Hi everyone,

after thousands of hours of studying, 35 hours of Private Tutoring and 3 GMAT attempts, I've managed to only hit 620 three times.

Here is my story:

I am a MGMAT private tutoring student, Italian, applying to Master of Science programs and started studying for the GMAT in the summer 2010 under my tutor's guidance.

I studied every single day, between 3 and 5 hours a day from the first of July 2010 to February 2011. Went through all MGMAT books, did all the practice questions from OG12 ed + Verbal review + quant review 2 times and did 25 hours of Private Tutoring. Overall I felt like I made good progresses in this time and I absorbed a lot of material.

This is how I progressed:

mm/dd/yy Score Split Source

07/09/10 430 Q22 V28 MGMAT#1 This was my first CAT ever.
08/25/10 540 Q39 V27 MGMAT#2
10/10/10 530 Q35 V29 MGMAT#3
10/20/10 570 Q38 V30 MGMAT#4
11/12/10 590 Q40 V32 MGMAT#5
11/21/10 650 Q42 V37 GMAT PREP 1
01/19/11 670 Q45 V37 GMAT PREP 2
01/29/11 590 Q43 V29 MGMAT#6
02/06/11 630 Q43 V33 MGMAT#1 I didn't see any repeats
02/10/11 650 Q42 V37 MGMAT#2 I didn't see any repeats
02/14/11 620 Q38 V37 FIRST ATTEMPT REAL EXAM

I arrived at test day burned out. As I said I studied every single day, did not skip a day. I did not exercise at all and my diet was terrible for the entire period. Also the closest test center was at a 3 hours drive from where I live so I checked into a hotel but unfortunately did not sleep well at all the night before the test. I woke up 3-4 times and then woke up at 6 am and was not able to get back to sleep.

Anyway I remained positive, had a good breakfast and went to the test center. Unfortunately there were other people taking Pearson tests so the testing room was really noisy. Also after the AWA I asked the proctor to notify me after 6 minutes, he didn't and lost about 4 minutes of my quant. Scared by what happened with the first break I barely took a 3 min break between quant and verbal. Needless to say I was feeling terrible during verbal. Destroyed by the experience I went home.


Unfortunately at this point I run out of time to spend on the GMAT and had to stop my studies.


I restarted studying for the GMAT in July 2011. I went through all MGMAT books and did a lot of official guide questions again and also worked with my tutor for an additional 10 hours. We focused primarily on pushing my quant up.
This time around I studied much harder than the first time. 5h/day during July and August and then 6h/day from September. I focused on truly mastering the content.

Here's my progression:


mm/dd/yy Score Split Source

09/05/11 670 Q40 V41 MGMAT#3 no repeats but I got a RC passage about LBOs and KKR, something I am really interested in.
09/20/11 580 Q34 V35 MGMAT#4 no repeats - didn't complete the quant section + I was behind on verbal and skipped a whole RC passage.

09/29/11 620 Q38 V37 SECOND ATTEMPT REAL EXAM


This time I arrived at the test in a much better shape, I reduced my studying the week before the test and relaxed as much as possible. Started working out regularly from May + followed an healthy diet. Also throughout my preparation I paid attention to have plenty of time everyday to relax and have fun + I had 1 day off every week.

Also this was going to be more of a practice exam than the real deal so I was relatively relaxed.

The night before the test once again I was in the hotel, didn't sleep well at all but still better than last time.

Good breakfast, lots of confidence went to the test center. This time around I was much more confident, I had been there before, I knew the drill. Also I was alone in the room this time and I was also given ear plugs. Timed my breaks and did everything correctly. Me and my tutor were super confident I had improved drastically since my first attempt so I couldn't wait to see a score around 650+.

620 again, a bit angry considered I put into GMAT prep several hundred quality hours since the last time and still scored exactly like the first time.

Anyway as I said this second attempt was more of a practice test so I went back to study right away. Kept on going hard on problems, focusing on learning + some more private tutoring on advanced quant.

This was my daily assignment 15PS 15DS 15SC 2RC 10CR


mm/dd/yy Score Split Source

10/31/11 700 Q44 V41 MGMAT#5 one repeat in RC
11/14/11 650 Q44 V35 MGMAT#6 messed up quant timing
11/21/11 670 Q43 V38 MGMAT#1
11/28/11 720 Q47 V42 MGMAT#2 I saw several repeats in verbal here. Verbal score highly inflated, quant I believe was representative
11/03/11 710 Q44 V42 GMAT PREP 1 I saw several repeats in verbal here. Verbal score highly inflated, quant I believe was representative


12/07/11 620 Q42 V34 THIRD ATTEMPT REAL EXAM


I thought this third time I was REALLY prepared, I was able to solve practice questions that I didn't even know how to tackle my first and second attempts at the GMAT. My tutor had the same impression and was dismayed by the result.

