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Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge...

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mdlyman
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Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink] New post   17 Dec 2014, 08:10
So I need a little help. I'm retaking the GMAT on Saturday and the anxiety is starting to build up. I need some advice.

To start off, my first attempt at the GMAT didn't go too well. I have been mainly using MGMAT and OG for studying. Here's my performance on my CATs leading up to my exam:

630 - 40q, 36v (MGMAT)
690 - 45q, 40v (GMATPrep)
620 - 40q, 35v (MGMAT)
630 - 47q, 30v (GMATPrep)

First test day - 590 - 36q, 35v

I was pretty shocked to see that I scored a 36 in quant on the actual exam. I didn't think that I was killing the exam, but thought I would for sure score in the 40s.

So over the last few months I have been working hard on quant doing a lot of problems and analyzing my weaknesses. I believe that I've made some good improvement. Here's the scores from my last three CATs.

650 - 44q, 35v (MGMAT)
700 - 48q, 38v (GMATPrep)
680 - 48q, 34v (GMATPrep)

I'm targeting a 660 score, so I've been please with my results over the last few weeks. HOWEVER, I now have this building fear that I think that the GMATprep quant sections are easier than the actual exam. You can see that I score best on the quant sections from the GMATPrep software. Is there any truth to this, or am I just freaking myself out prior to my test?

When it comes down to it, I do feel more prepared this time around. I'm just terrified that I'll finish the exam again and see another sub 600 score.

What do you all think???
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bb
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Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink] New post   17 Dec 2014, 23:29
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So what..... you see a sub-600 score and what happens then? you have to spend another $250 - is that the terrible bad part?
Schools are pretty forgiving to people trying to beat their scores and messing around too. They want to let you succeed and there is limit (within reason) that would hurt you from the retaking perspective. We have had people take the GMAT 4 times here over multiple years and be able to get in. Nobody cares about it.

Take the test one question at a time. Don't worry about how you are doing - many people do and freak out when they are off to a tough start and their timing is off or when they get a certain question - that's not your problem. Your goal is to solve and answer as many questions as quickly as practical. That's it. You don't need to worry if this question is easier or harder - you just need to solve it. Think about the questions, not about the result... i think i came up with the absolutely worst and most gross analogyI have ever used (my children will be embarrassed) but I will go ahead and compare thinking about the score during the GMAT to thinking about pooping during dinner.... So my message is - focus on the food and enjoy it. The other part will come later, naturally, without your any need of thinking about it. You will get the score but the less you think about it, the more enjoyable it will be :-)

Good Luck!
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Re: Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink] New post   19 Dec 2014, 08:28
bb wrote:
So what..... you see a sub-600 score and what happens then? you have to spend another $250 - is that the terrible bad part?
Schools are pretty forgiving to people trying to beat their scores and messing around too. They want to let you succeed and there is limit (within reason) that would hurt you from the retaking perspective. We have had people take the GMAT 4 times here over multiple years and be able to get in. Nobody cares about it.

Take the test one question at a time. Don't worry about how you are doing - many people do and freak out when they are off to a tough start and their timing is off or when they get a certain question - that's not your problem. Your goal is to solve and answer as many questions as quickly as practical. That's it. You don't need to worry if this question is easier or harder - you just need to solve it. Think about the questions, not about the result... i think i came up with the absolutely worst and most gross analogyI have ever used (my children will be embarrassed) but I will go ahead and compare thinking about the score during the GMAT to thinking about pooping during dinner.... So my message is - focus on the food and enjoy it. The other part will come later, naturally, without your any need of thinking about it. You will get the score but the less you think about it, the more enjoyable it will be :-)

Good Luck!


Thanks for the advice, bb. I feel a lot better since my last post and am actually looking forward to the exam. I've worked hard to improve and we'll see what happens. Finger are crossed!!
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Re: Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink] New post   23 Dec 2014, 12:30
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Hi mdlyman,

How did Test Day go?

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Re: Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink] New post   28 Dec 2014, 20:23
Hey all,

Thought that I would post a quick update as I was away on holidays. The exam went a little better this time around. Here's my breakdown:

660

IR - 8
AWA - 5
Q - 42
V - 38

I'll be honest, I thought that I had totally bombed the exam. I ran into some timing issues on both quant and verbal, and had to dump a few questions. After taking the test a second time I noticed that I get too nervous about missing questions, and solve them slower than I do on practice exams. While taking practice exams, I never run into timing issues, and believe it is because I know a poor score on a practice CAT won't be the death of me.

Also, after further reflection, I personally believe the actual quant section had a difficulty similar to the MGMAT quant sections as compared to the GMATPrep quant sections. But again this is my own opinion.

After all, I was very surprised to see 660 flash on my screen as I thought I had definitely thrown the exam in the can. I know that I could do better if I calmed myself down and practiced better time management, but hopefully this score will get me into BYU's Marriott School. We'll see how it goes!!
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Re: Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink] New post   28 Dec 2014, 20:52
mdlyman

Congrats!

A 70 point jump from test to test is awesome :-D
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Re: Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink] New post   29 Dec 2014, 08:14
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Hi mdlyman,

A 660/Q42 is a strong performance (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so I can assure you that you are in range of BYU's Marriott School. Remember that the GMAT is just one part of the overall application, so you have to put in the necessary time and effort on the other parts to make sure that you're "marketing" yourself correctly. To that end, you might find it worthwhile to post some questions to the Admissions Experts on this site - I'm sure that they can offer some advice on how to best proceed.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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mdlyman
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Re: Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink] New post   29 Dec 2014, 10:53
EMPOWERgmatRichC wrote:
Hi mdlyman,

A 660/Q42 is a strong performance (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so I can assure you that you are in range of BYU's Marriott School. Remember that the GMAT is just one part of the overall application, so you have to put in the necessary time and effort on the other parts to make sure that you're "marketing" yourself correctly. To that end, you might find it worthwhile to post some questions to the Admissions Experts on this site - I'm sure that they can offer some advice on how to best proceed.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich


Thanks for the advice, Rich. I've done a lot of consulting with present BYU students, the ad comm, and professors in order to help me polish up my application and tell my story. Hopefully I'll hear some good news in 5-7 weeks, but I feel like I have some decent backup plans if things don't play out as I hope.

There's a part of me that knows I could have scored at least a little better on the GMAT, but I am content and recognize that 660 is a score that can help open doors. I never had dreams of hitting 730 and going to HBS or Stanford, just have always wanted to put together a solid performance.
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Re: Test is on Saturday - Talk me off the ledge... [#permalink]
29 Dec 2014, 10:53

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