Hi All,
Seems like I have had to retype this message almost 3 times now. I just took my GMAT today and made a terrible 610 (Q47, V27). I am still trying to figure out why I did so badly on the verbal section. I wasn't particularly more stressed than I usually am, although that doesn't say much.
I took the 2month long Kaplan course. I did kindof poorly on most of my Kaplan CAT exams scoring between 570-610. I usually do poorly in the Quant section, but do reasonably well in the Verbal section. So I spent quite a bit of time studying for the Quant section.
When I took my GMAT prep on Tuesday last week, I got a 620 (34Q, 47V), which is reflective of my other Kaplan performances, which is a weak Quant score and a reasonably good Verbal score. But strangely my last GMAT prep that I took on thursday had a score of 600 (47Q, 27V). And today that is how I scored in my real GMAT. I did poorly in the Verbal section, which is usually my strength.
I am still trying to figure out what I did wrong in the Verbal section to get such a poor score. I am also wondering if I should retake the GMAT again. Ofcourse, if I want to get into UC Berkeley's part-time MBA program, which is what I was hoping for, then most certainly I will have to retake my GMAT. But at what cost? I have 2 kids and I have spent every minute of the last 2 weeks studying, instead of spending any quality time with them. I feel like I am stealing family time to get a better GMAT score.
Since I work full-time, I was unable to study more than 10-15 hours per week. I even took the last 2 weeks off to study for my GMAT. Not sure if retaking the GMAT is worth all the hassle.
Maybe I should just take my low 610 score and see if I can get into Santa Clara University (which is still ranked #12) for the part-time MBA? Or should I retake the GMAT, try to get a better score and aim for UC Berkeley?
I am sure a lot of folks on this club have retaken the GMAT. What are your thoughts? What were your concerns? Any ideas, tips, suggestions for improvement if and when I retake my GMAT?
I didn't really use any material other than Kaplan and some practice paper test from the
https://www.mba.com website. Should I buy the
OG and prepare for the GMAT and retry again in another month?
Thanks,
targetfocus.