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New member seeking advice after bombing 1st try(590)

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tennis25
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New member seeking advice after bombing 1st try(590) [#permalink] New post   20 Oct 2005, 01:32
Hi All,
I have been reading this website a liitle bit recently but yesterday decided to join as I was feeling very disappointed after my first GMAT attempt.
Wanted to know if anyone has any advice or similar experiences in feeling very tired, nervous and totally losing concentration on the latter part of the test?
Basically if i start from the beginning, I put in some serious hours studying the OG and took the Kaplan course(a bit of a waste in my opinion) and thought I was on the way to doing pretty well after scoring 650 and 720 on the Powerpreb exams.
On the test day I was pretty relaxed but also anxious and managed ok on the essays part. Got a little flustered towards the end of Math and had to guess the last 3 problems due to lack of time. Anyway apart from RC i was pretty confident about Analytical part of the exam as had been scoring pretty well in both Powerprep and Kaplan tests. I did ok on the first two SC questions but then got a really difficult science passage and started feeling really tired and losing concentration and having to re-read things. I just felt that it was not going in at all. This led to me getting really nervous about time and what I now know a series of mistakes. I got a scaled score of 31 for analytical part which was lower than my diagnostic which is pretty crazy and disappointing.
I have rescheduled for a month from now but feel like my confidence has really deminished. I really need a 670 or higher score which i thought was attainable but need to re-think my strategy. Any tips or stories on how you guys dealt with tierdness and anxiety towards the latter part of the test. Any good advice on strategy? I just ordered the OG 11 so going to go through concepts on that as I heard they were good.
Thanks and I think this site is great and inspirational!!!!
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tkkoh
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[#permalink] New post   20 Oct 2005, 01:55
Some suggestions:

1. You need to build up your mental strength and stamina for the 4 hours test. I find that the best way is to do as many full-scale prep tests as possible. This will help to "season" our minds and concentration.

2. Be discipline when reading the questions. During the prep tests, I had the tendency to skip words as I read along. The consequence was that I had to re-read the questions and hence wasted more time. I had to "train" or force myself to read at a slower pace so that I don't skip words. During my actual test, I still skipped some words and had to re-read, but only for a handful of questions.

3. It is important to get your confident back. GMAT is a monster that has been conqured by many before you, and you must believe that you can conquer it too. I always remind myself that GMAT is just a test - period. During the 5 mins breaks on the actual test, mentally prep yourself. Don't dwell on mistakes that you think you have made in the previous section.

All the best.
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ValleyBall1
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[#permalink] New post   20 Oct 2005, 09:12
First thing - don't compare your score to others on this site! Each person has his or her own capabilities and expectations.

I know how you feel. I bombed the test on my first attempt a couple weeks ago. I then took 1 full week off to rest my mind and rethink my strategy. Let me tell you, that time off helped me <b>extremely!</b> I am now back to my normal self, ready and motivated to beat the GMAT! As you have, I purchased the OG 11th edition, and so far, am enjoying the book. While there is overlap, the explanations and format are 100% better than the 10th edition. The Q section is a little harder and I feel it is more representative of the current math on the GMAT. I've been more active on this board and I think it has helped as well. Everyone here has a great attitude and offer great advice.

My advice to you is take some time off and clear your mind. Then come back with a furious vengeance to conquer the test! Keep an error log and go to town on your weak areas. Start with the basics and go from there. I aced all my math courses in undergrad (which unfortunately was 5+ years ago) but have since forgotten many of the basic math concepts out there so I'm going to do as many Q problems as I can every night; I try to do at least 20-30 math problems nightly and finish with 5 CRs, 10 SCs, and 1 RC passage. Of course I try to do more on weekends.

Hang in there and don't give up! People generally say to plan for 2-3 attempts before you get the score you want so if you think about it, we just took a "warm up" test :-D
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tennis25
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[#permalink] New post   21 Oct 2005, 01:52
Thanks for your help and encouragement guys. I have done exactly that volleyball1, taken a week off. I have not received my OG 11 yet as I am in London and it takes a while to get it by mail. Going to start again next week and hopefully get my confidence back. I have rescheduled my test for a month from now as I am applying to schools in the US and as an international student I need to apply by R2.
I cant afford to mess up this time as one of the schools I am applying to (UCLA) has a two GMAT max before they start averaging it out. :evil:
When do you plan to take your 2nd Gmat? Are you taking your time?
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[#permalink] New post   21 Oct 2005, 08:36
I actually scheduled it 1 month from when I started back up - 11/10/05 (3 weeks from yesterday). I don't want to protract the GMAT any longer. I'm studying 2-4 hours every weeknight after work and study until my eyes pop out on weekends. But most importantly, I'm studying and learning from every answer. When I used to accept a right answer even when I guessed, I now read the explanation thoroughly to help me realize <b>why</b> the other answers are incorrect (especially in V).

I've convinced myself that I'll roll with whatever score I get on my 2nd attempt. I need to start my MBA as soon as I can. So long as I know I put in 100% effort, I won't have any regrets where I end up; of course, my #1 would be nice!

:-D

Best of luck!!
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vivek123
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[#permalink] New post   23 Oct 2005, 21:40
hello tennis, valleyball,
How about taking off from the work for a week or two, to concentrate fully on GMAT? Just think, dream, breathe of GMAT :). Many people do that. It may give a good grip! I'm thinking of doing that since my job doesn't give me more than 1 hour everyday for GMAT!
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ValleyBall1
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[#permalink] New post   24 Oct 2005, 08:16
That's actually not a bad idea at all! Hmm....
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