Not happy, not dissapointed, 650 today - Q42. V38, 84 %

Question

I have been kinda looking forward to sharing this experience with you. Today, I took the GMAT and I didnâ€™t do that well as I hoped but I didnâ€™t really screw it either : ) 

Thanks to everybody here who shaped my math/verbal skills. Paul, you were the first one I got in touch with in here, and thanks for the words of encouragements and your advice. Although I did disagree with your verbal reasoning sometimes, I very much respect the consistency in your learning that led you to get your 710. 

When I first took the GMAT a year ago, I scored 550. No studying, nothing. This time, I took 4 months of studying; I knew my weaknesses and I knew my strengths. I was good in reasoning, well .. in English overall. I wasnâ€™t that good in quant. So I had worked on quant for 2 months, I also subscribed to American Scientist to improve my reading comprehension.
I ended up with exactly the opposite combination of score from anybody else I saw on this forum:
Quant: 42 , 66%
Verbal: 38, 85 %
Overall: 650, 84 %


From what I have seen, nobody has such weird combination of score. Usually quant is up and verbal is down. Well, I am excellent in reasoning and reading comprehension, I have never been taught math fundamentals and thatâ€™s what killed me. I am pretty sure this is not an indicator of my stupidity but I will make sure my kids get the fundamentals in their blood. Additionally, I am not a native speaker. So this all is very striking as many foreigners excel in math but do not do well in verbal. I would much more prefer ETS to design the quant as the Mensa designs their IQ test. I took their test before and was immediately offered a membership. The difference is that GMAT tests your math fundamentals. Mensa tests your logic and â€œ3d thinkingâ€

Paul · Answer

What a humble story :flower

. Although my life story was arduous, it is litterally belittled by yours! How much courage and dedication you do have and I am glad to have been able to help you out, however little it could have been. With this kind of story, you are absolutely right that it sets you apart from the other 99% of applicants. I really wish you all the best and should you decide to take the test again, we are here with you.

HIMALAYA · Answer

michalky,

Congratulation!!!!!!!!!! 

650 is a good score. Qt section pulled you down. from your posts, it is clear that there is a sufficient room for improvement. you can iprove your qt score to 50 and verbal 40+ so that you can easily cross 7xx hurdle. So retake is best for you...

All the best...

Himalaya...

AJB77 · Answer

Michalky,

You have my admiration. That is an inspiring story. It inspires me because I now feel that I have no excuse to fret about working long hours and also prepare for the GMAT.

Also going from 550 to 650 is a good thing. I hope you take heart from your good Verbal performance and keep it up the next time while improving your Math.

Good luck and Godspeed.

michalky · Answer

Paul, I will continue participating in this forum although now I will try to focus on essays more. After I apply (btw I will be applying to LBS as well, let's discuss this further if you have some information to share, and you are willing to share : )))), I might try to retake the gmat - just because I feel like I am very close to get the perfect score. But, on the other hand, I can just devote the time to shaping my french

. Thanks for your feedback. It means a lot to me.

michalky · Answer

Thanks so much. I started seeing your posts when I actively "rejoined" the gmat club a couple weeks ago and I really enjoyed your contributions in the verbal section.
You are right, there is space for improvement. What am I more debating now, however, is - do I wanna spend additional month studying and possibly getting 700, or is this score enough to apply for the best schools. I believe it's enough because as long as they read your application (meaning if your GMAT is over let's say 620), you have the same chance.

michalky · Answer

Hi : ) ,
People admire the brave act of "immigrating to the us". I call it studidity, who else than an idiot would come to the Big Apple with just 500 dollars and no work permit? : )))

Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate every word you said.

Praetorian · Answer

very inspiring story. thanks for sharing your experience.

Praetorian

gmataquaguy · Answer

michalky, 
 wow a very inspiring story. I admire your determination! I have no doubt you'll be successful in what you do!! Congratulations.

regards,
gmataquaguy

Hjort · Answer

Thanks for sharing your experience. 

I agree that it is still possible to be accepted to the elite/ultraelite schools with a score of 650. However, a higher score would be helpful, especially since the Quant component is a bit low for the schools of the two top clusters. 

Your story should resonate well with the admissions officers. However, do not forget that many of your fellow applicants can also present compelling personal accounts.

Hjort

Arsene_Wenger · Answer

very inspiring story, michalky. congrats - 650 is indeed a good score. it's june now and i believe that if you redo the exam in another one month perhaps, focusing on your quant, you should improve. why not try the exam again sometime in july (maybe end of july).

michalky · Answer

Hjort, this is very true and indeed, I am aware of it. I am 90 percent persuaded to start looking at quant, tempted to take the test again as I know I would score higher. I will give it a couple more days and probably start looking at different quant sources for the gmat because that's what I am having troubles with.

michalky · Answer

Arsene,

Very true, although I don't really consider 650 "a good score" .. I have 2 months to retake the exam and as I mentioned, I might come back with another post focused on "how to improve quant" : ) 
You are absolutely right, if you focus on one area for a couple weeks, you should score more. 

..tempting ...

michal

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Not happy, not dissapointed, 650 today - Q42. V38, 84 %

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