Test Day Nerves - 650 (Q44, V36) - Average Student

Hello all,

Just got done taking the test and ended up with a disappointing 650. Before I forget, here are a few tips that I would like to share as I'm not a good standardized test taker.

1) Timing, timing, timing - Do not underestimate timing limitations on both sections. Even though, I tested at home in "real" conditions, nothing prepares you for the real thing. It was definitely not easy testing with other people around under strict time requirements.

2) Quant - Don't under prepare for the Quant section just because you are good. I never got a Quant score less than 48 in practice tests including Manhattan. I did not think the questions were too difficult (I'm only speaking of the first 10 or so before i started getting them wrong), but for some reason I took longer than anticipated on the first ten and panicked. I guessed way too many in between for the sake of time and also way too randomly. I guess one way to prepare would be to time every time you do the a math question, even when you practice. I know GMATClub provides various timers, so use them and I definitely should have.

3) Verbal - I think my score was definitely affected because of my mind thinking of the Quant debacle but nevertheless some of the mistakes again are attributed to timing. There were no "surprise" questions. I was quite thoroughly prepared but must have made mistakes though. Don't over study tough CR questions such as Bold Face and flaw in reasoning. Yes, they do appear but in much smaller numbers as compared to S/W and assumption questions. RC passages were quite easy to understand but had CR style questions in them. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.

4) Practice Tests - Don't be obsessed with practice scores. I can list all of them but I can assure you that NONE of them very reflective of my score as my exam nerves prevailed. So if you are like me and you have exam anxiety, take the practice tests as a way to gauge timing and to practice guessing but not really look at scores except maybe as a diagnostic at the beggining.

Tip for foreign (non-native English speakers) students - Don't ignore math and study basic verbal concepts, as they are tested more. Understanding the meaning of SC sentences is a must as it impacts CR and RC as well.

I need to decide to decide about retake