frustrated beyond belief!!!!!

Think about WHY you're getting questions wrong. Is it time? Is it careless mistakes? Is it not knowing the underlying concepts?

"Mental fatigue" could play a role in all this, too. You might need to take a little break, let loose and let everything sink in.

The screen size/resolution of GMAT Prep is the same as you will see at the test center - it is software from 2005

As to your journey and frustration. This can be an indication of fatigue, stretching our your prep too long (studying for a year does not mean 4x result if you study for 3 months). Most of the time (95%+ people will get a higher score studying for 3 months than for a year).

That is worrisome if your score jumps so much.

Why? I usually tell myself it's because I'm dumb. I do see some careless mistakes so I learned to go a little slower. For the concepts, I would say I understand majority of them. When it comes to DS, I am prone to more mistakes, especially questions related to profit/percentage increase/decrease.

I told myself to take 2 weeks off after Monday and start fresh from the beginning. I agree with mental fatigue. I am fortunate to have an easy work schedule from 7-3:30, so I always head over to my local library to study from 5-8. I will tell remind myself to take a day off each week and sleep in on a weekend.

Anyway, I will try posting a screen shot of how the questions are displayed on my monitor. It's really distracting when I answer the questions.

Maybe your rushing through the topics. I would suggest take your time with each topic and understand it. Dont call yourself dumb when you make a mistake. Rather view as a gift to learn from your mistakes. Lastly, DONT BE HARD ON YOURSELF FOR GETTING PROBLEMS WRONG. Its all part of the learning experience.

It's definitely not a result of being "dumb". You just need to approach your studying the same way you should be approaching these problems - very systematically.

Enjoy the break and when you get back into the swing of things, try to break up your studying a little bit. 50 minutes, take a 10 min break, another 50 min, take a 30min break. Treat it as though you're working out - your mind gets tired, even if you don't realize it.

Try to figure out a clearer idea of what leads to you getting a problem correct/incorrect. Then think of a way/system for how you can replicate your successes, and avoid your pitfalls. And learn to be comfortable with the fact that you won't get every question correct. When I took my GMAT, I had no problem skipping a problem I didn't know/knew would take me a long time.

Don't be too hard on yourself, just make sure you're playing to your strengths and mitigating your weaknesses.

I took the exam yesterday and scored a 490 Q37 V21. The score aligned closely with the GMatprep I took a few days before the exam but the MGMAT scoring is really different. I found the quant portion to be pretty difficult on the real exam. I ran into a few problems where I thought, “What in the world is this?” From what I remember, I had a few coordinate geometry questions, a probability question, several work/rate questions, and two combinatorics/factorial questions. I ran out of time on the last question and couldn’t click on confirm but I read that as long as a choice is selected, the question is counted as being answered.

I thought the verbal was a bit easier but after seeing a V21, geebus! I was way off. I thought I would score better on V than Q. Anyway, I’m not sure where to start now, but I am thinking of starting from the very beginning with the basics again. I scored pretty well on all the chapter review questions on the MGMAT and I do understand the fundamentals but I happen to freeze when it’s tested for some reason.

Overall, I think I pinpointed my weakness to CR and DS. I’m really not fond of DS, regardless of what it’s asking. For CR, I’m usually 50/50 between the right and wrong answer choices.

I will start studying again on Feb 1st and will make some necessary changes. I will take Sundays off, and study in chunked sessions. Studying 3 hours in a row didn’t help me other than build up my study endurance without feeling fatigued. I will also start reading online articles to help prepare for RC. Lastly, I will try posting more frequently on the forums and explain answers rather than reply “straight A” or “+1 on D” that I often see, haha.

Chamisool,
Those are some valid strategies. Keep in mind that you should also focus on speed and efficiency as you answer the questions. If you have a methodical approach, there's less chance your mind is lost during the real test due to panic. THis may explain some of your test freeze. Remember, the test is not ONLY about fundamentals - it's about actual performance on the day of the test. Knowing the fundamentals is not enough to excel on this exam. Internalizing your attack strategies is going to be important.

I think its because your miserable and psychologically positive about the test so you tend to underperform. Its like a negative confirming bias. Take a weekend off, get back to the easy fundamentals and build up your confidence. Its just like a good basketball player, he knows hes good, but gets in a funk. Sometimes you need to relax, take time off, and get back on the court with a better attitude.

I cant tell you how symmetrical our stories are. Everything you wrote is just me. I gave the exam yesterday and got a 490 and this was after 5 months of preparation. I am so devasted and burned. I was getting a score of 630~650 in MGMAT's and GMATprep. But, 490?? This was far below the numbers, when I first started preparing for the exam. I did a lot of goof-ups in my strategy. Like, i gave all practice tests one week before the exam. I was giving tests and analyzing them, working on my concepts and all this at the same time.
A day before the exam, I wanted to relax, but i could not and i was so exhausted on the day of exam, that i felt like giving up. I had not creativity and mind balance. It took me 5 minutes just to read the AWA section. The first question for Quant on the screen left me dazed as if it was a rocket question.After spending 4 minutes, I answered it wrong. It was just not my day.
Boy, I cant tell you, the most important things in GMAT are stretegy and discipline. I intend to redo the thing, but after break and this time, i am going to take it easy, but with a strategy and discipline.

Haha, I feel you. I actually just took my second test today and improved but it's not enough to get into the programs I want. I'm happy overall with my improvement, but I know I can improve even more.