Well, here I am. I cannot believe that I have been following the countless threads, comments, links, discussions, and occasional disagreements since May. My condensed background consists of graduating from an undergraduate commerce degree with a 3.56 GPA and a flaming passion for teaching. I am not going the MBA route as most others in this forum - I plan on attending a Master of Management program with a focus on Marketing next Fall. The only thing that stands in my way is a 3-part, 3.5 hour test called the GMAT.

Over the past few months I have been reading a single book, "Kaplan Math Foundations", thinking that it would get me through everything that I needed to know about all of those topics I seemed to have no interest in during high school. Looking back on my efforts throughout those formidable 4 years, I can say (with bold understatement) that I did not work as hard as I should have in those math courses. My average math grade between 9 and 12 was about 55%. I also have a fond memory of being kicked out of math on the very first day for using some choice words with my buddy across from me. And it wasn't that I was a rebel (not entirely, anyways), it was just that I had my passions in other places. My strongest grades were in business classes; specifically in business communications, international business, and marketing. In fact, I proudly won the school's business award upon graduation and represented my school for having created my own start-up web design company a year prior. I suppose my point here is - if I put my mind to something, it can get done.

So on Wednesday I took the diagnostic test. It was no surprise that I didn't do especially well on the quantitative portion, but I could not have planned for quite as badly as I had done. My score was 14 out of 37. By subtracting the ones that I got incorrect from that amount, it leaves me with a Raw Score of 8. The verbal I did much better, with a score of 32. This was brought down significantly after having gotten 8 of the last 11 questions wrong due to a shortage of time. In total, my diagnostic result was a 310 (bottom 3% according to Kaplan's book).

At this point it is clear that I will need to work extremely hard to get where I need to be to be competitive. I am not exactly applying to the most rigorous programs available, but I would like to go to a school with a good reputation and that leads to a comfortable amount of good career opportunities. I am certain that this is the path that is for me, and only wish I listened more during those macabre math lessons.

Any advice, comments, virtual slaps-to-the-back-of-the-head , or whatever you may have to offer me are well appreciated. I am certain that you will see my name floating around these message boards, firstly asking a thousand questions - and eventually answering them for others. I am planning on writing my GMAT towards the end of the year (early December), and am aiming for a score of 600. Thank you all for reading and I look forward to interacting with and getting-to know many of you over the next few months.

Cheers!
Miic