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gorupruthi
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 00:47
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Hi all.
I am not in a good condition to write a debrief here.I was thinking before giving exam(28th march,2012) that i will write my debrief in a very good mood as i was expecting a good score.But after seeing the score of 540(q 47 v19) on screen i was so stunned that i don't know how to react.

My prep history:-
I started exactly 1 year back with 550(q 42 v 23).Since then i was getting up daily at 4 am to study for GMAT.It was very clear to me that i need to study a lot for verbal and believe me that i seriously worked a lot for my verbal.

Material i used:-
SC- Manhattan
CR - powerscore
RC- Rc 99
For practice i used all OGs 10,11,12 and grockit and during my last days of exam i did lots of practice from GMAT CLUB.
Tests- GMAT Prep and MGMAT.

With all that i started to improve on verbal.The improvement was step wise.Like for first few months i was scoring around Verbal- 25.Then around verbal -28.And finally for the last few months i was scoring consistently above 30(in both manhattan and gmat prep) and finally i was getting over 35.That gave me courage to book the date for my exam.

My score in last 3 Mocks which i gave 2 days before GMAT all were with AWA sections.
Gmat prep 1 740(Q50,V40)
Manhattan - 690(Q45,V38)
Gmat prep 2 700(Q49,V35) (At a very awkward time i.e started at 11 and went up to 2:30 am)

Then for the last 2 days i revised the concepts and did few questions from gmat club mostly difficult Quant on the forum.
And the end i was pretty confident about scoring good.

On the Gmat day.
I started with AWA and got comfortable till the time i was at the end of Issue.Then i took break and ate an apple. Came back for Quant Started and i struggled with the first question( really worked for 5 mins on that) and was not able to solve.I decided to move on and covered the time by end of 10 questions.Thankfully didn't face any problem in rest of the quant.At the end of quant i was feeling good and comfortable too.Again in the break and ate something and sipped an energy drink.
It will be hard for all of u to belief that throughout the verbal i never felt that i was doing bad..Although at the third comprehension i was lagging by 2-3 mins.But overall it was good. SC i was only taking on an average 1 min to solve and was able to eliminate 4 options easily.After Lots of practice i was feeling good about my verbal.But the results,which i got yesterday,i am seriously not able to accept and believe.
I dont know if i am again taking GMAT, which i definitely will,what different i am going to do to score well.Becoz mocks were the proof of my improvement.I am not left with any alternative.I am expecting that experts around will help me and motivate me.
AM STILL IN A STATE OF SHOCK that what actually happened to me in GMAT(MY First bad experience).
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 04:00
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Hey buddy, really sorry for ur score. you have prepared for it so hard and for so long. I haven't come across so much of variance between the test day score and practice scores( esp if they are gmatprep and mgmat). Were you too anxious and too tensed on the D day? IMO, that could be the possible reasons for bringing your scores.
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 05:43
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rajeevrks27
Hey buddy, really sorry for ur score. you have prepared for it so hard and for so long. I haven't come across so much of variance between the test day score and practice scores( esp if they are gmatprep and mgmat). Were you too anxious and too tensed on the D day? IMO, that could be the possible reasons for bringing your scores.
Show more

I was normal (emotionally controlled)while giving the exam..still not able to figure the reason for this...After scoring consistently above 30 in verbal i got confident that at least my verbal score cant go below 30...But got a 19 ,the score where i started 1 year ago.
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 08:07
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Im so sorry to hear this... your verbal score variance is bizzare! Did you possibly use the pause button a lot during mock tests? Otherwise I would go hard core on my verbal review (seems like you were doing well in practice) and retake the exam.
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 08:47
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How many times have you given GMAT Prep test ?
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GMATLA
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 08:55
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First, let me say I'm very sorry about your performance. But the good news is that your practice tests show that you can do much better! You just didn't perform on test day. Let me offer some possibilities of what went wrong:

Quote:
At the end of quant i was feeling good and comfortable too.Again in the break and ate something and sipped an energy drink.
Show more
Did you drink an energy drink during your practice tests? If not, this could have played into your poor performance on Verbal. Many people find that high levels of caffeine or sugar can effect their decision making. Don't change ANYTHING on test day.


Quote:
I started exactly 1 year back
Show more
1 year is WAY too long to be studying for the GMAT. You should really only spend about 3-4 months MAX to reach your potential. Anything over can lead to burnout, or loss of confidence on topics that were covered too long ago. You should reevaluate your study plan to be in a shorter time frame with more hours during the week dedicated to studying.


Quote:
My score in last 3 Mocks which i gave 2 days before GMAT all were with AWA sections.
Gmat prep 1 740(Q50,V40)
Manhattan - 690(Q45,V38)
Gmat prep 2 700(Q49,V35) (At a very awkward time i.e started at 11 and went up to 2:30 am)
Show more
You said that these 3 mock tests were given 2 days before the GMAT. Did you do 3 tests in one day? Thats a good way to lead to burn out. Had you taken these 3 tests before? If so, then you really can't count these scores as legitamite, b/c even one or two repeated questions could raise your score by 50-100 points if you count getting those questions right and being able to spend more time on other questions.


