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Shocked in my GMAT Exam. Its a test of nerves and I failed.

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etherealbliss
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Shocked in my GMAT Exam. Its a test of nerves and I failed. [#permalink] New post   30 Jun 2010, 13:10
I am still reeling from the shock of my GMAT exam. A mere 620 shocked the daylights out of me.. I kinda knew that I was digging my grave as I wrote my Quant section.

My experiences with academics - maths has been fantastic. I have a GRE of 1490/1600 with a 800 math/690 Verbal. ( alas, my score expired this year and hence could not use that to apply to an mba school) I have topped Mathematics always and was an editor. I was pretty confident about my abilities to take the GMAT. But my tryst with GMAT has never been so great. I started with a first time score of 600.. ( no preparation - just took the test to see where I stand). Then after a few months of effort and recently my scores have been such.

Manhattan GMAT - 650,660,680,690,690
Kaplan - 690,700

At the least I was expecting a score of lower 700's.

I found the exam to be tough. I started my essays on a good note. But faltered through the first few sums by taking 20 min for 5 questions. That freaked me out and then started the debacle. During my verbal my mind was playing games about my math being less and me having to try really very hard to score on verbal. And that pressure got to me.

I have never gotten a score during my practice test which is 620. I am utterly disappointed in me. This score is not reflective on who I am - and my abilities. Very pained by such a performance.

On a side note, I realized that I need to work harder on

1) Number properties. My entire test was based on DS question on Number properties.
I was second guessing my self when i saw a few DS questions. Don't know why..
2) Verbal - I need to learn to break a question into different parts, go through the types ( eg SC - is it asub verb, parallel, tense etc) and then take an informed decision. I was not able to do that in the test. Can some1 tell me if they could help me with places to learn these systematic tricks?

What are some of the "SURE" exams to take before the actual test?
Currently I have Powerprep, GMAT Prep's 2 tests, Manhattan GMAT. Should I buy any more tests? How is SETS? I am completely destroyed by my score today. As i write this long , sad post, I cant believe the score is mine.

Suggestions, advise , tips would be very helpful.

Thanks guys.
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bakfed
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Re: Shocked in my GMAT Exam. Its a test of nerves and I failed. [#permalink] New post   30 Jun 2010, 15:11
Hi etherealbliss, first of all, congrats on a good score (620 is really not that bad); however, I don't believe it's a true indicator of where your score lies. Looking back your practice scores, as well as your GRE score of 1490, you should be scoring in the 700's range (that's my opinion). I can really on attribute the result to bad luck and stress. Make sure you practice your fundamentals and OG questions. Now that you've donee the test one-time, you'll be less stressed out about it when you walk in the second time (that's what happened to me). Keep in mind that unless you're a natural born genius who's aiming for 800, there's bound to be question or question type that you're not familiar with. Having said that, your quant score could've been due to the type of questions that you just so happen to now know much about.
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Re: Shocked in my GMAT Exam. Its a test of nerves and I failed. [#permalink] New post   30 Jun 2010, 19:07
you seem to have nailed it - the GMAT is as much about nerves/ your mental state during the test as it is about sums and integers. it sounds cliche, but try to relax next time. dont kill yourself studying too much new info, but instead focus one one or 2 sections that you have already identified.

if you don't already have MGMAT, you should get it to obtain the 6 free tests. this and gmat preptests should be the main full length tests that you should be working with. try and go through all 6 mgmat tests, if nothing else just so you get a feel for how fast you should be working.

and one final thing, if youre getting stumped on a problem it's a lot better to skip it than to keep working at it and waste valuable time. i was in a similar situation on my test day, but i was lucky enough to recover after wasting 3-4 mins on my 1st question. just stay focused and keep aware of how much time you have left to prevent this from happening on your retake. good luck
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etherealbliss
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Re: Shocked in my GMAT Exam. Its a test of nerves and I failed. [#permalink] New post   30 Jun 2010, 19:46
Thanks Guys! My scores above are the manhattan gmat scores.. I plan to chalk up a new plan for my retake. I feel that i need to practice more Math and understand how to answer a verbal and feel confident abt it once you get the answer.

Any other tests that I should take? Anyplace where i can buy kaplan full tests etc?

Thanks a lot for your kind words. Makes me feel more assuaged.
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Re: Shocked in my GMAT Exam. Its a test of nerves and I failed. [#permalink] New post   01 Jul 2010, 03:35
etherealbliss, it's certain that you are capable of breaking the 700 level. Just don't underestimate the difficulty of the test and the importance of preparation. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
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Re: Shocked in my GMAT Exam. Its a test of nerves and I failed. [#permalink] New post   02 Jul 2010, 23:47
I also recommend the Princeton review tests for the verbal section only. The quant section is way too easy, but the verbal section is pretty indicative of the real thing.

Also -- as a professional classical musician, you can bet that I've learned a thing or two about managing nerves. Try eating 2-3 bananas before the exam. The stage hands at Carnegie hall's main stage swear by this method, and I've found it to be quite helpful over my musical career. Obviously experiment to make sure your stomach can handle it beforeyour retake...

Good luck!!!

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Re: Shocked in my GMAT Exam. Its a test of nerves and I failed. [#permalink]
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