I was feeling quite well, not burned out at all, always had plenty of rest, worked out (cardio + weights) and followed a healthy diet. This time around I spent the 2 preceding nights at the fanciest hotel I could find. The first night slept really bad, while the night before the test slept well.

Throughout my entire preparation the CAT have been done simulating exam conditions by timing breakes, using the yellow MGMAT scratch pad + pen and completing the essays. I've even done every CAT at the same hour I would've done the real exam and even ate exactly what I would've eaten the day of the exam. I did every CAT using full screen mode.

During my 3rd attempt I felt quite a bit tense, especially during quant I found it hard to focus at the beginning and also I experienced sort of a brain freeze, it was as if my brain was locked and I couldn't think. In fact I missed a couple of questions that normally I would've known how to tackle.

Quant seemed much more complicated than the practice tests. I had lots of coordinate plane, angles and geometry questions.
Timed the breaks, drank some water, splashed some in my face. Verbal seemed hard from the outset but doable. From the middle of the verbal section to the end I felt like the questions were really easy.

Regarding timing I think I did well on quant but I think I completely messed up the verbal timing, having forgotten the benchmarks, I focused way too much on time and also rushed a lot a questions especially in CR and RC. I arrived at the last 4 verbal questions with some 15 minutes left.

Also there have been some problems and I started the exam 20 minutes later than scheduled.


WHAT DO I THINK WENT WRONG:

PREPARATION:

1) I only focused on extracting takeaways from problems too late in my preparation, I should've focused on that much sooner.I'll use Ron tactic to extract takeaways + all the review questions from the first chapter of the Advanced Quant book.

2) I should've focused on sleeping better for the whole week leading to the exam, I think this had a real impact on me. I'll use relaxation techniques the night before the test.

3) I did my last CAT 4 days before the real exam that's probably too close? I wanted to make sure I was "well trained" for the exam.

4) I didn't revise enough the problems I got wrong and had written into my error log, I did not master the takeaways of those problems, that I believe were the most important takeaways.

5) I think re-using CATs and OG problems I had done several times already set me up for failure, I had no opportunity to train "pattern recognition" + made the real exam look much more difficult.

6) I didn't use all the MGMAT online resources, especially the question banks.

EXAM:

5) Way too tense, I should've been more relaxed. I'll try breathing exercises.

6)Started exam 20 minutes later than planned, so the last 20-25mins of the verbal fell into a time of the day in which I am not really very alert. (I kept an alertness journal as suggested by Ron). Next time I'll make sure to be at the test center on time.

7) I feel my RC is really weak, I don't have a clear strategy, I workeda lot with the MGMAT RC book but it doesn't seem to work for me. I think I'll need to look into the strategy laid out in the Foundations of Verbal.

8) I was used to tackle CR without taking any notes and used to do pretty well (around 90% accuracy) unfortunately during the test by the time CR questions pop up I am tired and don't seem to be able to solve questions without notes. I need to develop a solid note taking system. I'll use the one explained in the foundations of verbal, I really liked that approach.

9) I am usually really good at performing arithmetic in my head, unfortunately during the exam I wasn't able to perform even the easiest of calculations, I suppose that's tension?



WHAT'S NEXT?

I would like to apply to 2 schools for their Master of Science programs, those are PRE-experience programs and the GMAT is even more important than MBA application:

One school has a mid 80% GMAT range of: 580-740 and average GMAT 649

The other has an average GMAT of 689 ( mid 80% not given, GMAT range 600-770, that is the minimum GMAT to apply is 600).

The first school has an admission deadline February 7th (only 41 days away), and the only thing I've done is an in-depth brainstorming of the essays.

The second school uses a rolling approach so there's no problem of deadlines there.

I am really set on those schools and especially the second one has been my dream school for the last couple of years.

QUESTIONS:

1)Should I retake the GMAT considering that I would have to retake it the 23 of January (3 weeks 4 days)? From now till exam day I would be able to spend 4h/day of quality studying for a total of 24h/week.

I defined the 23 as a date because that's as far away as I can push it, after that I will have to drop my studies for a couple of months and I will only be able to get back to it in March.

2)If I should retake the GMAT how should I approach it? What should be my strategy? What should I focus on? What material should I use considering I've done all the OG questions several times? Are the 10th and 11th edition any good?

3)Is there a tutor up to the challenge of pushing my score up at least 30 points? Even 650 would completely change the game for me. I feel like I could use some guidance in planning a strategy + pushing my verbal up + developing exam taking skills.


