390 on First Practice Test :(

First of all, ignore completely what the tutor said. I am shocked to hear how can someone judge your performance from just one mock (that too without structured/strategic preparation).

Secondly, don't feel defeated just at the start of the journey. 390 is not a good or a bad score; it is just a score that you need to keep in mind while you analyze and prepare your study plan. What was your split (i.e. V and Q score)? How did you perform in PS, DS on the quant side and SC, RC, and CR on the verbal side? Did you have any concentration lapse issues during your exam? There are so many variables; no one can judge you on what you can or cannot do on the basis of just one mock.

A very strong foundation on concepts is essential to be successful on the GMAT. Then you need to solve questions and analyze your mistakes on official questions. Did you get get the questions correct because of the right reasoning? Once you practice in a structured manner, then you automatically pick up the nack of how to solve these questions. For e.g. you become aware about the data sufficiency traps with more practice. The same applies to SC, CR, and RC. You will find lots of good advice on study plans, motivating success stories etc on the GMATCLUB forum. Read carefully and make notes of important points.

All in all, put in some serious effort before judging yourself on what you can or cannot do on the GMAT. All the best!

JaiSet - Welcome to GMAT Club!

First, there's nothing to feel so bad about a low practice test score. At a 390 score level, you just need a more structured online course or a tutor to get to your target score level. For now, please take a few moments to review the GMAT Club study plan. Also, read through some of the best success stories highlighting how some test-takers have drastically improved the GMAT score by not giving up so easy.

GMAT Club Study Plan: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-plan-217827.html
Best GMAT Stories: https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-st ... 98512.html

Hi JaiSet,

First off, DO NOT listen to your tutor. Plenty of folks have scored in the 300s/400s on their first practice GMAT and ended up with great GMAT scores. In fact, check out this recent success story: https://gmatclub.com/forum/430-to-710-q ... 12878.html. As you can see, dcummins was able to improve from 430 to 710, so there is no reason you can’t achieve something similar. As long as you follow a linear and structured study plan and a realistic timeline, you CAN significantly improve your GMAT score. Certainly, if you’d like more specific advice on how to improve your quant and verbal skills, feel free to reach out. Lastly, you may find it helpful to read the following articles:

The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT

Developing the Proper Mindset For GMAT Success

Thanks for tagging Scott.


As ScottTargetTestPrep mentioned its not impossible at all... and you can do it properly in the shortest time possible. Check out the second video in the thread scott tagged - i essentially tell you how to do it.

The problem with scoring so low (there's not much difference between a 390 and 430 btw) is that there are so few examples of people going from really really low scores to 700+ scores that people get the idea its 'impossible'. This is most likely because people think its impossible or, if they're stronger minded, they know its possible but don't want to put in the work or make the time to do it.

I can tell you now that when I scored a 430, I was desperately looking for people who had scored the same and who then scored 700. I found maybe 1 or 2 posts, 1 of which was really really suspicious as it seemed as it seemed fake.

So there was a lot against me.

But I never let anything get in my mind that told me I couldn't do it.

This is the mentality you need. You need to say to yourself ' I don't care what other people have done. Nothing will get in the way of me achieving my score'.

I remember reading many articles saying its not likely i'll improve... lol.. that is such a weak way to think it really is and I cut-out anyone who thought I was trying to do the impossible.

No offense to this tutor, but if he actually told you improving to the mid 600s is impossible then you need to sack him. He's probably trying to set your expectations as his client or something - not sure - but its a limiting belief.

The GMAT is literally a test you can study more and more and more for and your score will keep improving. Your score will likely plateau, but thats when you tweak it and pull different levers.

Here are 400 to 700 journey ...!!
https://gmatclub.com/forum/my-gmat-jour ... 81814.html

Look for journey of many others on gmatclub and the finer things they have elaborated. Nonetheless, you have dcummins who's a living GMAT hero here on GC itself.