680 Q-46 V-38 Awa-6

[invertedmatrices]

Finally it over.
I am preparing to create a bonfire with my GMAT study materials.

GMAT 1st attempt: 600 Q-44 V-28 AWA-4.5
GMAT 2nd attempt: 600 Q-44 V-28 AWA-5.5
GMAT 3rd attempt: 600 Q-46 V-27 AWA-6.0

I did not do anything different this time. I took a stress management lesson at YMCA. I felt I was getting too tired in the final section.

[jordan23VT]

congrats bro, great determination!!!!

can you detail your practice test scores? also compare difficulty of real gmat to the prep material?

[lifeline]

congrats..await yur debriefing

[charu_mulye]

Congratulations !!! Best of Luck for Apps..
I Admire your patience and persistence..

[Orange08]

Brilliant . Congratulations. Its a great example of determination.

[invertedmatrices]

Here are my practice test results in the order I took them:

Manhattan GMAT 1: 630
Manhattan GMAT 1: 670
Manhattan GMAT 1: 700

Kaplan 1: 570
Kaplan 2: 580
Kaplan 3: 570
Kaplan 4: 610

PP1: 710
PP2: 730

GMAT Prep 1: 690
GMAT Prep 2: 730

My quest for GMAT started last September, when I bought OG11 and went through the diagnostic part. I was extremely elated to note that my score was above average in all but PS section, where it was exceptional. So, I did not prepare for quant at all. Most of my focus was in verbal section, SC being the weakest link. I extensively used Manhattan SC. I started taking practice tests barely one week after starting preparation and the scores were as mentioned above. I was very confident that I would cross 700 barrier when I wrote my first GMAT exam in November. But after three debacles, second and third ones were in December and January, and $750 poorer, I realized that something was gravely wrong with my plan. It was during that period that I started visiting various GMAT forums for some solace and I joined this one too. This forum was extremely helpfully to me. YOU GUYS ROCK. After reading some of the debriefs here I realized that my problem was stress related. I was rushing through the exam and by the time I was in verbal section, I was getting so stressed that I wanted the exam to be over as quickly possible. To fight my stress, I joined a Yoga class.
Another major faux pas on my part was not taking full 10 minutes break after every section last time. I was stupid enough not to do that earlier. It would have saved me some money. I feel that GMAT is not only a test to measure your quantitative and verbal skills, but also to measure your endurance. You can’t exactly replicate that stressful environment in the comfort of your home. Besides, I wrote most of my practice tests in the morning, between 8-12. But, I wrote first three GMAT exams in the afternoon. This time I scheduled the exam at 9. I did not think timing really mattered. But who knows? Whatever works.

My test started really well. The topics of AWA sections were same as the ones I received in third test. So, it was a cake walk. After the first section I took ten minutes break and splashed water on my face as some had suggested. It really calmed me down. Quant section started with an easy fraction question. But it became extremely difficult by 20th question. Actually, it was not difficult per se. But, tried to solve using brute force algorithm. I am sure many of you will know a better way to solve it. I spent about 5 minutes and there and ultimately guessed the answer. After that the test became really easy and last ten questions were so easy that I was wondering if I had really screwed up. I think I took 20 seconds to answer each of last ten questions. I did not see any probability question in the whole section. I saw some set theory questions. But there were tons of number series questions. I felt that formula to find sum of n term of an AP and finding nth term of an AP/GP really saves a lot of time. I did not remember the formula and if I had I would not have guessed 20th question. I finished this section with four minutes to spare.

One more visit to restroom and more splashing of water on the face marked the beginning of verbal section. I got a bold faced question in 22nd question. This time RCs were really nasty. Last three times, I got RCs that were barely a paragraph long. This time, last reading comprehension, which was 30th question, was five paragraphs long. I guessed the answers. I did not notice any significant difference between difficulty level of SCs and CRs in last test and that of the previous tests. But it is worth while noting that I did not see any bold faced question in the earlier tests and this time I got many idiom questions in SC.

I believe that I have the potential to cross 700 barrier. But feel that my current score is a respectable one since it puts me in the median score range of all good schools. I wanted a balanced score of 40-40-700. I am very close to what I wanted. I have good leadership experience in a fortune 50 company. My GPA is not too bad either. Probably my time will be well spent in writing essays.

[invertedmatrices]

thanks shake vt, charu mulye, lifeline and orange 08