A couple of days back I appeared for my GMAT and my score was underwhelming. After a solid 3 month prep, all I could manage was a 600(47Q, 28V). I was obviously very disappointed because throughout my prep I never got below a 640. Infact my scores ranged from 640-720. Here's a debrief of my testing day experience.
Now, as you can see from my score, my verbal section was a disaster and I do feel I could have done better on my Quant. Infact I started off pretty strong and just when I completed my 14th question, all the workstations at the centre had some server glitch and I had to wait a couple of minutes before things were sorted out. This 'two-minute' unplanned break ruined my flow and it took a while before I could recover. I'm not using this as an excuse to cover up my overall poor performance, but maybe I could have got a mark or two higher in my quant score.
As for my verbal section, I felt that the SC questions were alot tougher than what I came across in the mock GMATPrep exams. CR questions (apart from the 1st one I encountered) were not too bad and I got four RC passages (2 short and 2 long). My main problem was my timing, which I got all wrong. Infact, I still had 10-12 questions remaining by the time the clock was down to its final five minutes. So basically, I ended up skipping a complete RC passage and a couple of CR questions. That's five questions of blind guesses. At the end of the exam, I still felt that I should get a score north of 650. 600 was a shocker and I had to rub my eyes a couple of times just to make sure that I was actually seeig the right score. I spent quite some time contemplating whether I should cancel my score but I went ahead and reported it (I don't know I did though)
The moment I left the centre I was sure I would be coming back for a retake sooner rather than later. Not everyone is a good exam taker,including me. Infact, a couple of my friends are ALOT smarter than me but are simply not good test takers. However, I still feel I can breach the 700 barrier...actually I know I can. I know my weaknesses and I know where and how I can improve. All I need is a plan.
The next day, the first thing I set out to do was take a three week break from work. That's right, I've given myself a three week time period to retake my GMAT exam. I know it might seem that it's too short a duration, but there have been success stories, so it's not an impossible task. Over the next three weeks, my main focus will be on Verbal and mock tests.
As for study material, For SC, I plan on sticking with The
OG and either the Manhattan SC guide or the Aristotle SC Grail. Afterall, SC is the one area where you can considerably improve your performance. I'm still indecisive on what to use for CR and RC, and would happily welcome suggestions. Infact, I would love suggestions on how to tackle Verbal as a whole. I can't wait to read your viewpoints as I feel it would help me alot in my prep. over the next three weeks. Any do's and dont's and study plan suggestions would be great!