640 GMAT - (Q40, V38) third crack 11/07/03

[komodo]

I took the GMAT for the first time in December of last year and scored a 570 (Q32, V38). I studied for 3 weeks, using my older sister's review materials (Kaplan Higher Score 98-99 and GMAT 9th Edition) and totally understimated the GMAT. Convinced that I could do better on the math section and that I wanted to go to B-school during the fall term, I hastily signed up for another session on January. With four weeks of preparation sandwiched between the Christmas and New Year festivities, my score crashed to an all-time low of 540 (Q32, V35). Suffice to say my dream of applying to a top notch B-school for the coming fall term was squashed.

So with my ego bruised and my applications on hold for another year, I decided to enroll at Kaplan. This move was largely made possible by my recently resignation from a multinational IT Consulting firm. With all the free time on my hands, I figure I could invest at least 3 months trying to finally crack the GMAT.

For those of you who have time on your hands and are more than willing to put in the time and effort, the Kaplan prep courses should be somewhat gratifying. I spent at least three days of my week for three months at Kaplan--watching videos, doing exercises, and reading review materials in the hope of recapturing the math brilliance of my youth. In addition to completing all the exercises on the Lesson Book and half of the questions on the Home Study Book, I had about 24 classroom sessions at the center and access to the Kaplan online repository. At the end of the day, Kaplan gave us four practice paper tests and I managed to score a 540, 560, 600, and 500. It was definitely not quite the confidence boost I had imagined for all the work I put in.

After my prep course at Kaplan, I decided to spend three weeks of intense (8hrs/day) studying using the Kaplan CD-ROM and the ETS Powerprep software. My first exercise was to pit my skills against the 1st Powerprep exam and to my delight, I scored a 620 (Q42, V34). However, after all the beating from Kaplan, I wasn't convinced that my score was legitimate. With two weeks of additional studying under my belt using the Kaplan CD-ROM and the Kaplan online resources, I took the 2nd Powerprep exam and scored a 650 (Q42, V38)--my ideal score. I was ecstatic.

However, I wasn't quite prepared for what was to come--the Kaplan CATs--(diagnostic) 600, 560, 540, 560, 550. With my date with the GMAT drawing near, my confidence again took a hit, thanks to Kaplan. Luckily, in my depression, I would stumble across a couple of forums suggesting that Kaplan exams were in fact more complicated than the actual ETS GMAT. I spent a couple of days comparing Kaplan and ETS questions and somehow managed to convince myself into not taking the Kaplan scores to heart.

Three days before my exam, I took another practice exam on Powerprep and scored a 640 (Q43, V35). My confidence level was a little higher at this point, but I was careful not to understimate the GMAT as I had done in the past.

Yesterday was my third attempt (third time's a charm?) at the GMAT and my score was 640 (Q40, V38)--consistent with the scores I got on the practice exams provided by Powerprep (620, 650, 640). Although I was hoping to score higher, 650+, I am generally satisfied with my GMAT score. After all the time and energy that I have expended (roughly 4 months dedicated to study), I am not quite sure if I can significantly improve on my score since the trend seems to suggest that I will score between 620 and 650.

I'm hoping to get my applications in by the first and second rounds of schools like Haas, University of Oregon (Warsaw), Georgetown, Babson, and University of Florida (Cornell-Johnson is up there on my wish list, but I'm not sure if my score is high enough) so it would be difficult to retake the GMAT considering the time constraints. I have almost three years of work experience as a Consultant/Team Lead for a multinational IT Consulting Firm (with foreign postings), close to one year of writing experience for local magazines, and numerous extra-curricular activities (play on a local soccer team, tried out for the national futsal team) and international experience (traveled extensively and lived abroad for most of my life). At present time, I have plans of starting a small business prior to embarking on my MBA.

Can anyone shed some light on what my chances of admission to the B-schools mentioned above would be given my background?

Thanks in advance! Cheers!

[Erin]

Wow, beautifully written post. I'm working on something right now, but may I just say that you write very well?

[gmat20034]

I agree with Erin. You write very well and if you can pour your heart out the same way in essays, you may get into any school you want. That is what I think.

[gmat20034]

I forgot to ask you if you took PP after going thru OG?

[komodo]

Hi again, first up, I just wanted to say thanks for the responses and the positive words--I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds this forum helpful in the application process...

gmat20034, for my first two runs at the GMAT, I went through OG and Kaplan before using PP. For my third attempt, my review went like this--Kaplan books, PP CATs, Kaplan CD/CATs, PP exercises/CATs. So basically I used OG before PP.

In retrospect, I consider OG and PP to be closer to the GMAT than anything Kaplan has to offer (although Kaplan questions are great "challenge" exercises).

Hope that answers your question!

[gmat20034]

Komodo, I asked since I heard that PP scores are not good if one has doen OG but in your case seems like they may have been.

[komodo]

Yup, I can see where you're coming from. Some questions from OG are very similar--if not the same--as those in PP.

That reason, combined with my low Kaplan scores, made me skeptical about my performance on the PP exam. Fortunately for me, there wasn't such a large discrepancy between my actual score and the one I obtained from PP. I totally understand how the case could be different for others.

[hellogmat]

Hi Komodo,
GMAT scores is only one of the factors the admissions committees consider. It appears from your post that you have an interesting background and that you can bring unique perspectives based on your international work experience and solid extra-curricular activities. Moreover, you should also consider which schools are good for you to achieve your goals after MBA. Unless you fall in some of the highly competitive pool of applicants (based on your nationality), you should be able to get into a top business school.