Think like badmouthing YOUR LOW score?!

Question

(inspired by ppl who think a 680 is "miserable",660 is a poor joke and 690 .."don't talk I am too dissappointed")

Dear Everyone Who Uses Derogatory Words to Describe Scores,

Don't do it. It shows a lack of tact. Many people would be very happy with a 680. It's not a miserable score. In fact, it's a very good score. It's a score that is better than 86% of all scores received on the GMAT. And to call such a score "miserable" is a slap in the face to many people. This brings me to something that is very important in the business world: people skills. If you have an 800 & no people skills... you're probably not going to make it very far. If you have a 650 & great people skills... the sky is pretty much the limit for you. Tact is important. Much more important than 20 points or even 100 points on the GMAT. Always think about how your choices will be perceived by others. Perception (sadly in a some cases) matters more than reality in the business world.

I see this occurs a fair amount, and it really annoys me.I am slogging my a**(as are many many others)to score a 700+.I have personally reached around 650 from mere 500's and even seeing that score brings a smile to my face and tells me I can do it.

superman · Answer

very very true ... its the fundamental problem of most humans ... its not about 800 score and getting into top school ... its all about inspiring people along your travel ... i had been to a MGMAT trial class and there was this guy who was trying for SFSU (avg score needed was around 600) ... and this guy was so desperate to get 600 as his previous two tries of gmat (with 4 months of sincere preparation ) was less than 550, so I went and talked to him to see whats making him gmat so tough ... hes from arts background running one of the most successful salsa classes in San Francisco ...

To all future GMATer's ... please write inspiring stories even if you get less than your expectations, ppl aiming more than that score would see where the problems in the journey so that they can correct themselves and ppl aiming for lesser score will get inspired by the post ...

GMAT/MBA journey is 3-4 years .. lets move along together ... carrying the ppl who need help along with us ...

tejal777 · Answer

Ha!Speaking of salsa class..I met this guy in mine and both of us decided to give the GMAT together..(that was 3 mnths back).I kept in touch with him where he kept saying that he was not getting the to study at all n' i was grumbling that its not a walk in the park.We fell out of touch..One fine day I encountered him and he said that he scored a 690 on the GMAT.When?How?What?Oh he decided one sultry thursday afternoon to give it a try so he booked his test on SATURDAY and BOOM!Then he gave me a dejected expression and said.."Lets not talk about it..the DISASTER is done.."
I fought the urge to clobber him with my salsa heels.... :shock:

mediamindy · Answer

Thank you for this post! I get that many peeps here are type A and want freakishly high scores on the first try... but for some of us, we would do unmentionable things for a 'crappy' 670!

nevergiveup · Answer

kudos for you.

I totally agree with you. I started with my first official GMAT score of 490 and I studied non-stop for three years to reach my highest so far 660. Although I still want to try to study one more year to see if I will be able to reach 700+ score, I am proud of my improvements.

topher · Answer

I agree that using derogatory words is not good. But if I say, "I am disappointed that I scored 700," what gives you the right to say that I'm wrong? In my opinion your whole post is just bossing people around without really understanding other people's circumstances. So you are in fact the one showing a lack of people skills.

tejal777 · Answer

@nevergiveup and mediamindy:Go for it guys!!
@topher:I think everyone has a RIGHT to their opinion..and please read the posts carefully I never said you were WRONG.I just believe that the majority of people are struggling out here so be a bigger person and encourage encourage encourage!!I am still wondering what in my post showed me BOSSING people around!!Heck,your opinion..you are entitled to it!! :wink:

scorcho · Answer

I agree that people should be circumspect to know that one man's setback could be another man's dream. At the same time, I'm not sure people really need to moderate their language to compensate. Do I get upset when people talk about getting Q50/51 easily after studying for a week or two and I'm over here working my tail off for a year for my 48?! Not really--I'm happy to have what I think is a great score for me and I understand that everyone's situations are different.

I think we should be smart enough individually to tune out someone else's emotional noise and follow our own compass about what different scores mean to us. Who cares if someone gets a great score and then speaks of it in a way that reflects poorly on their self-awareness? Why try to change that person; just tune them out. Most folks with that level of ignorance aren't going to get too far on their great score anyway--it takes a lot more than that imo.

I do think this board serves as a good emotional outlet for people. Moderating one's feelings works against that a bit. For me the act of writing up my own progression was cathartic. I scored a "dreadful" 690 that was, I'm sorry to say, very much a disappointment for me. I had tested better than that, worked hard to do better, and needed to do better--so it was a "dreadful" outcome for me. As a function of my expectations, inputs and requirements, viewing it as a derogatory outcome doesn't actually seem unreasonable to me. At the same time, hopefully, I didn't offend anyone with my discussion--I get your point, but I think there are some nuances I suppose.

In any event, interesting angle and it always helps to consider what others are seeing and thinking. Cheers.

tejal777 · Answer

scorcho: I really appreciate the cool n' calm manner you put your point fwd..Can't say I don't agree with you..!And not letting a person bother you and just "tune" them out..I really really need to learn how to do that in my day to day life!!

kevincan · Answer

I think some people have every reason to be disappointed with a 680 or 690, if their goal is to get into ultra-selective B-schools or are applying for a scholarship. These people are wise to refrain from using words such as pathetic, but no-one should take offense. It's as if an accomplished runner got peeved because he couldn't run a mile in less than 4 minutes on the big day

eresh · Answer

Both the sides have strong logic behind their argument. But I think the 2nd one is more logical. It is embedded in human(most of the human) nature to want more when he gets more. It is like Bolt being disappointed with his 9.85 sec timing and someone who failed to qualify during the heat taking it personally.

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