Quote:
Came back for Quant Started and i struggled with the first question( really worked for 5 mins on that) and was not able to solve
Show more
You NEVER want to spend 5 minutes on a question no matter what. Especially since you never weren't able to solve it. You definintely gave up the opportunity here to spend some extra time on some problems you may have gotten right. Never spend more than 3 minutes on a question before guessing, NO MATTER WHAT. It's not worth it.


With all this information in mind, you just have to figure out what went wrong. Once you figure that out, then you need to readjust your study plan and set yourself up for success. No one can tell you what happened, but you just may have had a bad day. Take some time, get that confidence back, and crush the test. Good luck!
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 09:26
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Gorupruthi don't let this bring you down! We are all on the same boat here... Honestly, I've never seen so much variance between mock tests and the real thing. Try to relax for a week or two, set a date for your retake, and go for it!

If I were you, I would focus on practicing official verbal questions. Grab the OG 12 or 13 and try to comprehend each question. Not only why the right answer is right, but also why the wrong ones are wrong. Doing this will help you get into the verbal autopilot mode many people mention in this blog.

Best of luck!
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 10:20
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Hello,

I just passed my GMAT today.
I studied for 45 days and got a 650, I don't know if it was luck, but I feel good. During the quantitative section, I was stressing so much and thought I was answering all wrong, however, I got a 47 on the quantitative and a 32 on the verbal.
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I prepared for 1 year but 540 in GMAT has left me in tears. 29 Mar 2012, 23:04
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GMATLA
First, let me say I'm very sorry about your performance. But the good news is that your practice tests show that you can do much better! You just didn't perform on test day. Let me offer some possibilities of what went wrong:

Quote:
At the end of quant i was feeling good and comfortable too.Again in the break and ate something and sipped an energy drink.
Did you drink an energy drink during your practice tests? If not, this could have played into your poor performance on Verbal. Many people find that high levels of caffeine or sugar can effect their decision making. Don't change ANYTHING on test day.


Quote:
I started exactly 1 year back
1 year is WAY too long to be studying for the GMAT. You should really only spend about 3-4 months MAX to reach your potential. Anything over can lead to burnout, or loss of confidence on topics that were covered too long ago. You should reevaluate your study plan to be in a shorter time frame with more hours during the week dedicated to studying.


Quote:
My score in last 3 Mocks which i gave 2 days before GMAT all were with AWA sections.
Gmat prep 1 740(Q50,V40)
Manhattan - 690(Q45,V38)
Gmat prep 2 700(Q49,V35) (At a very awkward time i.e started at 11 and went up to 2:30 am)
You said that these 3 mock tests were given 2 days before the GMAT. Did you do 3 tests in one day? Thats a good way to lead to burn out. Had you taken these 3 tests before? If so, then you really can't count these scores as legitamite, b/c even one or two repeated questions could raise your score by 50-100 points if you count getting those questions right and being able to spend more time on other questions.


Quote:
Came back for Quant Started and i struggled with the first question( really worked for 5 mins on that) and was not able to solve
You NEVER want to spend 5 minutes on a question no matter what. Especially since you never weren't able to solve it. You definintely gave up the opportunity here to spend some extra time on some problems you may have gotten right. Never spend more than 3 minutes on a question before guessing, NO MATTER WHAT. It's not worth it.


With all this information in mind, you just have to figure out what went wrong. Once you figure that out, then you need to readjust your study plan and set yourself up for success. No one can tell you what happened, but you just may have had a bad day. Take some time, get that confidence back, and crush the test. Good luck!
Show more

Hi Gmatla,
Thanks for evaluating my debrief in detail and for giving valuable advice. Ya i agree that at the end of the verbal i got little uncomfortable probably because of caffeine in energy drink..That can be taken care next time.But how can to cover my verbal part score.Thats the big question in my mind.


Quote:
My score in last 3 Mocks which i gave 2 days before GMAT all were with AWA sections.
Gmat prep 1 740(Q50,V40)
Manhattan - 690(Q45,V38)
Gmat prep 2 700(Q49,V35) (At a very awkward time i.e started at 11 and went up to 2:30 am)
Show more
Quote:

You said that these 3 mock tests were given 2 days before the GMAT. Did you do 3 tests in one day? Thats a good way to lead to burn out. Had you taken these 3 tests before? If so, then you really can't count these scores as legitamite, b/c even one or two repeated questions could raise your score by 50-100 points if you count getting those questions right and being able to spend more time on other questions.
Show more
I gave 1 test per day.I was giving gmat prep frequently but every time i reinstalled the prep software .I got few questions repeat in my Gmat prep exams.What can i do now to know my level in verbal?Which mocks shall i give now.Because if i am taking Gmat prep again the score will be inflated.
Mgmat was one of the 6 exams that we get on buying the mgmat books.It was 5th one and Thats for sure i was giving for the first time.
Is there any other good material that i should refer?I have to replan my gmat.I am ready to start everything again but need proper guidance from the experts like you.It is very difficult to stay motivated after getting a shock of 540.
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