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Chaitz · 2003 September 25th, 08:37 PM

Hi All,
Finished my GMAT today and scored a 650 overall. I am quite surprised as I thought I had really mucked up the test. I guessed on the last 10 questions in the math section. I think I got a little bit nervous somewhere in the middle and lost time on certain questions. I thought I was doing well until then, got some probablity, perms and combs and coordinate geometry questions.
Overall, I did not feel the test was very hard. What I did find is that one cannot afford to lose his or her nerves during the test, a bit is ok, and you can get back, but not for an extended period of time as the nervousness can affect how you think and approach the math section especially.
Verbal was usual, I got 4 reading comprehension's passages, one boldface critical reasoning and some long sentence correction q's, but nothing too crazy. Getting a good grasp of the official guide can certainly prepare one well on the verbal, with the math section needing some more practise on sets, probability, perms and combs.
After the end of the math section, I really thought of cancelling my scores as I had guessed the last ten questions randomly since there was no time left. I felt miserable after having spent some good time studying with kaplan and the official guide. In the break between the math and the verbal, I thought of atleast doing my best on the rest of the test to get an experience. The verbal did not seem that difficult and I sailed through the test.
I still wanted to cancel, but thought it a waste of money as I would have no idea as to how I had done, so I told myself that I would have to live with a score of mid 500's. To my surprise, I got a 650, so certainly I don't feel that bad, but my aim was to really get a 700+.
I am too tired to think about whether I should take it again, but certainly would like to get into the top 10-15 schools and think that would need scores of 700+ or higher.

Any advice is appreciated............whether more preparation will help me get my score up to 700 as it does involve taking risk of lowering your scores as well.

hellogmat · 2003 September 26th, 02:10 AM

Chaitz,
Sorry to hear about your trouble in the math section. The key in the math section is to keep an eye on the time and keep going. I think that making a table to guide you through the time could have helped you.

I think that you should take the GMAT again if you want to improve your chances at the top 10 MBA programs unless you have an extra-ordinary track record to demonstrate the leadership potential and grades to prove the academic aptitute. Low quant is certainly a trouble. So, I recommend taking the GMAT again especially since I think that better time management will help you improve the scores.

However, I understand the burden of added cost, time and effort involved in taking the GMAT again. However, if you take it in a stride, it is fun!!

Good Luck.

Chaitz · 2003 September 26th, 02:26 PM

HI Hellogmat,
thanks for the encouragement.
What exactly do you mean when you say about using the time grid in the math section, is it that one should be a certain question at a certain time, as a guideline.
And do you think an improvement can be made like in a month's time to push up the score to 700's.

Thanks and appreciate your advice.

jjomalls · 2003 October 18th, 06:42 PM

Chaitz-

I just went through the same thing you did. Took the test today, and the math completely threw me. I know I got nailed early on, and it was all downhill from there. I was tempted to cancel, but I really worked hard to rock the verbal (which I did) to bring up the math. However, the damage was done, and even though the verbal was very good, it didnt make up for the math. The final verdict: 650.

I'm shooting for 700+ as well. The problem is that I've gone through all the quant problems in the Official Guide, and done both the PR and Kaplan CD's. The amount of quality material remaining is scarce.

Is it me, or did you feel that the majority of the quant questions were completely out of left field? Many were downright difficult. For the others that werent, the timing required for the calculations was too much.

Wondering on how to move next. Definitely taking again, but only after I'm more than ready to tackle the quant. You?

Justin

Chaitz · 2003 October 18th, 09:58 PM

Hi Justin,
I did not find the quant too tough, but rather time consuming and lost some interest during the section. I think the quant section gives a lot of ratio, rate, interest, algebra problems and one's familiarity and speed with these topics helps a lot in catching up with other tricky problems. I plan to practise a lot of these topics to speed up and also think we sometimes jump right into the question instead of taking a couple of seconds to determine the best way to solve a question, many times I realized that a little thought makes the problem easier to solve.
I think some of these thinks need to be worked on, rest if you have done kaplan and the official guide, should be well prepared. good luck

