Choke! (Q:44 V:33 - 640) -> OK, I guess! (Q:47 V:35 - 670)

I was not going to post anything since I am a little disappointed, but since it seems that the vast majority of GMAT experiences posted on here are 700+ success stories (yes, 710 is great even if you were shooting for 780), I figured I would offer the perspective of someone that just flat out choked. I can't really think of a better way to describe it, as I felt about as prepared as I could be; I scored at or above my goal of 700 in the CAT exams I took in the couple of weeks leading up to the test.

I went into the test today fairly confident (perhaps too confident?), scoring 730, 720, 700 on my last MGMAT CATs. My verbal scores ranged from 40-44 on those tests, so I figured that to be my strong point. The quant section has been the absolute bane of my existence - my scores ranged from 40-49 during that last stretch of CATs, so I did not really know what to expect. My guess was around 46, so I wasn't all that far off. I figured that verbal may be able to carry me the rest of the way to my goal. Perhaps not the best outlook, but I have to work with what I have.

Essay - I breezed through the essays thanks to a couple of templates I found on here (GMAT club has been the best source of info I have used) I am confident that I that I scored a 5 or above. I did not put much thought into the essays prior to the test and it is not completely out of the question that it hurt me in the long run thanks to the debacle that was the last third of my verbal section (more on that in a bit).

Quant - Overall, I would say there were no real surprises here. I could tell that, through about question 10-13, I was doing at least pretty solid, since the questions seemed tough. I was about 2 minutes ahead of schedule at the halfway point, feeling like I was putting in a respectable performance. Then at around question 28-29, I realized that a) I had just received a couple of mind numbingly easy questions and b)I had under 12 minutes to finish the remaining 8-9 questions. I did what I could not to panic, but as I'm sure many of you know, if you are behind schedule, your mind inevitably plays tricks on you. Unfortunately, and perhaps unnecessarily, I rushed through to the end and completed the section with about 2 minutes left, paying close attention to the final 2 question because I actually had enough time to do so. I would not say I panicked, but it certainly affected my performance on the last few questions. The second half of the test quant section did me in, I absolutely know it. Although, I thought that there may have been a chance I saved it there at the end. I was wrong.

Verbal - My supposed strong suit. The reading comp and critical reasoning questions were fairly straight forward. I will say that the SC questions seemed a tad more difficult than the OG, MGMAT, or even GMAT prep questions. Nothing crazy, just an observation, maybe it was the pressure. In any event, it was kind of the same situation as the quant section. I was feeling great through the halfway point...I was RIGHT on target time wise and had 2 of RC sections behind me (not the long one though). I could tell by the level of CR questions that I was getting I was at least on track for high 30's or so it seems. Before I know it, I am on question 29 and have 12 minutes to go including 1 RC. A this point, I'd be lying if there wasn't a mini crisis going on in my head. Timing had never been an issue for me so I guess I wasn't too concerned about. I think test day jitters led to me over thinking and over checking answers. I have nobody to blame but myself on that. Perhaps I was under prepared, since I was focusing my energy on quant over the last 3 weeks.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about the test center, the set up, etc. I have nobody to blame but myself on that. I rescheduled another exam for Dec. 28th and will take today as $250 learning experience...and to be honest, I learned a lot - both about myself and the test that no CAT or prep guide possibly could (as cheesy and lame as that sounds). Unfortunately with low undergrad GPA, I can not afford a 640 in my application for the schools I am targeting, so retake it is.

I have no doubt I will improve my score on my next test (650 here I come!!! ) . I will take a more thorough look over the MGMAT guides and possibly get a couple other recommended guides (including verbal!!!) to solidify my knowledge base and keep my brain in GMAT mode for the next 35 days.

Best of luck to everyone and I hope you can all take something away from my experience. This was pure stream of consciousnesses so I apologize for any grammatical mistake.