I'm so sick of the GMAT...

Question

I'm sorry but I F'ing hate the GMAT. I studied damn near all last year and got 530. 90th percentile on verbal, but 14th percentile on math.

I just don't get it. I study, I review, I'm consistent, yet, I suck. I've done a class, I have a solid tutor, I read the forums and strategy guides....no dice. CFA, no problem. Working as a corp. fin. analyst, no problem. Programming, no problem. Soft/social skills, no problem. All the above negated by a goddamn standardized exam.

Today, however, I've just stopped caring. F it. I'm taking the GMAT exam (which has been the bane of my existence for more than a year) of at the end of September no matter where I'm scoring at that point.

I feel like such a hater too because I'm so jealous of all the people who seemingly just Waltz into 650+ scores and complain about only getting a 710.

I'm developing a serious inferiority complex from this entire experience. It's embarrassing when everyone knows you're working your ass off, but you just can't get the job done. My confidence in myself is shot.....it's ruining my relationships with people because I'm constantly pissed off at myself.

I don't want any pep talks....so please don't bother responding. I'm simply too embarrassed to get this off my chest to anybody I know personally, thus, I'm using the anonymity of this forum as a place to vent.

YourDreamTheater · Answer

Just FYI -- you sound exactly like one of my best friends. Accounting major, fantastic grades... but he got a GMAT of 510 after 3 months of intense prep with a very similar split to you (solid verbal, weak quant). He took the GRE and blew the thing out of the water -- it's just a very different style of math. He never reported his GMAT score to any business schools and applied with his GRE.

vwjetty · Answer

https://www.joewrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/haters-gonna-hate.gif

lol you did better than me, and im studying hard as hell right now. hope it pays off. and i don't even have my CFA yet. So you're definitely a little ahead of me.

Vaitrucci · Answer

While I'm sure it's frustrating for you to go through this, it actually *is* nice to hear from people who don't find the GMAT to be a breeze. I'm new around here and am planning to take the GMAT this fall for the first time. Everywhere I look on the forum, it seems like people are ripping off 730 scores, which is really intimidating. I'm also like you; strong in verbal and terrified of the quant.

I won't give a pep talk, but I will say thanks for sharing.

Jimbeans · Answer

welcome to the club buddy..u r not alone...i love verbal (except RC) but I hate quant..my brain was never programmed to do quant... but more than that I hate the fact that the first step towards getting a reputed mba is a standardised exam...it sucks..but then i know a guy who scored a 760 and didnt get even a single interview call..and there was another girl who scored a 540..but is at Oxford right now..so i guess all kinds of s**t happens....dont worry...just take time off and then decide what you wanna do...while it may become a personal battle, one exam is not the end of the world...

Dawgie · Answer

You guys aren't the only ones, I think the people that tend to do well are the ones that are posting. Many out there are probably struggling as well.

vwjetty · Answer

haha yeah. seems like all the people that are posting something these days are ones that got something to post/brag about. that's ok, hopefully we'll all get there one day as well :-D

my one recommendation is that i highly suggest against studying the CFA and the GMAT at the same time. it's like v-tec, you keep trying to push harder but nothing ever really happens. ok bad analogy. :-D

sosogmat · Answer

I totally understand what you're going through...I have always been a straight A student and had a very successfull career. I have been studying for the GMAT for five months...and I keep getting the same score on practice tests that don't even top 500...makes no sense to me when I'm studying 6 hours a day and losing my life over this dumb test. Anyways...I'm not going to give up...but I have gone from being so positive to so negative..sucks.

whiplash2411 · Answer

Haha, I think the schools for a lot more than the scores, to be honest. The score is just one part of your application to see where you stand against your fellow applicants, and as a common platform, because otherwise how in anyone's name will they be able to compare an applicant from a university in China or India with a 40% passing score to someone from the US with a 70% passing score?

As to the OP, sorry to hear that, but what Dawgie said is right. People who tend to do well tend to post more. But that doesn't mean everyone gets it easily. Hope you get the score you want, and good luck!

Jimbeans · Answer

totally agreed...but it still sucks... :-D

journo123 · Answer

Thanks for sharing! I'm new on this forum and totally hear ya...

