Dejected and P.Oed 660! (43 Q and 38 V)

Question

I am really mad at myself. I have taken a number of practice tests and never gotten freaked out by the clock. For some reason, I couldn't think during the exam. At one point I was thinking about cancelling my scores. I am glad that I didn't, but still I am really mad at myself

I started off with Quant. I thought that I was really bombing that section. That is where I wanted to quit and walk out. I stuck it out and went onto the next session. The quant score is a little low for me but still within the range I usually score a 46-47.

I thought that the verbal section was going really well and finished it with time to spare. I thought the questions were pretty straight forward. I couldn't believe it when I saw my final scores

The reason I am so mad at myself is that I easily could have scored a 700. I NEVER scored a 38 verbal on a practice test whether that is PowerPrep, GMATPREP, Kaplan, or PR. My LOWEST score ever on a verbal section was a 41 and I usually average about a 43-44. I have no idea how I got that low of a verbal score. For comparison, I scored 780 on the SAT verbal. The first veral section I ever took, about 4 years ago, I scored a 41 and that was prior to any review!! How I could go backwards is beyond me. 

I think I just wasn't well rested for the exam. I usually have trouble sleeping. That is why I scheduled a noon exam time, but I still couldn't sleep. Plus On top of that I thought I lost my drivers license last night and was freaking the hell out the whole night since I thought I was going to have to find a license center and get another one. It turns out my mother had my license. Somehow she ended up with it. She forgot to tell me! so I was stressing out

I would have had my 700 if I had only done as well as I normally do on the verbal section which totally pisses me off! I am going to retake it. I am not going to study anymore though. I know it's not a matter of knowledge, just a matter of being relaxed and having a clear head. I know I could improve a few points in quant and verbal just by being more relaxed

By the way, the MARKERS SUCK ***. I have to get used to doing calculations with them. I sure with they would go back to Pencil and Paper

I may have not "bombed" the exam, but I bombed it compared to what I know I am capable of. The verbal score caused me to miss the 700:( I know I can do better! I just need to be more relaxed!!!

jchen1731 · Answer

Yes... stress management is very important! you have to be able to stay relax. Sounds like you have done your study and are capable of scoring 700+. I would advise that you review the materials and take another test in 30 days. This time...try to avoid too much studying the day before the exam. (i know... it is hard not to) and try taking sleeping pill the night before to help with anxiety. you need that 8 hours of sleep!

once you are in the test, just think... in 20 years, none of this will matter... and for now, you just want to solve each of the 80 problems one at a time! Make it fun! It's a game!

jamesrwright3 · Answer

I was planning on taking a sleeping pill, but I was up looking for my photo ID!:( That honestly really messed me up. I couldn't take the pill by the time I found out where it was because you need to at least have 8 free hours to sleep if you take it or else you could be groggy while driving! That may have not messed other people up, but once I am anxious it's hard for me to settle down. Plus, like I said before, I know now my whole future is not going to be riding on the next exam. I am going to go and choose not to send it to any schools so I will have nothing to worry about if I bomb it...

I will make sure that I go to bed around 9PM the next time I take it. I may also go for a jog beforehand to get my blood flowing

gmatornot · Answer

james... I too am a little disappointed with my 680 that I scored yesterday. Anyways, for me it was the flip side my Quant was a 45 which is the lowest I have ever gotten. I started with a 46(without any prep) and then regularly was getting a 48-50 range so I was a little shocked at my Quant scaled score. Something was definitely in the air yesterday as a bunch of us landed in the 660-680 bucket who seemed to be hopeful of cracking the 700 mark....

u2lover · Answer

disappointed, disappointed... please be happy with your 660!!! it is a great score, so give yourself some credit!!! CONGRATS!!! :banana

nerves do play a huge role in this process... I suggest next time you hit the local park to run some laps... this will make you tired and you will fall asleep way faster!!!

rdw28 · Answer

Congratulations James!!!!

I dont care what you say, your score is very attractive to any school. Just think, you scored better than 87% of people taking the test. That is not shabby  at all .

agsfaltex · Answer

Good Job James!

You did great. I got a 620 my first time around. Yeah, I was dissapointed, but I'm back and if I can get a score like yours, I'll be pretty satisfied.

Cheers.

jamesrwright3 · Answer

Thanks for the reasponses guys..and gals:)
I think the reason that I am so upset is that I know I usually do better on the verbal section and am not sure what the heck happened. As I indicated previously, I never scored below a 41 on any verbal section before and on the PR online verbal exams that I took this week, I scored 44 and 45 respectively. I could have easily had a 700 if only I had scored the average for my verbal. And on the math section, if I didn't waste so much time on the first question, I just sort of froze, I would have done alot better on there too.

agsfaltex · Answer

James, 660 is competitive enough to get into most schools. You should just focus on nailing down the apps. Once your done with the apps and you're confident you can do better, take it again and send the new scores if they are higher.

Good Luck!

sgrover · Answer

James,
first of all congrats. 660 is not bad. I would strongly suggest that you retake if the scores are below your true potential. If you can get a difference of 60-80, then its worth it. But, be sure to take it asap, otherwise you will easily get exhausted.

died4me · Answer

James, I know how you feel! How? Coz, I just got the same score, 660.
I decided to retake the exam. Personally, if my score were balanced between the Verbal and Quant as yours is, I might not retake the exam.
I think your score is adequate for most schools.

