CONFUSED! Please Help!

Question

Hi all. I'm totally confused and stressed about the GMAT. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I've been studying for the GMAT since mid-October. I wrote the official exam on January 2nd, did poorly, and so I'm scheduled to write again just over 31 days later on February 7th. History: 15-Dec-07 GMAT PREP 1 Q? V? T560-- didn't finish either section 22-Dec-07 GMAT Written TestQ40 V39 T670 24-Dec-07 GMAT Written TestQ45 V39 T660 30-Dec-07 GMAT Written TestQ45 V37 T650 01-Jan-08 GMAT PREP 2 Q43 V37 T660-- day before official exam 02-Jan-08 GMAT Official Q42 V30 T590-- exhaused by the time I got to verbal Today GMAT PREP 1 Q42 V35 T640-- today after fresh reinstall (removal of previous exam folder) - one month after official exam and more math/verbal studying. I'm super confused, b/c I didn't finish the exam today (neither section). I decided admist the stress and sweating of taking the prep exam today that I would pospone the official exam for another couple of months until April, because duing today's prep, I was sure I bombed severly. It doesn't make any sense to me, on the verbal section I had to guess on the last 10 questions and I didn't even get to enter a response for the last two! So, obviously I thought I did horrible. I would have cancelled my scores, if I felt that way during the real exam. Then, I end up with a mark of a 640 :shock:

It doesn't make any sense to me, as I would expect severe penalties for guessing and not completing the exam, but to still end up with a 640.

I think a 640 is quite good for not finishing either section. I'm aiming for a 690+ and I am scheduled to write the official exam in exactly 72 hours. :?:

Do you think it's possible? And, if so, how should I prepare over the next three days? Timing is a major issue for me, as I always have to guess on the last 1 or 2 questions, but not 10. I feel like my verbal and math skills have improved over the last month, but I'm taking way too long to finish each question. There were very few repetitions on test I did today and the previous Prep 1 (approximately 6 weeks ago), one math question (which I got wrong again), and a couple of verbal. Work is VERY busy for me, so I don't expect to be able to get another morning off until at least mid-April to be able to write the exam. So, it's either this Thursday, or mid-April. Sorry for the long post. Any advice is greatly appreciated. M.

asharc · Answer

M,

I would recommend that you defintely postpone the exam till april. The real exam situation adds much more stress than practice tests, and therefore, you should only take the exam when you are very comfortable with the Gmatprep CAT exams to do your best. I wouldn't take the exam till you feel you are really ready.

I think you should do as many practice tests in timed conditions as you can till you are comfortable. I started practicing with the Manhattan Gmat CATs, which are much more time consuming in the math, in my opinion. But once I went through 3-4 of them, I was able to manage my time very well on the Gmatprep CATs.

Good Luck
AC

maverick101 · Answer

Wouldn't you loose your $250, if you cancel now?

I am not sure too, which one is better, loose $250 or have a history of repeat GMATs in the official records.

humbled4real · Answer

I don't think you lose money if you postpone/reschedule. Check the MBA.com website, but I'm pretty sure it is a $50 fee to reschedule.

buffdaddy · Answer

you have to pay another USD$250 if re-scheduled withing 7 days of deadline

else the re-schedule fee is $50

Mnemonic · Answer

Yes, I believe I will loose the entire fee, but I'm not too worried about that if it's the right thing to do. Although, it does suck.

I just went through my exam from this morning and noticed that the questions that I spent most time on were questions that I got wrong anyway.

From the Quantitative section: this was definately the case. Questions that I counldn't answer I spent a long time trying and still got the question wrong. So, I'm thinking if I limit my efforts to 1 or 1.5 minutes, then guess if I can't get it that will leave more time for questions that I guessed on later in the exam b/c I was running out of time.

From the Verbal section: Of the questions that I attempted I got 11 wrong. Of the 11, I got 8 SC wrong, 2 CR wrong, and 1 RC wrong. So, obviously a large skew towards SC. Same thing, I spent a lot of time working on the SC questions and still got them wrong. So, I'm thinking, if I can learn to move on quickly if I'm stumpped, this may help in the long run.

For both sections above, the questions that I never attempted and guessed on (and got wrong), I was able to do at least half of them easily. So, I'm thinking if I save time for these questions, it'll help overall.

Thoughts?

Travel09 · Answer

How did you perform on the questions you guessed? That could have contributed to your 640 score in practice tests.

Mnemonic · Answer

Good question. I'm not sure exactly. From a quick analysis, I think I got one or two right.

rajpdsouza · Answer

I say take it, since you'd lose your money if you reschedule. If this is only your second time taking the test and you do not do as well as you want, you can still take it a 3rd time and most schools won't mind.

Mnemonic · Answer

Thanks Raj. I appreciate everyones advice.

I did retake the test and got a 640 (45Q, 32V). I am happy that I improved 50 points over my previous attempt, but it's not the score that I was hoping for.

I've done a lot thinking and talking with friends at B-School and they feel that I should still apply for round three and put together the best application essays possible. I know that 640 is not a great score, but it is within the ranges that most top tier B-Schools accept.

Any advice? Round 3 deadlines are looming.

Thanks,
M.

kilograms · Answer

Hey Mnemonic,

I cant speak from experience since I am studying for my first GMAT on 3/10 but as a peer and from reading other opinions, books, accepted.com, etc. Id say get the best score possible and apply when ready. The B School process is similar to the "perfect storm." Everything needs to come together if you write essays (as you indicated) and take the GMAT during the same period. R3 & R4 are highly selective and the better the score and overall application, the better your chances, obviously. Id concentrate on one piece of your application and then move to the next.

In my case, I chose to take the test this spring, then apply for Fall 2009. By doing so, I will get the test, and hopefully best score, completed before the summer/fall and can concentrate on visiting the schools, networking, building my resume and perfecting my essays.

Just my .02, but I hope I've been helpful in terms of putting things in perspective.

Mnemonic · Answer

Thanks kilograms. You make some good points. There is a lot to think about.

vinviper · Answer

practice practice practice practice!!

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