grbalj Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I need a 650 before end of August for a scholarship and here is my story: April 2006 - First attempt 620 (Q45 V29 AWA4.0) No preparations at all. June 2006 - Second attempt 640 (Q46 V33 AWA3.5) I read through the Kaplan800-book, it took me 2 weeks. I also made two free-tests that I downloaded from the GMAT-site. (Results 630 and 670) I was able to retake the test one week after the second, due to problems at the test center that made me miss 2 minutes on the Verbal section. June 2006 - Third attempt 530 (Q39 V25 AWA4.0) I couldn't believe my eyes when the result appeared on the screen. How could I score 100 points less than ever before? Everything had felt OK during the test. OK I had a tough week between the tests but still I cannot understand this. Anyone else with similar experience? Final attempt will be in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking of just skipping the AWA-section and leave it blank, as that score does not count. (good idea?) Besides I am planning to take the test at 13.00 instead of 9.00 as I did on the precious tests. Maybe I am smarter after lunch after all? I haven't had much time to prepare during the summer, as I have been working full time. Will do some work on the verbal though. (CR is my weakest) Looking forward to any comments or input! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gschmilinsky Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 If you skip AWA they won't score your exam officially, so I wouldn't suggest that strategy. You must have been very very unlucky for that last exam and I wish all the best in the next one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbalj Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 On the final attempt I got my 650! (Q47 V32) I only had a few days to prepare. I visited this forum a few times and practiced the different sections. What made the difference was probably some fine-tuning on the sentence-correction. On test-day I spent a lot of time at the beginning of the quantitative, making sure that I got the first questions right. The last 7 questions, as on my previous attempts, I had to do in 2 minutes. The GMAT itself seems pretty consistent (I had 620-640-650), while the 530 must have been a result of a mental block-out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gschmilinsky Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Congratulations!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbalj Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 Congratulations!! Gschmilinsky! Thanks for the info regarding the AWA. I did not skip it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gia Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 congrats....you have done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 On the final attempt I got my 650! (Q47 V32) I only had a few days to prepare. I visited this forum a few times and practiced the different sections. What made the difference was probably some fine-tuning on the sentence-correction. On test-day I spent a lot of time at the beginning of the quantitative, making sure that I got the first questions right. The last 7 questions, as on my previous attempts, I had to do in 2 minutes. The GMAT itself seems pretty consistent (I had 620-640-650), while the 530 must have been a result of a mental block-out. do you feel that concentrating on the first 25-30 questions is the best and most efficient strategy?? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gschmilinsky Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Cedars look at this: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/faqs/3455-gmat-how-gmat-scored-first-questions-worth-more.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Cedars look at this: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/faqs/3455-gmat-how-gmat-scored-first-questions-worth-more.html Thanks for that link. What is your experience with this test and what do you think is an effective strategy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gschmilinsky Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Have not taken the exam, but my strategy (if I could start all over again) would be exactly like larzke's (see his post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINNER 83 Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 hey congrats on achieving your goal...........i was quite surprised by ur post which mentions u giving the 2 & 3 attempts in june 2006.......i thought we cud give d exam only once in a month.......correct me if i am wrong.......... all d best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbalj Posted September 3, 2006 Author Share Posted September 3, 2006 They let me retake the exam due to problems with the test center. I had to wate for several minutes before they let me back into the room after one of the breaks. This made me loose 2 minutes one one of the sections. I am pretty convinced that giving extra time for the first 10-20 questions does pay off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts