From 460 to 680 Q40 V42 five weeks later!!!!!!!

Question

Im new around here and just wanted to share my experience becuase I'm still pretty stoked. 

I started studying for the gmat back in June. Having not taken a math course pretty much since highschool, i completely forgot just about everything. I didnt know how to add/subtract/divide/multiply fractions, i didnt know exponents, radicals, i didnt know the area equations for triangles, circles, i didnt really know anything. I had forgotten it all. So I bought the Kaplan book and the gmac book and just sort of studied on my own for a while and didnt feel like it was helping me as much as it should. I signed up for the Kaplan classroom sessions and began studying with them in September. My first practice test was a 500 and then a 460. My scores began to steadily improve and topped out at 590, which was my highest score going into this past gmat exam. 

The first time i took the actual gmat i felt like i did sooooooooooo good! Needless to say i was devastated when i received a score of 460. I studied so incredibly hard leading up to the first exam. I work a full time job as a commercial banker, sometimes 12 hours a day and as soon as i would get home i would study for the rest of the night until i went to bed and all weekend. I literally had no social life for about 6 months. It is extremely difficult to study for this test when you work full time. 

After i got the 460 i went straight home and signed up to retake the test at the earliest possible date which happened to be about five weeks later. I told myself screw it, im changing my plan because all that studying didnt work for me last time. I didnt really study at all after i took the first exam. I just went to a couple more classroom sessions with kaplan, watched tv, played video games, slept in the day of the test and didnt really think too much about the gmat. I took it with the attitude that i already felt like i knew the material i just had a bad test last time, but i had no idea i would get a 680 on this one. I scored in the 95th percentile for verbal and the 61st percentile for quant. Previously, i have never scored above the 70th percentile for verbal (even the 70th was high for me) and never above the 50th percentile for math (the last test i scored in the 16th percentile). So i have no idea what happened, the stars just aligned. I did pray a lot before the test and while im sure many of you are not religious this seems nothing short of a miracle to me. 

I know everybody around here thinks you need to score in the 700's to get into a top B-school, but mark my words, i'm going to get into a top 5, i guarantee it. I have a high gpa, awesome work experience, great references, im gonna write a killer essay and i have faith that its gonna happen. I will post when i get into a top 5 and i will show you guys its not all about a 700+ gmat score. 

Anyway, i am very happy and wanted to share my story and i hope that it helps some people and if just a few get inspiration from it then that is all i can hope for. IT IS POSSIBLE TO GO FROM A 460 TO A 680! if i can do it than so can you. Dont get discouraged, just have faith and determination and you can do it!

after15 · Answer

First of all congratulations for your score. 

I do not want to be mean or something, but find it difficult to beleive you. You mention that you did not study at all within that 5-week period: 

 "I didnt really study at all after i took the first exam ", that's your own words.

So you logged in to the forum, in order to post 1 message stating that you improved your score by 220 points with no study in your second attempt. So what you say is that 5 weeks you did not open the book, but you only attended classes.

I could beleive that someone could improve his score by 220 points, maybe from 200 to 420 or from 300 to 520 with no studying. But to get a solid 680 with no studying?

I am sorry but I won't take it. I think you are dishonest and disrespectful to all the members in this forum.

bmwhype2 · Answer

lol.

Amardeep Sharma · Answer

Well, this is the forum of highly motivate GMAT asspirants, who are stars in their own ways... 
Dear after15, We appreciate your offer of encouraging the discouraged souls through your mail, but somehow, we are fail to see any discouraged individual here. 

Thanks anyways for your contribution in the forum and good luck for the journey ahead....

Amar

jmdma808 · Answer

If you don't believe me i will be more than willing to post a scan of the results for both of the tests that i took. You will see that yes, i took the second exam five weeks later, and yes i am being honest when i say i did not study HARDLY AT ALL after the first exam. I only posted to give others inspiration and to say that there are other ways if something you have been doing has not worked for you. In my situation i studied too hard and i believe burnt/psyched myself out for the first exam. So i did the complete opposite for the second exam and achieved the desired result. Like i said, if you ask i can scan my results and show them to you, im not trying to disrespect anybody. And im not trying to sound cocky by saying i didnt study and got the score i got, because i did. I studied EXTREMELY HARD for the five months prior to my first exam.

GMATT73 · Answer

Incredible! It's rare to see such an impressive score increase. Good luck with your apps.

venkis · Answer

I believe you, i did study so hard for my first GMAT attempt and devastated with horrible score, but i am not giving up. plan to take another shot in Mar 08. But i am now studying SMART to get the top700.

jmdma808 · Answer

thank you for your kind words, i was amazed myself. i remember thinking after i got my score "i wonder if the computer messed up or something." LOL!!!!!!! But i got my official scores today and my 680 was there, complete with a 6.0 on AWA!!!

jmdma808 · Answer

I know you can do it! just dont burn yourself out studying the second time you take the test. I honestly just took it easy inbetween tests and my score when up by 220 points but i do admit that an increase like that is pretty rare. I just got my official scores today and i got a 6.0 on AWA as well! i'm so happy! You can do it Venkis, don't give up and believe in yourself

beckee529 · Answer

thats unbelievable! very inspirational... congrats on a great score!

michaelny2001 · Answer

WOW, that's all i can say. Just like you, i do work a full time job, and i did study after work for about 2-3 hours a day including weekends. For what happened, my score decresed steadily, which freaked me up. So the more hours i put into it, the lower i score. I can understand why you got a higher score by not studying too much, all that hard work from before did pay off. Once you relaxed, your brain relaxed, so you did much better.

Regardless, Congrats, it's not the means for which you achieve the score, it's the score itself, since we all know you can't cheat the exam, it si what it is, and you've done it.

All the best to you in your future endeavours, and good luck to all of us who still have to go through with the exam!

Mishari · Answer

I believe you were ready for a 650 score the first time you took the test. It was merely a bad test day. That's pretty much it. Your second test was in a very good test day and you were in a good mood to take the test. You probably were in a 650-700 level at the time of the second test and you earned your lucky 680. I strongly believe that you're excellent mental status for the second test (relaxed, confident, and aggressive) got you your 95% verbal score by having you focus clearly on the verbal CR and RC questions. That got you 680. 

Congratulations and good luck for the apps.

Waiting to hear your admission post in a top 5 school.
P.S : how do you define top 5 schools ? besides H/W/S .. the other two are : chicago and columbia ? or kellog, Tuck and MIT would also be in the top 5 ?

jmdma808 · Answer

Thank you so much for your kind words and i believe you are 100% correct when you say that i was in a 650-700 mood and luck probably had something to do with the 680. Although like i said in my post i dont believe much in luck, but in blessing from God. But that is my personal belief. Anyway, i think top five is of course H/W/S and the other two would be Kellogg and Sloan. My dream schools are H/W and MIT sloan. But i wont be applying for about two years because i only have one year post bacc work experience. i dont want to apply too early and score lasts for five years anyway

pinal2 · Answer

Congrats and thanks for sharing your experience. I also scored 480 on the first GMAT prep attempt and have been studying very hard. I am taking the exam in three weeks.

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From 460 to 680 Q40 V42 five weeks later!!!!!!!

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