Advice Needed, please!!

[Jainie]

I need help, please! I took the GMAT in 2 weeks ago and received a very horrible score - 490. I am a bit shocked since I took the Kaplan classroom course. I studied very hard (about 5 hours a day during the weekdays and 10+ hours on the weekends for 2 months.) I am a poor test taker and had a similar experience with the SAT.

However, I have a strong GPA, 3.6, strong recommendations and 3.5 years work experience.

Is my score too low to apply to any schools in the top 30-50 range? Can my GPA/essays/recommendations supplement or sway such a low score?

I am unsure on how to proceed and if my score would improve if I took the test a second time.
Please advise! thanks....

[Jainie]

Hi Everyone,
Can you please send me your thoughts on the above?

[triangulo14]

i would like to give you an optimistic response but I want to be realistic.

it's really not a good score. well, I guess it depends where you are applying. for some schools they would be willing to overlook it if other factors outweighed this flaw. but for top 10 or 15 schools, I don't think they would or can overlook it.

which schools are you thinking about applying to?

[Jainie]

First of all, I would like to thank you for your response. My #1 choice is the University of Maryland, Smith School of Business (ranked in the top 30.) and most other schools I wanted to apply to fell in the 20-30 rankings. I was aiming to apply for Fall 2004 but now I have decided to spend my time studying my weaknesses to retake the GMAT.

I desperately need to increase my verbal score and other that the Official Guide, what materials should I use? I found the Kaplan verbal to be nearly useless as it is all encompassing and too broad.

It also worries me that my score won't increase as much as I need it to for my target schools, which average around 650 GMAT. Any advice?

Thank you very much! Any help is appreciated!!

[pzh]

Well seem to be approaching it correctly. Re-take the GMAT, try the princeton review. I found that more useful. If you still don't crack 600, still apply to the schools you are focusing on. I am a believer that strong essays and interviews can overcome your GMAT score.

[Erin]

Yes, it's going to be hard to overcome that GMAT score. If you plan to take it again, you will most certainly need to spend some time figuring out what it is that is keeping your score low, and address those issues.

You might find that you are not really a "self-studier," in which case you may want to try to hire a private tutor. Classroom settings don't work as well for some people--there are certain people who really need and benefit from personalized and very targeted tutoring.

I would say that if you could at least raise your GMAT score to 550 or so, you would at least have some sort of chance at some school in the top 50, depending on other factors, of couse. You will have to very careful about the other parts of your application, and you really should be aiming for 650+, but it's doable, especially if you can be flexible in your choice of programs.

As for study material--if you got 490 on the real GMAT, then I think you still need to review the OG to get the concepts down. I don't really think that other sources will help you as much as will the OG.

Good luck!