4)Is my score perhaps good enough to apply to the first school? The rest of my profile is not stellar though. Good grades but not spectacular (2:1 in England) , poor extracurriculars. But I am fluent in 3 languages, I've competed in powerlifting at national and international level several times and I would be an underrepresented minority.

Talking about minority last year this school had 3% of Europeans in the MBA class compared to an average on 6% for the top MBA schools. The Msc program I wanted to apply to only had 1 Italian out of 101 students. (Next year the class will be bigger).

5)Is it possible that the test center adopts a faulty software? Afterall I scored 620 three times! Not 610 620 630 but exactly 620 for 3 times and I believe there was a huge difference in my preparation between the first and third attempt.

6)Would it be worth to repeat MGMAT CATS for pactice? Perhaps breaking them down and not doing them in one single sitting?

I would add that have no problem putting in more work into the GMAT. I am highly motivated and hard worker, but my biggest fear is that it would end up being just a waste of time.

Considering that I've already studied thousands of hours, and gone through all the books, I am deadly afraid to spend any more of the very limited time I have until the application deadline and end up with nothing.

Also to study for the GMAT I had put on hold another major project that I need to get back to now and I am afraid that if I spend too much additional time on the GMAT I might severely compromise this project.

On the other hand I still cannot help but feel that I haven't got the score I deserve and that if there's a moment to get back on the GMAT, that moment is now considering that I still remember the content and still have my skills. Something that I suppose I would lose if I leave the GMAT for some months.

Also I am very set on those 2 schools and I would hate to be held back by a damn number on a screen.

Please let me know what do you think.

Thanks.

This is the result of my last 2 MGMAT CATs taken 9 and 4 days before the real test.

Assessment Summary:

LATEST 2 MGMAT CATs: 11/28/2011 - 11/21/2011

PS 59% DIFFICULTY LEVEL: avg right 630 – avg wrong 700
DS 47% DIFFICULTY LEVEL: avg right 650 – avg wrong 690
SC 70% DIFFICULTY LEVEL: avg right 680 – avg wrong 710
CR 68% DIFFICULTY LEVEL: avg right 690 – avg wrong 710
RC 71% DIFFICULTY LEVEL: avg right 690 – avg wrong 710


QUANTITATIVE

WORST Word Translations 45% 1:52 2:39 SLOWEST
Geometry 60% 2:11 1:17

BEST Number Properties 64% 1:37 2:19
Algebra 56% 1:42 1:55 FASTEST
FDP's 50% 2:16 2:03


Word translation is low because I missed 4 questions (3 probability 1 combinatorics) those 2 topics have always been weaknesses but because they don't come oout as much in the exam I usually don't overstress about them.

Geometry I performed poorly in lines and angles, again one area I know I should improve in.

OG tracker:

PROBLEM SOLVING TOTAL 92%
Number properties 90%
Eq/ineq/VIC 93%
Word Translations 89%
FDP 94%
Geometry 93%

DATA SUFFICIENCY TOTAL 87%
Number properties 87%
Eq/ineq/VIC 83%
Word Translations 87%
FDP 94%
Geometry 86%

RC 84%
CR 91%
SC 85%
VERBAL TOTAL 86%


I am not quite sure whether in identifying my weaknesses I should consider the OG problems or the CATs or both.

It seems to me though as if the CAT gives a better picture of my weaknesses (purely subjective opinion of where do I think I stand).


Given the results, I was thinking about restudying everything + going deeper + paying particular attention to Word Translation and Geometry.

Also I think I should build some exam skills. To do that I was thinking of doing as many cats as possible (my tutor suggested 800score) to make sure that I can manage my time correctly + as usual using the stopwatch with practice questions and if I don't gent to the answer in the alloted time per question stop and guess.

I'm writing this as I read through your first post.

You worked with a tutor, so I think you're eligible for a post-exam assessment (a free phone call with a teacher - someone other than your tutor, so you can get a new perspective - to discuss the situation and put together a plan). Contact the office (studentservices@manhattangmat.com) right away and request a post-exam assessment.

So you made some good improvement before your first test, and then your first test score was roughly consistent with your practice test scores at that time.

You then set the test aside for a while, then came back and started studying again. The two practice tests you took indicate timing problems (your score dropped significantly on the second and you mentioned running out of time). That test was only 9 days before the real test, so you wouldn't have had time to fix the timing problems before then (it usually takes 3-6 weeks to fix timing problems). Your score ended up being in the middle of your two practice test scores.

Then you talk about your prep for the third test, but you don't mention anything about timing problems or trying to fix them. Did you do anything about that?