If you decide to retake the exam, I guess we will exchange many posts between now and our 2nd attempt.

jamesrwright3 · Answer

Thanks guys once again
I am going to focus on writing my application essays
I am only applying to two schools Penn State and Pitt. I already had the essays started as I was going to apply for admission to start this fall but my dad got cancer, and I decided to postpone it a year. My score is above the average and Median for Pitt and about on average for Penn State The primary reason I want to retake it is because I am hoping to get a scholarship, not for admissions per se

I told the lady at the center I will see her next month. As I indicated previously, I am not going to study much. I may view some forums and keep fresh on verbal, but I know it was more of a stress, tiredness, anxiety issue that kept me from a 700. I will make sure to have my drivers license in a safe place:) and will take a sleeping pill the night before...I was seriously drowsy during the first half of the quant section (caffeine wasn't helping)and I won't be so nervous since I know I have admission to my schools, unless my essays suck:)

techieGuy · Answer

Jameswright,
 If you could provide some insight into the types of questions , that'll be awesome. How hard did you find them ? Were they similar to GMATPrep or OG 11 ?? Were there any repeats etc ....


Thanks

ps_dahiya · Answer

James,

Give a pat on your back buddy. Its a good score. I know you can do better. Schedule the next exam today for exactly after 31 days. Good luck!!!!!

jamesrwright3 · Answer

Let's just say some of the questions were similar to ones found in a certain section of another site! :wink:

I saw 2-3 of those. However, those were easy ones anyways and hence I don't received an advantage from them. Alot of them were similar to the OG 11 Nothing really weird or out of the ordinary, a few involving inequalities (those were simple) I think I missed the first question because my mind went blank and spent too much time on it and that caused me problems in the Quant section, Also, that marker caused me troubles, I had to get a new one and sometimes it smeared and I had to start calculations over again because my numbers go out of line. I need to practice doing calculations with a marker at home... Next time I am going to ask for 2 markers for my exam. I think they will accomodate. I Don't see the big deal with having an extra marker I think the first question went something like this. 3^X=cube root 27*27 I am not sure what the heck I put down for the answer... The thing that threw me off is the verbal section had some CR's with some WEIRD terms in them and sometimes it was hard to keep track exactly what it was asking. The reading passage was about 160 lines long and dealt with Pakistani feminist literature from the 1930's ?? Talk about an oddball passage. The SC's didn't seem to be overly difficult, mostly dealt with parralelism, but SC's are always my downfall. As I indicated previously, I had 780 on verbal SAT and 740 GRE verbal (and scored in the 165 range on practice LSAT). I am usually quite strong in verbal. That is why I am so mad is I know I made STUPID mistakes on the verbal portion of the exam. There is really no other explanation for it.

techieGuy · Answer

BTW Congrats on your score !!! Don't beat yourself up man !!!!
U did great !!! Its not worth being dejected... Score of 650 + and 710 + is all the same man... Make sure your essays, recos etc are up to the mark. Focus on that... I have friends with 710 who got rejected first time.. Next attempt they corrected their essays and beefed up their recos etc..
u do the same man... Its crazy to focus on just scores..THey are not getting u anywhere until your overall application is top notch.

So you would agree that the difficulty level on GMAT quant and verbal questions has not changed (compared to GMATPrep) ???? I saw a post by a different person , he /she claims it has.

died4me · Answer

I am most sure that you will get into both PSU and Upitt. I hope you go to PSU.... I am a Nittany Lion Fan... :lol:

rhyme · Answer

Congrats man... you did well! And if you do retake, I know you can do better.

You story is basically the same as mine - I did the same thing except in my case it was quant. I took a dozen practice exams, and always scored 42,43,44,45 on math. When I took teh real exam I got a 33 math. That's a 41% percentile. When I retook it, I got a 45 math (though by then I was pushing 48/49 on my practice exams) - in short, it happened to me too.... and if you read my rant here ( https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=30030 ) you'll see that, just like you, I had no idea what the heck caused it.

jamesrwright3 · Answer

Yep, I am taking it in stride. I am going to relook over my verbal section. It was really weird. I honestly thought I was going towards a verbal in a high 40's when I got two LONG RC. I was like man, I must be doing good. The SC didn't seem that hard! I am nto sure where I went wrong on Friday

I also think I can boost my quant score by at least 3-4. I was scoring an average of 47 and had one 49 on power prep. I just wasted too much time and had to guess on some of them:(

jamesrwright3 · Answer

Finally got my AWA score! I almost forgot about it
I got a 5.5

I surprised about that considering I Didn't look at any info on AWA beforehand and didn't practice a single question I just debate alot on message boards, and I think it helped

I still think I am going to retake it in a month or so
My verbal score was so far below my usual scoring (took 3 GMAT Prep and Powerprep and Princeton review) Average there was between a 43-45
That would take me over 700, and I think I could improve a point or two on my quant
I am ready to rock:)

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Dejected and P.Oed 660! (43 Q and 38 V)

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