Thank you guys for your support! And thank you bmillan for your valuable post!
First test: I had no idea what I was up against because I was not well informed (something that I take full responsibility for). I had two books: the Kaplan 2009 Comprehensive Program and the Princeton Review. I studied well with the two books; however, I really underestimated the actual test and didn’t prepare well for it. I knew how much I needed to score to be considered for acceptance but I didn’t know how much I needed to prepare for it.
Six days from D day I took the GMATprep and realized that I was in no way ready to take the test. Hence, I failed.
Second test: I was shook up from the terrible score that I got from my first GMAT. But I got back to studying some months later.
This time I browsed the internet looking for some information on the test and I found this forum where I was able to find some great information on the exam written by awesome GMATters who did well in the exam and wanted to share their experiences. All of them recommended the
OG books and most recommended the
Manhattan books but they did also say that practicing for the test would be great. The place where I was living didn’t (and probably still doesn’t) have fast and reliable internet connection. So pushed aside practicing and I believed that I would do well just by using the
OG books and I asked a friend of my family to send me a book and I got the
OG 11 edition. I studied it so well and believed that I was ready to take the test, which I was to take a week later. Six days from D day I took the GMATprep and received a score way below my expectations. And so once more, I got an awful score.
Third test: I was crushed but I knew that I had to try again because if I don’t try then I would be the only thing standing in my way. So I dusted myself off and began to study a month later.
There was no way I was going to do badly this time I told myself. I buckled down and looked for practice material that I might be able to use. But, unfortunately the computer that I was using had a lot of important documents that my family members saved on it and it had very small space on it so I couldn’t download paper tests from the websites I had found.
Luckily enough for me, a close relative let me borrow his laptop every now and then and I was able to get my tests and save them on a flash drive. I registered to take the test three months later and planned to study the basics for a month and practice for the rest of the time I had. And I studied for a month and two weeks and practiced till D day. The best score I received from the paper tests was 670. But the paper tests being the way they are (software wise) did not give me an accurate range of what my score would be like on the actual test. I took one of the GMATpreps a day before test day and I got a 570
. From then on I wasn’t able to control my nerves.
I went to the movies with some friends to help calm my nerves but I wasn’t able to even fully watch the movie. I went to bed early that night but I couldn’t sleep.
When I woke up the next morning it felt as though something was on my face trying very hard to pull my eyelids over my eyes. I wanted to sleep but that was not an option. I needed a cup of coffee and I had one before I got in to take my test.
I timed myself well for the essays and thought I did a good performance. Next was math, I tried hard to calm my nerves but when I started on the section I became extremely nervous. I read the first question and tried so hard to answer it. I was so nervous that at times I forgot what the question was asking. I wasted so much time trying to answer the questions at the beginning that I had to guess the last fifteen qs. When the quant sec was over I was so angry at myself for not being able to focus my attention on the question being asked, it cost me the rest of the test. I was so disappointed in myself and I told myself that what’s done is done and that what’s coming up next is all that mattered.
The next section, I was confident about. I used a grid, used POE and timed myself pretty well. But after all that I received 530, a score that was even worse from the second exam
. I didn’t understand it.
I was so disappointed in myself that I didn’t think I would take the test again until only recently when I was able to come to the US, where I can get reliable and fast internet access. And, since I’m not working for a while, I could study for the upcoming test, fully.
I would love to hear your opinions on what I must do and what I did wrong? Thanks again.
To answer your q bakfed, I want to get 750+, I know that it seems pretty high but I also know that it's not impossible.