DEVASTATING GMAT EXPERIENCE

Question

Hi,
I want to share my devastating gmat experience. I want guidance from experts on this issue.

I have given 4 gmat attempts till now and i have done everything i could do to prepare for this exam.

I even left my job , but things didnot changed for me.

In a timeframe of a year i have given 4 gmats.

GMAT1-540(july)Q-42 V22
GMAT2-640(november)Q-47 V31
GMAT3-600(december)Q44 V28
I left my job after third attempt

GMAT4-590(today)Q44 V28

This time i was getting 670-760 on my official mocks ,but some questions were repeated.I literally have done mocks of every company that exist. (MANHATTAN,VERITAS,OFFICIAL MOCKS,KAPLAN,gmat club) My lowest score was 650 in these mocks.
On gmat club i was consistently getting 48+ in quant

But today when i saw 590 infront of me ,i literally cried and i am still crying writing this.

I dont know what happens to me in exam. This time i thought i will be able to crack 700 but after seeing 590 i was totally devastated.

I will not stop preparing for my gmat unless i get a 700+.

Right now i am in a dilemna whether i should find a job and then prepare simultaneously or i should continue preparing the way i am preparing.

I dont know what i am doing wrong. Somtimes i think i wil never be able to see 700 on gmat.

AjiteshArun , VeritasPrepKarishma , EMPOWERgmatRichC , GMATNinja

Please guide me.

Moderator Note: The post is edited by adding ESR with user's consent.

Attachments

ESR_590.pdf [462.37 KiB]
Downloaded 66 times

ESR 640.pdf [1.01 MiB]
Downloaded 70 times

AjiteshArun , VeritasPrepKarishma , EMPOWERgmatRichC , GMATNinja Please guide me. The post is edited by adding ESR with user's consent.

adkikani · Answer

aviral12345

I am not an expert, but nevertheless here are my two cents.

First of all, welcome to Gmatclub! Not an ideal first post, but believe me:
You shall end up becoming much wiser after learning from mistakes than feeling
devastated to have not achieved your desired goal.

Going through your post, here are few questions that might help you:
a. Are you learning from any incorrect Q or still better: did you analyse your
ESR to know your weak areas? You can PM me your ESR to share on forum, if you can't attach them.
See this post for better understanding.
b. I am not sure how you paced yourself during and in between mocks. Ideally
even if you are not working full time, it would ideally take up to 5-6 hours to analyze each mock.
c. It would make more sense to share what resources you used and what was your split with dates
in each mocks. However, if you are from India and from Engineering background, your Quant scores
in GMAT are inconsistent and it is an indication of anxiety in mocks if you are consistently scoring
Q48+ on GC tests. See #5, #6 and #7 in this post.

Also I see no reason why you can not attain better scores. There are tons and tons of stories as in here and here to motivate on your journey.

Quote:

Right now i am in a dilemma whether i should find a job and then prepare simultaneously

Always a tough call to make. You need to weigh your study goals vs job commitments (e.g. travel/ flexible work hours
/ working from home) to balance work along with GMAT

Quote:

or i should continue preparing the way i am preparing.

This is something you might not want to hear, but you need to change either your strategy or
learn to control your nerves (though it is easier said than done). Image drawing a circle and you
shall end up coming back to same point from where you left unless you take a call to change one of the two.
See if this helps.

Once again wishing you all the very best for your re-attempt and hoping that you slay the beast in your next attempt sooner.
GmatClub is a wonderful resource for all your questions and that's what the search tabs are for

. The more specific you will be,the better are the chances for getting relevant answers on this forum.

aviral12345 · Answer

I have posted my sectional breakup in my post only.
I am indian with commerce background.
I have finished all the official material to that extent that now i even remember the answer.
I was preparing from gmat club forum questions this time(fourth attempt)
In exam quant was going good but i had to run at last 5-6 questions.
In verbal i thought i did fairly well and i would score 35 atleast but seeing 28 was heart breakening.

Last mock that i gave at home , i scored 750( q50 v43).

Sent from my SM-N750 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

haovb · Answer

Hi, surely I am not an expert, I can understand how hard it is for you as you put so many effort on Gmat test.

I think you might one to check 2 things. 1st: Are you strongly affected by test pressure? or your own expectation pressure? too stress while doing exam?

2nd. Do you have any other method to apply to higher education rather than fancy Gmat? How about your work experience? Your knowledge in specific fields of business.

Really really hope better thing comes to you.

aviral12345 · Answer

I dont have much work experience. I graduated in 2017 and got college placement. I wanted to do masters in finance from top college.(hec paris,oxford,mit sloan,esade)
In frustation i left my job after 7 months to pursue my gmat goal.

I know today i am broke as hell but i wont compensate on my goal of getting admission in one of the top universities.
Either i will go in top university or i will keep on giving gmat with a new and hopefully a effective approach.
I will send you my esr as soon as i will get it.
Your reviews on that can help me a lot.
Thanks for hearing my storey.

Sent from my SM-N750 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

ankur909090 · Answer

aviral12345

Hello friend ,

First of all don't disappointed . You have a long life to live and mostly you will be working for 35 more years .

So by investing one year if you can reap the fruit for rest of your life ahead than you shouldn't hesitate to give one more attempt.

I saw that you wrote you have attempted every test series and in gmat only you are scoring less than it means your result is getting deteriorated because of pressure .

Just go through all your attempted mock papers in verbal section and try to find out the link in wrong questions.Definitely there must be a pattern in it.

Your name suggest that you are a Indian so I hope that you can increase your score in quant as we Indians have an edge in that section .

Finally don't get disappointed . Buckle up yourself for the next fight and have confidence in yourself .

Aptitude exam is more about confidence in yourself than of anything else.

Be wise while taking any decision and think logically as you have long career in front of you.

All the Best for your future, if you feel like sharing your result with me I will be happy to help you out.

But make

AjiteshArun · Answer

I understand how you must feel at this moment. A few points: 1. Education can have a big impact on people, as can a fulfilling career. The GMAT, however, is just an exam. It is not something that you'll look back on after a few years as a major part of who you are. Try not to make other decisions contingent on only the GMAT. 2. It is usually not a good idea to drop everything else to prepare for the GMAT. You have to keep building your profile. Personally, I think anyone preparing for only an exam without doing anything else is likely to get bored and/or burn out. 3. Get started on the other aspects of your application. Remember that there are good schools you can target with your 640 and that even a 700+ score is not a guarantee of admission. 4. Take some time off before you decide whether to take the GMAT again. Maybe a few days, maybe more than a month. But do not give the GMAT more importance than it deserves. There's a saying about how "never falling" is not important, but "rising every time we fall" is. Keep at it, and good things will come your way. Just don't limit the "it" to one exam

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi aviral12345,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Your last 3 Official Scores show that you essentially performed the same each time (610 +/- a few points). By extension, even though you've been studying for about 7 months since your November Test Date, you continue to 'see' (and respond to) the GMAT in the same ways as before. To score at a significantly higher level, you cannot continue to work in those same ways.

Since you've studied for so long - and potentially worked through lots of material in the forums here - it's likely that most/all of your recent CAT Scores are 'inflated' (seeing even a couple of 'repeat' questions can completely throw off the Score Algorithm as well as your pacing, fatigue, anxiety, etc. ). That having been said, I would like to know a bit more about how you were taking your CATs for this recent attempt:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you took your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: on a prior CAT, in an online forum or in a practice set)?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

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