My name is Alex Trinh and I just took my GMAT and did very poorly. I got a 32V and 21Q. I know I did but and I should've canceled by score. So I need some advices from you/instructors as to what I should do. If I don't get a good score, I will have to go back to my home country (I am an international student) because my parents will only pay for my tuition if I can get accepted into a top 10-15 program for my graduate study. So I have some questions/advice to ask:

1) Will future schools see my 32V and 21Q? If so, will this reflect negatively on my application since it's a horrendous score?
2) I studied for good 1.5 months for at least 3 hours a day after work and 6-8 hours on the weekend (I have a job now but will end soon due to visa issues). What I did was to do any problems during the weekday, and do the GMATPrep on the weekend. But all I did every time was just go over the questions I missed and understand why I missed them. I search for good explanations on websites like GMAT and beatthegmat. Obviously this has not helped because I scored really poorly on my actual test. Also, on my GMATPrep, I have been getting mid 500s and has yet to pass 600. I don't know what I should do now because I always miss 4-5 questions when I do a critical reading questions (I do them in sets of 13) and always miss miss 3-4 questions in SCs (do them in sets of 15). I don't know what the problem is. I thought that if I do many questions and go over the ones I missed, then I will know what to expect next time when I approach a similar question. But I guess this is not the case. I don't know what to do now, and this leads to my third problem.
3) I have pretty much exhausted all of the GMAT prep questions as well as OG questions as well as 2nd edition verbal OG questions. I don't want to do questions from other books because I am afraid they are not a correct portrayal of the real GMAT questions since they are not written by GMAT staff. But since I did run out of questions, what should I do now? Should I get more books with more questions?

Please somebody help me. I am really desperate for a good score. I know I'm not dumb (or maybe I am) to score this low. I really need a 700+ on my GMAT. I am rescheduled to take in the next 30 days. What are some things I can do now to make sure that I get 700+ in my next attempt.

Thank you very much for your help and support. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Hi Alex,

I'll try my best to answer all of your questions!

1) All of your official GMAT scores are available for business schools to see (as long as you do not cancel them at the end of the exam). When you select to view your score, your score becomes official, and you cannot cancel it. That said, you certainly do not need to worry about the schools seeing your lower scores- Business schools are only going to consider your highest official GMAT score.

2)/3) It sounds like you've been doing a lot of studying! I would highly recommend taking full-length practice tests (CAT Exams). This will allow you to work with new material, and practice the format and timing of the exam. I have added a free CAT to your account, and you can purchase 1-year access to the full set of CAT exams on our website for $49: http://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitems ... 81&catid=4
You can also gain access to a full set of CAT exams by purchasing any one of our 9 Strategy Guides for $26: http://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitems ... 19&catid=6

I hope this helps, and let me know if you have any questions!

Best,

Laura
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