|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Well I just got back from my 2nd GMAT experience and realized an almost 100 point gain in my score. I am extremely satisfied with my score and (hopefully) will never write it again.
I originally took my test Nov. 24th, 2005 and had a horrible experience (510 28Q 33V). After a few days of feeling dejected and depressed I decided to register for the test again in January. As time went by, I began to seriously have doubts as to whether I really wanted to pursue writing the test and an MBA altogether. Needless to say, I did not crack open one book until exactly a week ago today. After a talk with an admissions officier, I felt encouraged to give it one more shot and so I did. I bought the OG 11th edition and did 100% of the math and about 50% of the verbal. The first time around all I used was Kaplan. I took the week off work and went to a library everyday studying roughly 8-12 hours a day for a week.
So today I sat the exam and scored a 600 (35Q 38V) which should be close to the average of the Canadian schools I hope to apply to.
Obviously, what I did, may not work for everyone and I would not recommend it since I literally lost touch with reality for a week, but it does in fact prove that with dedication, anything in life is possible. Anyway, enough with the background here's what I encountered today:
AWA: Very easy topics. Wrote close to 1000-1200 words for each essay. Each topic had an endless amount of points to argue.
Quant: Was not as bad as I thought. 1 Prob question, 1 f(x) (function) question, alot of word problems though. I was doing well, but since math is not one of my strengths, I took way too long solving problems and consequently had to guess on the last 4-5 which more than likely brought my math score down. The Questions were slightly harder than the OG, and were much closer to the GMATPrep tutorials.
Verbal: Pretty straight forward, again slightly more difficult than the OG. I got 2 Bold Faced questions and about 5-6 short RC's of which atleast 40% had highlighted text to analyze. The SC's were pretty easy with many obvious errors and none were fully underlined. However, by the time I got to question 35, the whole 4 hour process was began having an effect on me and I was beginning to get tired so I wasn't as focused with the last 4-5 questions, although I did have plenty of time to spare in this section.
Preparation:
1st time around, I only took a Kaplan classroom course (Biggest waste of $1000 ever). My actual GMAT score was only 10 points higher than my diagnostic. (Which made me ineligible for the refund). My 8 kaplan tests were all around 560-600. I found that kaplan questions were definitely more challenging, however not at all representative of what is on the actual test. Kaplan questions are too complex and time consuming.
This time, as mentioned, I only used the OG 11th edition for 1 week and took 3 practice tests as follows:
GMATPrep1 - 550 (before the OG)
PR (the free one online) - 590
GMATPrep2 - 660 (2 days before the test)
I must say, the OG (as everyone says) is a necessity, period.
Test Centre:
The adminstrators were great! Very helpful and kept asking me if there was anything I needed during the breaks. My only beef is those erasable boards. My hands are still covered in ink. The ink very easily smudges on the laminated paper so be careful where you put your hand because you might acidently erase something you need.
Unfortunately I did have a major issue with Pearson Vue. My test was originally scheduled for yesterday, but my computer froze after question 1 of the AWA. I was sent home and battled (literally) for a total of about 3 hours (between yesterday and today) to try and get my appointment rescheduled for today. In the end, I didn't even know where or when I was writing until 2 hours before the exam.
Anyway, sorry for such a long post, but I just wanted people to see that anything is possible, especially with this test. My next step is to work on my apps.
Best of luck to the future test takers.
I originally took my test Nov. 24th, 2005 and had a horrible experience (510 28Q 33V). After a few days of feeling dejected and depressed I decided to register for the test again in January. As time went by, I began to seriously have doubts as to whether I really wanted to pursue writing the test and an MBA altogether. Needless to say, I did not crack open one book until exactly a week ago today. After a talk with an admissions officier, I felt encouraged to give it one more shot and so I did. I bought the OG 11th edition and did 100% of the math and about 50% of the verbal. The first time around all I used was Kaplan. I took the week off work and went to a library everyday studying roughly 8-12 hours a day for a week.
So today I sat the exam and scored a 600 (35Q 38V) which should be close to the average of the Canadian schools I hope to apply to.
Obviously, what I did, may not work for everyone and I would not recommend it since I literally lost touch with reality for a week, but it does in fact prove that with dedication, anything in life is possible. Anyway, enough with the background here's what I encountered today:
AWA: Very easy topics. Wrote close to 1000-1200 words for each essay. Each topic had an endless amount of points to argue.
Quant: Was not as bad as I thought. 1 Prob question, 1 f(x) (function) question, alot of word problems though. I was doing well, but since math is not one of my strengths, I took way too long solving problems and consequently had to guess on the last 4-5 which more than likely brought my math score down. The Questions were slightly harder than the OG, and were much closer to the GMATPrep tutorials.