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2003 September 25th, 08:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Chaitz Eager! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Posts: 39	Hi All, Finished my GMAT today and scored a 650 overall. I am quite surprised as I thought I had really mucked up the test. I guessed on the last 10 questions in the math section. I think I got a little bit nervous somewhere in the middle and lost time on certain questions. I thought I was doing well until then, got some probablity, perms and combs and coordinate geometry questions. Overall, I did not feel the test was very hard. What I did find is that one cannot afford to lose his or her nerves during the test, a bit is ok, and you can get back, but not for an extended period of time as the nervousness can affect how you think and approach the math section especially. Verbal was usual, I got 4 reading comprehension's passages, one boldface critical reasoning and some long sentence correction q's, but nothing too crazy. Getting a good grasp of the official guide can certainly prepare one well on the verbal, with the math section needing some more practise on sets, probability, perms and combs. After the end of the math section, I really thought of cancelling my scores as I had guessed the last ten questions randomly since there was no time left. I felt miserable after having spent some good time studying with kaplan and the official guide. In the break between the math and the verbal, I thought of atleast doing my best on the rest of the test to get an experience. The verbal did not seem that difficult and I sailed through the test. I still wanted to cancel, but thought it a waste of money as I would have no idea as to how I had done, so I told myself that I would have to live with a score of mid 500's. To my surprise, I got a 650, so certainly I don't feel that bad, but my aim was to really get a 700+. I am too tired to think about whether I should take it again, but certainly would like to get into the top 10-15 schools and think that would need scores of 700+ or higher. Any advice is appreciated............whether more preparation will help me get my score up to 700 as it does involve taking risk of lowering your scores as well.

2003 September 26th, 02:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
hellogmat Within my grasp! Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 177	Chaitz, Sorry to hear about your trouble in the math section. The key in the math section is to keep an eye on the time and keep going. I think that making a table to guide you through the time could have helped you. I think that you should take the GMAT again if you want to improve your chances at the top 10 MBA programs unless you have an extra-ordinary track record to demonstrate the leadership potential and grades to prove the academic aptitute. Low quant is certainly a trouble. So, I recommend taking the GMAT again especially since I think that better time management will help you improve the scores. However, I understand the burden of added cost, time and effort involved in taking the GMAT again. However, if you take it in a stride, it is fun!! Good Luck.

2003 September 26th, 02:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chaitz Eager! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Posts: 39	HI Hellogmat, thanks for the encouragement. What exactly do you mean when you say about using the time grid in the math section, is it that one should be a certain question at a certain time, as a guideline. And do you think an improvement can be made like in a month's time to push up the score to 700's. Thanks and appreciate your advice.

2003 October 18th, 06:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
jjomalls Eager! Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 78	Chaitz- I just went through the same thing you did. Took the test today, and the math completely threw me. I know I got nailed early on, and it was all downhill from there. I was tempted to cancel, but I really worked hard to rock the verbal (which I did) to bring up the math. However, the damage was done, and even though the verbal was very good, it didnt make up for the math. The final verdict: 650. I'm shooting for 700+ as well. The problem is that I've gone through all the quant problems in the Official Guide, and done both the PR and Kaplan CD's. The amount of quality material remaining is scarce. Is it me, or did you feel that the majority of the quant questions were completely out of left field? Many were downright difficult. For the others that werent, the timing required for the calculations was too much. Wondering on how to move next. Definitely taking again, but only after I'm more than ready to tackle the quant. You? Justin

2003 October 18th, 09:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
Chaitz Eager! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Posts: 39	Hi Justin, I did not find the quant too tough, but rather time consuming and lost some interest during the section. I think the quant section gives a lot of ratio, rate, interest, algebra problems and one's familiarity and speed with these topics helps a lot in catching up with other tricky problems. I plan to practise a lot of these topics to speed up and also think we sometimes jump right into the question instead of taking a couple of seconds to determine the best way to solve a question, many times I realized that a little thought makes the problem easier to solve. I think some of these thinks need to be worked on, rest if you have done kaplan and the official guide, should be well prepared. good luck

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