On your third test, your quant score did go up but your verbal score went down. It looks like you did study for verbal for the third test (in contrast to the second test, where you said you mostly focused on quant) - is that accurate?

You mentioned that quant felt a lot harder than usual - and that makes sense, because you did end up with a higher quant score, so you would've been seeing harder questions. You also mention some things that indicate anxiety, which might have hurt you.

On verbal, unfortunately, you felt like the questions were easy, and that is reflected in your score - you had a lower score, so you were seeing easier questions. That means you were making mistakes on questions that you thought you were answering correctly, so we have to figure out why.

Ah, I just got to your comment about timing. You had 4 questions left with 15 minutes remaining. That would probably be why you were getting questions wrong that you thought you should have been getting right - when we rush, we make careless mistakes.

So, there's a timing problem on the verbal, and there may still be one on the quant. We have to deal with that because timing problems can cause serious issues during a test - you'll underperform and may even experience a serious score drop.

Read this article and start doing what it says:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

Your takeaways (what went wrong):
I agree with what you're saying. I like your plan for #1 and #2. You're right in #3 that taking a practice test 4 days before the real exam is a little too close. I usually recommend 1 week.

On "takeaways," here are questions to ask yourself as you review problems:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

And here are examples of how to analyze problems using that method:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/GMATprep-SC.cfm
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/CR-assumption.cfm
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... estion.cfm
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

Agree with your items 4, 5, and 6 again - though I will say, on #5, that if you didn't get the most important takeaways, then you aren't done studying those problems. If you already know them, don't bother to do them again under timed conditions, but do sit down with them and come up with those takeaways, using as much time as you need.

Under exam, you start with #5 again, so my comments about 5 and 6 above were for your Preparation section. :)

I just wrote an article today about stress management. It's going to be published on our blog probably Monday or Tuesday - look for it.

For RC, do look at Foundations, and here are some other resources - try them and see what works best for you.

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... p-passage/
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/07/ ... rc-passage
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/12/ ... c-passages

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/09/ ... prehension
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/11/ ... il-problem
RC: http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/analyze-RC-question.cfm

#8 (CR) - yes, practice taking light notes. The real value of the notes = helping you organize the information and understand how each piece relates to the next. Literally, the notes help you think your way through (because you have to ask yourself: what's the conclusion? what supports the conclusion? etc).

Don't do math in your head! I'm really good at doing math in my head, too, but I don't during the test because it's too easy to make a silly little careless mistake and never notice. I still make careless mistakes when I write stuff down, but I'm a lot more likely to catch them, because I'll often be able to look at something and think, "Something seems wrong there. Oh! 2+3 doesn't equal 6! It equals 5!"

Okay, should you retake the test? Talk to an admissions consultant ASAP to ask for advice. You'll also have to factor in the time you need on the application itself - it won't help to spend all this time on the GMAT if that means you can't put together a good application. Same answer for your question #4 - talk to an admissions consultant. We have a folder here on the forums called Ask An Admissions Consultant. You can also try directly contacting a company - I know MBA Mission and Clear Admit are both good.

For questions #2 and #3, see what I wrote above. :)

Q#5, probably not. That would be nice if it were true, but lots of people take the test multiple times and have different scores. You've just been really unlucky.

Q#6, If you don't remember the MGMAT CAT questions, then you could take the tests again, but you took them pretty recently - so you probably remember too many questions. In that case, just use them as problems to study - go back over old tests, pick out problems in different categories that you're studying, and review those and learn takeaways from those as well.

Okay, that's a lot of stuff! Go send an email right away to set up that PEA. This week-end's a holiday week-end, so the office may be closed - you may not hear back till Monday. But send that email in. Next, try to contact some admissions consultants - again, you may not get a response till Monday, but you can start trying.

Then, until you figure out whether you're going to take it again, assume you are and start doing the other stuff I mentioned and / or whatever your PEA (post exam assessment) teacher tells you.

Oh, and I just saw you have two more posts after your first one. Okay, they don't have any new questions, just additional info, and they don't change anything that I said above.

I will add one more thing, though. After you've had your PEA, if you also want to find out what we think you should do in more detail, use the below article to analyze your recent MGMAT practice tests and then come back here to tell us the results of your analysis (we need more detail than what you gave in your 3rd post, and we also do want your analysis, since you have to learn to be able to read the data yourself and figure out what it means!):

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT

Hi Stacy, I wrote my answers below in red.






Thanks Stacy, I really appreciate you taking the time to first of all read what's probably the longest post in history and then to write such a detailed and helpful answer. Your analysis gave me confidence again.

I'll contact the student services and let you know.

Once again thanks.

Thanks for the reply - let us know what happens / how it's going!

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT