Hello, this is my first post. I just wonder what's wrong with me. Gmat is difficult but I keep listening to people and stories about how they prepared the exam in 2 week and got around 690. This make me see that, besides some capacities and preparation, there is an strong additional factor on how you approach the Gmat, to be more clear, "do you understand how it works?" I don’t.

I made the Gmat exam on April 2011 and got 530 points. In Gmat prep I scored around 540 and 520. In this occasion I was very disappointed, but as I prepared the admissions to some universities and at least moment prepared for the exam, the result was almost justify. Could approve or not, is true I took my chances. Not happy, but fare enough.

After some month of break, and after being rejected for my score in the programs I was aiming, I decided to start application to another MBA program. I got accepted subject to the condition I get 650 points. This time I had one month to get ready, I study every day after work and all weekends full time, I took 7 days vacations and studied from 8 to 20 in library and then check errors at home. I had the exam last week, my final score was 530.

I was really prepared but I was shocked for some difficult question at the beginning of Q and long RC in V. I couldn’t make the last 4 questions of Q and got stacked in the middle of V (around the question 20 I had 21 minutes remaining), finally I skipped (guess) some questions and finished without time for the last of V. Now that I think about it maybe I was lucky to not get less than 500.

My conclusion: I don’t understand the Gmat, don’t know how to manage time and how to approach questions. Even if practicing a lot, each difficult question block me. I really don’t know how much people know about Gmat math or English, I am pretty confident to be among the average or above, even though, I couldn’t.

So, my question.
1. What do you think?
2. How you did it?
3. How you think I can learn to manage Gmat time and strategy.

Thanks in advance,

there are so many strategies how to improve your score and how to prepare the gmat!
but i think the most important thing is to get into it, the gmat should be like a girlfriend for you...you have to love it, you have to hate it, you have to think about it all the time, you have to sleep with it....
with the right motivation and emotional participation you will do much much better!
good luck!!