Retake GMAT - shattered 600(no improvement)-- Need suggetion

Question

Dear All,

Its a great nightmare for me today and I need your suggestion very badly. After retake I scored only 600(Q 49, V 25) . In my first test it was 560(Q49,V19). After my first debacle I have really studied hard.Even I scored

GMATPrep - 700 (Q50,V35) and 680(Q49,V31)
Gmat 800score tests - 600 , 630 ,640,690 and 690

I have completed all the 1000SC ,1000CR and some part of 3000RC series.
I have thoroughly studied Manhattan_SC_2003ed.pdf , LSAT Powerscore .LSAT.logic.reasoning.bible and OG 10 and 11. Even I can remember and explain almost all the questions from OG.

After so much preparation such a terrible performance really upset me. In fact I have taken the test from the same test center twice. I am suspecting there may be any issue with the center. GMAT has almost become now paranoia to me for its unpredictable nature. My all hopes have been shattered. Could anyone please suggest me should I go with my third attempt or not? In that case what should I prepare since I have already done with exhaustive material? If I retake also whether my these two pathetic scores will be having any negative impact on my selection interview process.

dk94588 · Answer

It is hard to really give you advice, as i'm sure you are aware of the two choices you have and the consequences of each. Even if you do score significantly higher on your third try, most business schools don't take a high GMAT score seriously (unless it's like 750+) if it's sitting next to two or more relatively low scores. However, I wouldn't say 600 is necessarily a disaster; you could get into quite a few schools with a 600 or even a 560. I would say think on it, and ask yourself is it really worth another 250 dollars and a lot of hassle for a score that might not even be taken seriously. I would focus on the rest of your applications and getting solid letters of recommendations and essays. Hope i was helpful

Maverick2008 · Answer

Thanks dk94588
 Could you please let me know which are the colleges I can apply to with my score? I have 5.5 years of IT experience and sound academic record.

dk94588 · Answer

the 5.5 years experience will definitely help you out with getting accepted. A big deal is also your undergrad GPA and how well you can write your essays. I would look at Top-100 business schools and do some research on ones that's median GMAT score is like 580-620 and see what you come up with. I know once you get out of the top 25 information becomes hard to find tho. You can also e-mail the school administrators to get information, they are usually pretty helpful.

UMB · Answer

I don't agree with DK94588 on the issue that 3 rd attempt is not worth unless its result is extremely high (750+).
IMO, any number greater than ur previous score must give impression to adcom that u didn't give up, tried and eventually found ur spot. Is it logically true? Besides, all the Universities - top 1-30, 31-100, say they will consider the highest score of the applicant. None of them mention about averages or low scores.

Maverick2008, I am on the same boat as u are. But wondered urs is 600 (q49,v25) but mine is 630 (q50, v25): don't u think there is something strange round off and round up?

Anyway, i suggest u to retake. Believe me u will be pleased to do so.
With High score on GMAT u ' ll (other things being equal)
1) may be accepted to top schools
2) feel satisfied at least personally. After proving u can also nail it. 
3) feel urself confident.

We can be study partners. I am sure 3rd attempt will be the last
 one.

priyankurml · Answer

Thanks UMB for such a support.

I too scored low in GMAT 580(v25,q44) on 15th September. As maverick I have also the same feeling about test center. I strongly feel that quant score is not correct which I deserve actually because in my last attempt I scored 540(v17,q48), and now quant score deduced due to lot of strength to distracted material such as MGMAT quant. Believe me, don't rely on MGMAT CAT quant at all; they have all lengthy problems which will never pop up on your screen during exam. GMAT goes with tricky but tiny problems, which gives you 'aha' feeling of satisfaction. 
Apart from that I need to work on Inference and evaluate type questions. I have problems on those and GMAT caught me there; I found almost 4-5 inference questions on exam. Anyway I want start for the next and last attempt.
Let me know if I can join you duo. Please PM me.

Thanks once again.

venkygin · Answer

Friends,
I took GMATtoday in India (Bangalore). Got 580 ( Q 40 , V 30). Couldnt digest the fact that I scored just 40 on Quant. In fact I worked enough on Quant. After completing Quant , during the break , I never had a feeling that my quant went bad. Quant was tough ofcourse. However , I thought I will get atleast 45. I really dont understand the logic of evaluation. Do they stress on 1st 15 questions ? I really suspect the score computation process...

UMB · Answer

dear venkygin,

Maybe u made some careless mistakes. GMAT is designed to give u impression that u are making evth OK. Questions are way tricky: slightly losing concentration may have costed u too much.

I would forget doubts about computing method of GMAT. Good news is u have enough room to improve.

Accept this day as a bad one and give another shoot. This time be careful and know wether u r ready.
Good luck

Maverick2008 · Answer

Thanks a lot UMB and dk94588 for inspirational stuffs. I am also gearing up for my 3rd attempt. But I have lost the confidence on the test center in my location. In my last both the tests, I took test from same center and same terminal. Some people may say this is trivial issue , but for me I have lost full confidence on that test center. Since my mock tests were going so well , the final scores are really shocking to me. In fact I am confused what was going wrong. GMAT is not an illusion I believe. If you do well consistently in your practice test , you can expect same performance in the final test as well .
 UMB and dk94588 , let me know your 3rd test plan. Since application deadline for most of the b-school are drawing in , we may need to take the final one by december end.
 Let me know your study plan as well.
Best of luck all of you.

arjtryarjtry · Answer

guys.....
only one thing from my side...donno if it will be helpful.
when you prepare, prepare like u are giving your life. when you go to the exam, go with the mindset that you will get #@$%ed outright. dont relate your gmatprep score and actual exam score. you may get either more or less. always go to the exam with the mindset that you will do badly. Then , if you really do well, consider it a bonus, otherwise, you are anyway not disappointed.

tm1234 · Answer

just my $0.02...i spent about 2 months preparing. first month i focused on learning the strategies for each problem type (using a Kaplan book, and problems to enforce my knowledge), and the second month i focused on working as many problems as i could from the official guide (on mba.com, the big orange book and two free downloadable full-length tests). the thing that helped me the most was not only to *do* the problems, but to really *understand* why i was getting particular problems wrong. did i miss the subject-verb agreement, or for quant did i miss a certain value that disproved my answer? that way i knew what to think about next time around. when you think about it, the subject matter isn't hard, but the questions are super-tricky, and what you're training yourself on is spotting the tricks.

the other thing for actual test day is a little more psychological: relax!!! don't study the day before--you won't learn anything new. just relax, watch a movie or something. on test day, wake up early, and read a newspaper to get your mind going. make sure to get 8 hours of sleep the night before and eat a big high-protein breakfast, and lots of caffeine. i surprised myself with a 750 (Q49,V46,A6.0) on my first try (scored much lower on the practice exams).

good luck!

the other thing for actual test day is a little more psychological: relax!!! don't study the day before--you won't learn anything new. just relax, watch a movie or something. on test day, wake up early, and read a newspaper to get your mind going. make sure to get 8 hours of sleep the night before and eat a big high-protein breakfast, and lots of caffeine. i surprised myself with a 750 (Q49,V46,A6.0) on my first try (scored much lower on the practice exams).

good luck!

foodstamp · Answer

You should definitely retake it. Believe in yourself and study hard in the next month or two.

I got the same exact score on my first two attempts (640).
Then I decided to seriously study for the exam and got a 710 6.0 on my third try.

B-schools take your HIGHEST score so don't be afraid to take the exam multiple times.

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Retake GMAT - shattered 600(no improvement)-- Need suggetion

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