Just took the GMAT and am a bit depressed

Question

I took the GMAT today and wasn't aiming for the results most of you are here (i.e. 700+), but I did terrible, even on my scale. I have been studying for the past three months, and recently took a Veritas prep course.

Well, initially I scored a 480 (without studying) on the GMATprep exam three months ago and improved my scoring 580, 600, and 600 on my last three exams utilizing Veritas prep and two GMATPrep exams. Please note that I did the essays on only one, but I still scored 600.

Today, I was confident that I could score a 600 and would have been satisfied with a 550. Guess what? I ended up getting a 480. Ouch! Now I am not sure what to do, but I was pretty strong on the verbal, as indicated by my 36 score on my last practice exam. Today, I got a 25, which absolutely bothers me.

Now, I have to take the exam again. I am already drained as it is, and now how can I make it anywhere. I got a 3.7 gpa for my undergrad education in business, but I guess this just tells me I suck. Darn. This is a crappy feeling. At the end of the day, this isn't the end of the world.

I'm not sure if it was nerves or if my practice exams where just flukes.

lanter1 · Answer

I would take a week to do some self analysis and figure out where to focus. You should definitely make sure you have basics down for the quant. On verbal, focus on your weaknesses. You can score higher. There are plenty of people on this forum who did not get the score they wanted and have perservered to score even higher. Keep your head up.

franticinnewyork · Answer

I am starting to feel the same way as you dude! I am taking the test on Tuesday and have NO confidence in what is going on. I was scoring better before I studied.

I keep telling myself to relax and have faith in myself. REMEMBER: The GMAT is easier than it looks, but you sound like you do the same thing as me: make it out to be harder than it is. As a result, we bring other stuff to the table while taking the test, which we have to not do.

Take the test again and relax. Check if the schools you want to attend average the scores or not. :) :) LUCK!!

GK_Gmat · Answer

Don't let the GMAT tell you how smart you are; it's only a test of how well you do on tests!! That's all. I studied for 3 months myself and though I scored high on practice tests, I did terribly on the real thing. 

This only made me realize a few things: Expect a much harder test on the real day than what you come across on any of the practice tests (MGMAT tests are the closest to the real thing according to me) and prepare accordingly. I hadn't covered as broad a range of questions as I should have. So this time 'round I'm trying to cover a lot more material and much harder stuff, especially on quant. 

I would recommend the following: Take a week off from GMAT. Do some self analysis - what went wrong/why was your verbal score on the real thing so much lower? Etc. 

Then get back into the GMAT grove. This is a test of both endurance and persistence. I would strongly suggest solving questions on the forums and explaining your answers. Most importantly, stay optimistic. Though schools take your highest score, they look at the trend of your scores as well. If you go from a 480 to a 650, it will work superbly in your favor. Good luck!!!

helpmeongmat · Answer

How long do you think I should take before doing the exam again? The materials I will use are the official guide and the Manhattan GMAT CAT. I know where my weak areas are in verbal (SC and Reading Comprehension) and math (Data Sufficiency).

I was thinking about a month more of studying, and I will try again. I will utilize this forum (haven't been in regards to actual problems) and my Veritas help line.

Thanks for all of your help and support!

gablaze23 · Answer

Hi.

That happened to me a few months back. I took the GMATprep without review, and got a 510. I was actually very happy with that score.

I read the Princeton Review and took the test again.. I got a 460! It broke my heart. I knew I had to step up. I bought the Kaplan GMAT Premiere Program and read half of it. Feeling good, I took the test and got a 470. I was so pissed and I almost gave up.

Good thing my OG GMAT and OG Verbal/OG Math (supplements) shipped on time. I worked about it for a month, and I studied religiously. I broke the 600 barrier right after. Also, scoring in the 400-low 600 says a lot about your basics. I suggest you take more time studying them. I read Manhattan GMAT's Word Translation as well. It helped me a lot. Now I'm hoping to break 650.

Don't lose hope! Take this as a challenge and continue studying.
The good thing about your score is that you have a lot of room for improvements. Going from 400 to 600 isn't as hard as going from 600 to 700. Take it one day at a time

kripalkavi · Answer

There you go. You already know your weak areas - SC and DS. 

1) SC: Use the Manhattan GMAT SC book  along with  the OG. 
2) Practice the 1000DS questions and if you have access to them, the sets available here on gmatclub.com

 Remember: Always time your practice sets!

ian7777 · Answer

Hi,

I'd agree with all the things people wrote here, and I'll add one more.

When you do problems, don't just do them. Analyze them. Understand why you got them wrong, if you did. Know why they took too long, if they did. If you think there should be a faster way, figure it out somehow and learn it.

Worst mistake most people make is just barreling ahead while still using bad habbits. Doing 5000 problems won't help on the GMAT if you're not learning anything.

Also, study every day, including reviewing what you've studied in the past. There's a lot of information out there to remember, and you need to touch the GMAT every day in order to keep it in your head.

salr15 · Answer

Did you skip any problems? That is a HUGE no no, that will really hurt your score. Or even running out of time and just guessing on the last 10 or so. I have noticed missing any consecutive problems wrong will really hurt your score because that basically means that they keep giving you easier and easier questions and you keep getting them wrong. It's very important to analyze your tests, I haven't taken the real thing yet so not sure if they show you actual results. But on practice tests, see if you are missing consecutive questions. IF you have problems with timing, I highly recommend going out and buying a stop watch, time yourself on every single question you do. Sometimes sitting and doing OG problems can be deceptive if you don't time yourself. You might be getting all the hard questions correct but taking 4 minutes to do it. This isn't going to help you on test day. Keep your head up and get back in the groove. This is not a test of intellegence, if it was then schools would just make you take IQ tests. This is just a standardized test. :-D

vsaxenaGMAT · Answer

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Just took the GMAT and am a bit depressed

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