Beat by GMAT

Question

Hello everyone, I just took the GMAT today for the third time, and I got a score of 530. I am extremely disappointed. It doesn't make any fxxking sense. The first time I took the GMAT, I got 510. I was not happy because the minimum requirement is 550. I can blame myself that I did not study enough because I only studied less than 10 days. I studied another month before my second attempt, and I got 460. WTF is this? The more I study, the lower I score. My family told me not to give up, and I studied another 2 months. I studied at least 6 days per week, and I did all the questions in the OG 11. Today I got 530. Wow, a huge improvement of 20 points compared to my first attempt. The different of studying for 3 months and 10 days is only 20 points. Why do I wasted my fxxking time of doing the fxxking questions over and over for 20 points? Maybe I am just a loser, no matter how hard I try, I can only get less than 550 in GMAT. I just want 550, did I ask for too much? Should I give up because I don't see any chance. There is zero or negative correlation between study and score. Sorry for releasing negative energy in this forum.

Here are the break down of my result for all 3 GMAT I took.

First
Scaled Score Percentile
Quantitative 36 45
Verbal 24 32
Total 510 38

Second
Scaled Score Percentile
Quantitative 35 41
Verbal 19 16
Total 460 24

Third
Scaled Score Percentile
Quantitative 42 61
Verbal 21 23
Total 530 41

Here are the break down of my result for all 3 GMAT I took.

First
 Scaled Score Percentile
Quantitative 36 45
Verbal 24 32
Total 510 38

Second
 Scaled Score Percentile
Quantitative 35 41
Verbal 19 16
Total 460 24

Third
 Scaled Score Percentile
Quantitative 42 61
Verbal 21 23
Total 530 41

shaselai · Answer

have you used the MGMAT books at all? You need to redo verbal and you need some improvement on quant too. I think understanding the basics in verbal will help reach your goal! Dont give up!

Dawgie · Answer

Hi BeatByGMAT,

I think you should take a break and go at it again. A common gameplan is to budget about 3 months for prep and roughly 20-25 hours per week. Also I would recommend you take a GMAT prep course. Your study strategy may not be optimal and they can help. I feel like you rushed taking the test without enough preparation. Before taking your next test make sure you are consistently scoring 10-20 points above your desired score.

Thank you and take a little break,

Dawgie

vwjetty · Answer

dude. don't give up man. did you take the GMATprep tests given to you? They are the most accurate indicator of how well you would really do. I came from a 430 and now just broke 600 (but not consistently) so don't give up man. Manhattan GMAT series excellent. It's really all I use and It's done nothing but greatness for me. Plus they give you like 6 free CATs (not the things that meows) and their online supplimentary guide is intense.

shaselai · Answer

yeah i think he needed other materials - OG can only get you so far especially it is more of an overview

martie11 · Answer

Keep your head up...You're only beat by the GMAT if you let it beat you!

sarathy · Answer

how were you faring in the practice tests?

Dawgie · Answer

It doesn't seem like used many practice tests, we need more information.

shaselai · Answer

he also took tests too quickly... under 10 days studying for 1st then a month study for 2nd...

Jeanette · Answer

It's probably time to take time off, calm down a little, and then in about six months or so, do some introspection and think to yourself, "is this REALLY what I want to do?" If it is, then think long and hard about HOW you study. How is just as important as how much. (though I'll say that if you're really trying to improve, two months is really on the short side of the time you want to spend on this thing... I spent over 3 to go from a 650 to a 740... and after a month and a half of studying had actually gone down in scores on my practice tests)

If it's not, walk away from the thing. Plenty of happy, successful people don't have MBAs or get it later in life with an EMBA. You've sunk a lot of your time, effort and frustration into it, but those aren't the reasons you should be continuing on.

If it's not, walk away from the thing. Plenty of happy, successful people don't have MBAs or get it later in life with an EMBA. You've sunk a lot of your time, effort and frustration into it, but those aren't the reasons you should be continuing on.

Dawgie · Answer

You think a prep course is his best option?

Jeanette · Answer

Real life is best option then if he decides to do it again a prep course is his best option. It's easy to read too much into something like this, but I have a feeling this guy's major problem is not knowing how to structure his life to get the result.

Of course, the question is also where he wants to go. If he only wants a top 25 school or whatever, he may just be out of luck. Some people improve that much, but it doesn't look like it'll be him. But a 600+ seems a reasonable goal.

shaselai · Answer

no. he wants to get 550 and that is realistically reacheable with some axel grease and strong mind.

BeatByGMAT · Answer

Thanks everyone for the support. The study materials I used are OG 11, Kaplan GMAT 2010: Strategies, Practice, and Review (978-1-4195-5294-6), McGraw-Hill's GMAT 2010, w. CD-ROM (978-0-07-162416-9), and GMATPpre v2. I did all the questions in all three books at least twice. For GMATPpre v2, I got like 570-620, depend on my luck. I mean 550 should be a reachable goal with those study materials. I am not asking for 600 to 800.
I have one last hope before my application deadline. This hope will be in one month. As for the prep courses and MGMAT books, I just don't have money to afford them, and time to complete them. They are too expensive in my case. All my study materials are free from internet and friends.
Do you guys have any suggestion that what should I do before my last hope?
Thanks everyone again

Jeanette · Answer

when you did questions, did you review the right and wrong answers and really take the time to understand why you got them wrong and how to get them right in the future? were you having any trouble with timing? where are you planning to apply to?

BeatByGMAT · Answer

yes, I did spend time review the questions (right or wrong), and understand why it was wrong. Many of the questions in the actual GMAT, I know I can do it, but 1.5 minute is just not enough for me. If I spend too much time on one question, I know I will not have enough time. Therefore, it forces me to guess the answer. I feel that the questions in the actual GMAT are so much harder than my practice questions. Isn't it the questions from OG 11 are past GMAT questions and the difficulty should be similar?

shaselai · Answer

the OG should be past gmat ques so you should be set with difficulty there. You can try the gmat club tests - you get a bunch for a reasonable price. if you skip that i think maybe review wrong answers will help but you might need to expand your problem set base though

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