I may do a similar vent post pretty soon. :D

Good luck with your apps!

Strauss · Answer

I can definitely sympathize with your situation. It would be nice to see some concise information as to how to turn around a weak score. Most of the strategy debriefs I read consist of: I painstakingly studied the OG for 2 months, CAT 1 680, CAT 2 720, final score 770, lol. I am at the early stage of my study period, so I too have hope I will be able to achieve great results on the test. That being said, it would be nice to talk with some more people who made the long journey form a low score to a high one instead of the ones that make it seem so easy.

rxs0005 · Answer

To all the guys and gals who just cant beat that 700 a simple word of advice, just change your strategy radically this will improve your scores radically if not change it again

for EG: i was in the 500ds too even though i know all the math formulae etc after analyzing i realized i was not paying attention to "what the Q is asking "

this simple change in focus put me in 650's

then it was matter of figuring out concepts and doing hard problems and being consistent to reach the holy grail of 700+ area

i feel

500 to 650 improvement is easy

650 to 700+ is concept should be crystal clear + no careless mistakes

hope that encourages y'all

whiplash2411 · Answer

Strauss, I definitely think there are many threads on here that document going from a low score to a high score. If I remember correctly, bb himself went from a 540 to a 750. Here are some debriefs of people who had like a 200 point increase or so. 420 to 700 500 to 700 570 to 760 490 to 710 As for your other comment, I don't think you can ever document your hard work and effort in studying apart from just saying what you did. The thought process within your mind is better left unsaid, lest it influences someone else and fails. Just take the good parts of it, and modify it to your needs

Hope this helps.

Strauss · Answer

I wasn't trying to say it was impossible nor was I discrediting hard work. I was just trying to sympathize with the OP's opinion. That being said, I agree that there are several stories on this forum that detail monumental gains in final scores; however, I feel at times that some people make it sound easier that it is for many.

My gripe is less with this forum and more with the GMAT prep service community in general. There are so many different companies and books that tell a prospective test taker everything they want to hear. Taking that into account it is easy to see why someone like the OP would feel the way he does.

I thank you for the links to the success stories, and I hope to emulate their success someday.

Too the OP, I hope you the best in your study.

tt11234 · Answer

totally agree with you guys!! i got 550 on the gmat even though i studied my ass off! i felt frustrated and embarrassed to tell my friends that i got such a low score. i didn't get it either. i had 3.8 GPA and taking tests were never be a problem for me when i was at school. but the GMAT is kicking my butt...now i keep studying and plan to take it again!! actually i am getting anxious that i might not nail it no matter how hard i study...

Strauss · Answer

Maybe this would be a great thread to discuss what people are doing now and what they may be doing wrong? Many of the threads discuss the end results of someones GMAT study. Perhaps, if people who are having trouble discuss their approach to the test and study time, it might be possible to fix some of those problems so that studying isn't futile.

bfman · Answer

The biggest factor in improving your score is to stay centered and focused. Anxiety is your enemy it will cause your downfall on a test like GMAT. If you can learn to control anxiety, you can conquer GMAT. Usually people are worrying about time and questions getting harder. A lot of times people also do not understand what the question is really asking because of anxiety. It completely clouds your mind. I also got a 83% on verbal but died on quant even the 2nd time just because of anxiety, but the anxiety struck me because I could not make sense of the first few quant questions I got. They were a lot different than anything in OGs or GMATPrep. Quant is harder on the actual GMAT for sure.

iamyellow · Answer

so i have to study harder too.. i am just starting my review using PR and almost finished the math.. i am a cpa myself and had left all the quant subjects in my 2nd and 3rd year in college.. most topics in quant are way back from my high school days

anyway, just stay positive.. we'll get there.. just hold on.. and yeah, NO PAIN, NO GAIN..

Dawgie · Answer

What's CPA have to do with GMAT? I passed the exam too. It doesn't mean anything. In terms of quant, I should suggest MGMAT guides not PR. It goes more in depth in the concepts rather than strategy.

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I'm so sick of the GMAT...

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