Verbal: Pretty straight forward, again slightly more difficult than the OG. I got 2 Bold Faced questions and about 5-6 short RC's of which atleast 40% had highlighted text to analyze. The SC's were pretty easy with many obvious errors and none were fully underlined. However, by the time I got to question 35, the whole 4 hour process was began having an effect on me and I was beginning to get tired so I wasn't as focused with the last 4-5 questions, although I did have plenty of time to spare in this section.
Preparation:
1st time around, I only took a Kaplan classroom course (Biggest waste of $1000 ever). My actual GMAT score was only 10 points higher than my diagnostic. (Which made me ineligible for the refund). My 8 kaplan tests were all around 560-600. I found that kaplan questions were definitely more challenging, however not at all representative of what is on the actual test. Kaplan questions are too complex and time consuming.
This time, as mentioned, I only used the OG 11th edition for 1 week and took 3 practice tests as follows:
GMATPrep1 - 550 (before the OG)
PR (the free one online) - 590
GMATPrep2 - 660 (2 days before the test)
I must say, the OG (as everyone says) is a necessity, period.
Test Centre:
The adminstrators were great! Very helpful and kept asking me if there was anything I needed during the breaks. My only beef is those erasable boards. My hands are still covered in ink. The ink very easily smudges on the laminated paper so be careful where you put your hand because you might acidently erase something you need.
Unfortunately I did have a major issue with Pearson Vue. My test was originally scheduled for yesterday, but my computer froze after question 1 of the AWA. I was sent home and battled (literally) for a total of about 3 hours (between yesterday and today) to try and get my appointment rescheduled for today. In the end, I didn't even know where or when I was writing until 2 hours before the exam.
Anyway, sorry for such a long post, but I just wanted people to see that anything is possible, especially with this test. My next step is to work on my apps.
Best of luck to the future test takers.
GREAT Improvement. Congrats.
You should be proud of yourself.
Enjoy
duttsit
_________________
You should be proud of yourself.
Enjoy
duttsit
_________________
Whether you think you can or think you can't. You're right! - Henry Ford (1863 - 1947)
Thanks! I know this score is probably not a big deal judging by the countless 700+ scores that are posted here, but I'm personally very pleased with it.
Of course, there is always that piece of you that feels you can do much better, especially since my practice scores were inching to 700 (i.e. 650+) as the test drew nearer, however I'm not going to be greedy. The score is what it is and I hope my application as a whole keeps me competitive to the schools I'm applying to. At present, I just don't have the time or energy to do it again. Work is now entering the busiest time of the year and I need to focus on my job and my applications right now.
I just hope that my experience helps others in similiar situations to not give up and that good things can definitely happen with determination. Forget about the reliability statistics that the GMAT people give you and want you to believe. According to them, I should have never gone up 100 points with 1 extra week of studying. If you stay focused, anything can happen...!
Of course, there is always that piece of you that feels you can do much better, especially since my practice scores were inching to 700 (i.e. 650+) as the test drew nearer, however I'm not going to be greedy. The score is what it is and I hope my application as a whole keeps me competitive to the schools I'm applying to. At present, I just don't have the time or energy to do it again. Work is now entering the busiest time of the year and I need to focus on my job and my applications right now.
I just hope that my experience helps others in similiar situations to not give up and that good things can definitely happen with determination. Forget about the reliability statistics that the GMAT people give you and want you to believe. According to them, I should have never gone up 100 points with 1 extra week of studying. If you stay focused, anything can happen...!
I strongly agree with you on the importance of the OG. The score on your second adminsitration was consistent with your scores on the Kaplan diagnostics. One could reasonably argue that your true score was in the high 500s at the time of your first administration.
congratulation jaded. Your score increase is fantastic given the short time frame and thank you very much for your great words of advice for future test takers. Good luck with your applications.
Hjort
It's definitely possible. Using the same logic, the true score on my second attempt should have been anywhere above 600 and probably closer to a 650. However, based on the amount of effort/time I invested, I have accepted my score and hopefully, by spending some extra effort on my apps, I'll have a chance at attending a Canadian school.
Wow I am impressed.
Thanks...I just got my official score report and scored a 5.5 / 6 on the AWA.
I've got a couple more second round apps due next week so I've got my fingers crossed...
I've got a couple more second round apps due next week so I've got my fingers crossed...
Announcements
Monday, Sep 14, 2026
11:30am NY / 3:30pm London / 9pm Mumbai
Subscribe to GMAT Club for New Podcast Episodes, Debriefs, & Insightful Sessions on GMAT Preparation
Tuck at Dartmouth
AI at Dartmouth Tuck: How the School Is Preparing Leaders for the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Inside the courses, research, and hands-on learning defining wise, decisive leadership in an AI-driven world.
Read More
Inside the courses, research, and hands-on learning defining wise, decisive leadership in an AI-driven world.
Read More
Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos
Success stories and strategies from high-scoring candidates.