the 3-4 minutes concentrating and telling myself that what has happened has happened and now focus on what is next.

I took the second break for 6 mins. I had started to feel damn hungry by then. I had a 5-Star chocolate. It helped a bit.

Before starting the test I told myself that my future rests pretty much on how i perform in the next 75 mins. I decided to move ahead if unable to solve any question in 3 mins.

Off I started. This time I made a table to count how many Qs have come from RC, CR and SC. The section started with 4 SC and 3 CR. I got my first passage at Q8. Two RC were small and two RC were Monstrous. The topics were - America history, Recent Technological Advance, Archeology and International trade dispute. I was lucky to not to receive any essay on biology. All along the test, I was bothered only by a CR question. I couldnot make any sense of it ! I feel the difficulty level was exactly of GMATprep and OG-11.

I got 1 Bold face question at #40. I finished the section with 20 secs to spare and pretty happy with myslef.

I frisked through the survey sheet and came to the "Score" sheet. I spent 5 mins calculating mentally how much I can expect. In Quant, On a bad day I used to score 49, and, on a good day, I used to score 51. In verbal, I used to score 39 on a bad day and a 45 on a good day. I knew for sure that it was a bad day in quant (as I had to guess last 5 Qs). I felt I had done reasonably well in Verbal and expected my verbal score to be 40-41.

So, I expected a score of 720 - 730 overall.

With this figure in my mind, I clicked on "Report Score" and waited one of the most apprenhensive 5 seconds of my life. And then, I got the bomb placed in front of me. I was too shocked to react. I just sat there staring at the Verbal score - 35. I had never got so less in any of my practise tests! My reaction was involuntary - Heavy sweating all over my body and my palms.

I felt like crying. I felt like beating up the proctor. I felt like running away. I felt cheated.

I sat there for 15-20 mins to absorb the shock. I came out very depressed. I felt that the delay in the exam cost me 20-30 marks. But I have got myself to blame.

I had prepared to 2 months.

My scores:
MGMAT free test:670 Q49 V34
Veritas free test: 740 Q51 V37
GMATprep1: 730 Q50 V40
GMATprep2: 730 Q49 V40
GMATprep1 (retake): 750 Q51 V40
GMATprep2 (retake): 740 Q50 V39
GMATprep1 (reinstalled): 770 Q51 V45
GMATprep2 (reinstalled): 760 Q51 V41

I used 1st month to complete class 9th, 10th, 11th Maths book. (RD Sharma) Also, I completed Arun Sharma.
I studied OG11 and OG10 in the last one month.

I had downloaded loads of material. I found Manhattan SC very useful.
For AWA, i read some material two days before the test to get the flavor.

Learnings:
1. Quant is very tough in Number systems.(prime nos, remainders, divisibility, absolute values). Expect to get atleast 22-25 Qs on this topic!
2. Verbal is of GMATprep / OG level.
3. Book a test centre where the facilities ar adequate and there is silence.

I have sent my scores to
1. Harvard
2. Stanford
3. Kellogg
4. MIT Sloan
5. Cornell

I have 6 years exp in metal and mining sector. Passed from NIT(Top 10 institute of India). 70% in Engineering. I have had had great growth at my company Aluminium company. I am currently leading a team of more than 200 (Engineers, Trainees and Workmen). I have decent Extracurriculars.
I want to apply to 5 more institutes. Some suggestions are welcome for the same.

[Guest]

Scavanger, 690 is a very good score. Your application will be looked at by the adcoms given where you score is right now. Focus on having strong essays and recommendations now.

How old are you? Harvard maybe a stretch school (realistically no chance), if you are in 29-30 years range. They have been trending towards younger classes and engineers is not the preferred occupational category there to begin with.

You may also want to consider Carnegie Mellon, Yale SOM, Chicago GSB and Duke. Keep Cornell as your backup.