My Experience --Don't be Nervous

[Saurabh Malpani]

Hi All ,

Took my GMAT on May 18th 2007,

I started my prep from last week of March, two weeks of Prep . I missed the target by 10 points and I am highly dissapointed not because of my score but because that I screwed Quant, my strongest area. Probably because I was I was taking a competetive exam after 3 years because of which I was very nervous. I scored 48 in quant. My lowest score was 49 in all my practice exams. I even scored 51 on GMAT exam ...I was very very nervous and think that's what costed me.

Materials I used:

Cover to Cover of OG 10th and 11th Edition
Material available at Manhattan GMAT--

I don't thinlk you need anything else other than OG and MGMAT.

Will be taking exam again on June.

Thanks
Saurabh Malpani

[GMAT 5/18]

Hey Saurabh,

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't attain the score you wanted. I am not at all worried though - I think it's exactly as you said, the nerves. Now that you have this experience under your belt, I have full faith you will reach your goal come June.

Stick with it, mate, and let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.

[StaceyKoprince]

If you missed your target by only 10 points, you basically hit your target! Remember that the standard deviation of the test is 29 points.

[Saurabh Malpani]

If you missed your target by only 10 points, you basically hit your target! Remember that the standard deviation of the test is 29 points.

Hi Stacey,

thank you very much for your words...but for Applicants from Indian origin don't you think 690 is on the lesser side? ink I mean the top 10 schools it's less than the mean score.

Saurabh Malpani

[GMAT 5/18]

Saurabh,

I understand your concern, but to be honest, I think you will increase your chances of admission if you can differentiate yourself from the rest of the Indian applicants, rather than by trying to attain a similar level of GMAT score.

The top 10 schools accept applicants whose scores range from 520 to 800, and 80% of the applicants they accept score between 650 and 750 (these are just approximations, but you get the idea). Therefore, your score of 690 is in the range, meaning that if you were to be rejected, it is likely the GMAT wouldn't be the eliminating factor. Likely, it would mean the rest of your application wasn't unique enough. At least these are my beliefs.

If I were you, I would try to understand the typical Indian applicant and differentiate yourself as much as you can from that mold. Maybe you can do this by getting involved in the community (volunteering), starting a club at your university, learning a new language, or becoming proficient in playing a musical instrument. I am by no means saying the typical Indian does not partake in these activities; I am mere stating ways in which you can make yourself more appealing to a school. After all, schools want individuals from all backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs; they do no want the conventional.

I do not have any experience with the application process or anything of the sort, but this is something I have learned from reading various forums.

I hope this helps! If not, I am sure the knowledgable Stacey will be able to help!

[StaceyKoprince]

I agree with GMAT 5/18 100%. A 690 will not keep you out of any school. An 800 will not get you into any school.

The dirty little secret that most schools and test prep companies won't tell you is that, for the top 10 schools, a 650 is enough. After that, the decision will be based on the rest of your application, in particular, the "story of you" - the picture you create via your essays, recommendations, work history, and extracurriculars. Sure, a higher score is nice, and it's natural to want to do everything you can do to get the best score you can get. But after about a 650 level, they care MUCH more about the rest of your application.

A couple of exceptions: you need a higher GMAT score to offset a lower GPA, or you scored a 690 with vastly differing percentiles for your math and verbal subscores. If the latter case occurs, you really just need to shore up the weakness.

[GMATPaduan]

On the visits I have been on to a couple Top 5 schools....what I hear is that even more important than the overall score, is the score breakdown and how it matches to your profile. For male applicants from an Indian background, I would venture to say that it is not your overall score that is so important but rather your score on the Verbal section of the GMAT that is probably most scrutinized. Just as for a liberal arts major in college, the bias will be to look at the quant score a bit more heavily.

Another thing I heard often is that the top schools look for a minimum 80/80 split between Verbal and Math. I think I high score that is skewed toward the "wrong" area (i.e. mathematics major with 98% math, and 60% verbal) is discounted a bit...

Not a counselor/expert -- just what I have heard directly from the horse's mouth -- but who knows if this is just lip service...

[sankar]

Saurabh

690 is a very good score - congrats on that !

BTW should one use both OG 10 and OG 11 - would not the latest one suffice ?

[StaceyKoprince]

There's huge overlap between OG10 and OG11 - just use one. (I forget exactly, but something like 75% of questions in OG10 show up in OG11 + the math and verbal supplements.)