Dear All,

Have been an active follower of this forum since February , the time I started with my GMAT preparations.

Premise : 2 unsuccessful attempts = 1. 2nd June 570 Q44 V 24, 2. 31st july 510 Q40 V 20

A bit of my prep : If i can be truthful of one thing it will be my dedication/ regimented approach towards GMAT, had given my heart n soul during the 4-5 months stint.

Materials used : have exhausted almost all OG / Ver review/ Gmatprep Docs / Bunuel Signature items / Jeff Sackmann Extreme challenge sets / Few LSAT Q's >>>>>> do i still have anything left.

My analysis : In my 2nd attempt I really had got a hang of SC n RC ( not an arrogant statement but just a critical analysis or self estimation ) , CR not very sure but my hit rate was between 65-70%. Previously I used to understand & mark the right ans but after going through several posts in gmatclub wrt effective CR startegy i picked up POE, used them in my mini tests and practise tests and it was working well. For Quant in my 2nd attempt i screwed up big time and got 2 sitters wrong Q 1/ 2 and 4-5 other, on a hindsight I think i could have raised my score to 45 but still not a 48-49 material.

For Verbal I was pretty confident : Did mini tests in blocks of 40 and in sets of 20 mixing CR n SC, forced myself to hone my skills / critically think under time cruching situations = things were working well during practise tests.

My practise scores = took Gmatprep 10 times = 5 from the older version / 5 from the newer version = Scores hovered bwn 700-770 ( Q 48-50, V 41-46 ) & MGMAT 4 times ( 700-720 , Q 44-47, V 41-45 )

Though i understand that there were many repeats more in Verbal less from the Quant pool = But believe me I got the known ones right for the right reasons ( Able to recognise patterns be it S_V/ parallelism/ Comparison etc ) and not because I remembered the answers. My only objective in taking so many tests was to force myself in acclimatising to the mental/physical stamina so that it becomes a second nature. All the tests were taken with AWA n IR to simulate actual conditions.

It seems all my efforts have gone into vain : Though trying hard to shun off evrything but its hard to keep off the feeling why I failed / not failed but failed miserably = I am a person who doesn"t fear to take the bit bxn his teeth & believe me had it been an actual estimation of my skills, I would have gladly accepted i thoroughly believe in the statement sooner one accepts better it is for him.ut

Mooting over the facts of taking a final conclusive shot : though it would mean no application this year as the deadline for R1 is Sep and R2 is end Nov but would stay satisfied that I could finally tame the beast.

Pease pen down ur thoughts/ suggestions / startegies = Sorry for the long post.

A small background Brief : Indian / Engineer / 8 years of exp in Sales Domain

Rgds SKM

Thanks Buddy for the retort n for the kind words.

I had already read ur post or should I say the inspirational post during my 1st retake = Loved the lines of ur GF & ur retaliation with the awesome 700.

My probs : very diffcicult for me to put things at the backburner for 3 -4 months, self analysis reveals I like doing a critical analysis ( rights/ Wrongs) and then pounce ASAP. Furthermore very difficult to continue with my existing job ( A run of the mill company which i consciously chose / a calculated risk that I took so that i could devote more time to my studies, leaving a cushy/fortune 2 company ) = so the equation now stands to be : either i continue with the Grind and give GMAt a conclusive/parting shot and come out with a YUMMY OR I leave everything to the back / search for a new job and do a YUCK

Quant : I know i need to hone my skills . i can manage a 44-45 but still haven't evolved to be a 48-49-50 material. I still don't have the confidence that whatever questions Gmat throws at me will not shake me off - Guess this confidence is very much essential though knowing very well that there will be some toughies on which one will have to guess n move on.

Verbal : I really know next to nothing about the sobbing story that i encountered, it's not that I am feigning to know nothing : I am confident of my SC skills and those are not over estimation or that i am trying to put on airs , surfacing from my rigorous study schedules/ recognisation of patterns/ sinking and embossing of concepts tested.

For CR : still unsure whether this caused the catastrophe or not

For RC : i am quite a binary person : Mistakes hovered between 3-7 in all my practise tests, but during my 2nd attempt I was managing to narrow the error gaps to quite a good extent

Can the reason be attributed to the no of tests that i took in frenzy = unsure :

I never felt elated for the scores ( 700-770 ) that popped on my screen during my practice exams rather was circumspect to find whether I got those for the right reasons and not because I remembered the answers.

Exhaustion : i didn't feel any sort of exhaustion during my 4 hr stint, though was on a complete fast.

Still unable to zone in on the reasons ; having said that ,After reading all of yours come back stories I am seriously broaching of giving it a final shot.

To abridge : if i can converge my thoughts into actions, my strategy will be

Quant : I want to go for GMAT CLUB tests this time = give a nose dive and continue till I am confident that I have evolved into a Q 50 material.

Verbal : CR : i want to practise through LSAT ones / RC : From gmatprep docs

Dear All : please let know how to take things forward / be critical to the core ( I don't want any paly paly talks = i take the ownership of my failure & I will definitely bring myself back) = ur criticisms/unbiased suggestions will allow me to dwell in the right direction / gain an alternate perspective/ redress my mistakes and help me in achieving my dream.

Sorry again for the long post and thx to all of you for being all ears.

Rgds SKM

dear friend,it seems u have worked hard but the results not satisfactory as felt by u.
today only i appeared for GMAT and got a poor score of 550.
i was thinking of giving a second shot after exactly one month.
but as seen from ur exp. will have a thought over it.
thanks for ur post friend.