Second attempt 590 (Q47, V24) : Need some advise

[fast_turtle]

Today I gave my gmat and got miserable 590.

1) Jun 2008 : 530 (Q45, V19)
2) Jun 2009 : 590 (Q47, V25)

Practice material used :
Verbal
SC : OG 10/11 + first 500 from 1000SC + Manhattan SC guide +
half of Kaplan 800
critical reasoning : OG 10/11 + Powerscore Bible
reading comprehension : OG 11
Quant
OG 11

Tests given
Kaplan1 : 530
Kaplan2 : 530
GmatPrep1 : 650
GmatPrep2 : 720 (some repeated questions)

What went wrong in verbal section today ?
The biggest factor which killed me today is my speed. I faced an easy reading comprehension passage at 8th question, which I attempted all. But after that I had to randomly click on all of next 2 reading comprehension passage's questions (nearly 8 questions), because of short of time. Even after that I ran out of time at the end and had to randomly answer last 3/4 questions. I don't know if just this is sufficient to bring down my verbal score to 25 ?
Here I am in some confusion. Surprisingly, I did not feel SC and critical reasoning questions were that difficult (although, with the current score, I can assume that I might have chosen few wrong ones), but if I find them easy, why I ran out of time so early ?? I have a mixed feeling here. I am sure, had I been given 20 more mins (which is really too much), I could have scored atleast above V30.

What I am planning to do next ?
Although I know that I can give another try, but I am inclined to join a decent college if get a chance. I have a total of 8 years of experience out of which 3 years are as an entrepreneur and 5 years as a software engineer. Which schools in UK/US/Canada/India can I apply with this score ? Where can I get this information ?

[GeneK]

Hi fast_turtle,

I think you correctly assessed your problem with the verbal section of the test - timing, and if you decide to retake it - I believe this should be your main focus (if only we all could have additional 20 minutes - our scores would be much different. The point of the GMAT is not just to know the right answer - but also know how to pace yourself).

I also think you shouldn't chase the high GMAT score just for the sake of it. GMAT is just a part of your application: it's true it's easier to get admitted with a higher GMAT score - but you may still get admitted even with a lower score if you have a strong application (there are a lot of good schools with average GMAT score of admitted students of 600, but not all of them might have 8 years of experience as you do).

Anyway, good luck if you plan to retake the test or good luck with your application!

[AJMBArocks]

Dont despair my friend. Trust me, pacing is the biggest enemy to most GMAT test takers, myself included. I had that exact problem in my first exam, so I focused on it when I retook it and it worked for me as I improved my score from 570-660. Also, of course you should change study materials.

I found out that using Veritas Prep worked very well for me. My weakness was in the quant section and I took a one weekend tutorial course that was ok. To be honest, the study booklet were the most vital for me. They had a lot of questions that looked similar to the ones I had missed in the first exam and gave in-depth explanations on solving them, and that helped out immensely.

I still have my booklets in mint condition and if you are interested in purchasing them you can reach me at (281) 687 7714. There are 15 of them in total and I am selling for $300.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, and I pretty sure if you decide to take it again your score will certainly improve.