GMAT Failure 4th time. Is it time to let go?

[hap630]

I need some advise.
In total i have taken the GMAT for 4 times now. Below are my scores :-
Nov 2011 - 610
Oct 2012 - 530
May 2013 - 540
Dec 2013 - 560

I am extremely confused and upset. I don't know what to do now. I really want to get into one of the top 10 B-schools.
I have been improving in the Quant but i have been degrading in the Verbal. Not sure what is going on.

Instructor can you advise? Should i retake? Will it help?

Let's say if i score well 5th time, can i still get into one of the top 10 B-schools?

I would really appreciate your advise.

[samichange]

Never ever give up if you feel that this is what you want.


You must sit down and analyse why is your score falling.

The moment you know the reasons ,start working on them to improve your performance.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you're having such a tough time with the test. We're happy to help however we can. We need a lot of information / detail from you in order to advise you.

How have you prepared so far? What materials have you been using?

What were the Q and V breakdowns of your score? How did you do on essay and IR?

Read this (and follow the links within this article to other articles); have you been studying in this way?
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

I'm guessing not, so tell me how you think you need to change what you have been doing in order to do what the above article describes.

Next, use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

This process will take at least an hour! Figure out what you think you should do based on that analysis. Then come back here and tell us; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further.

You don't need to come up with the perfect plan, but you do need to try to figure out what's going wrong and how you think you can get better. You literally need to learn how to analyze your own work, so we're going to make you do it here to learn how to do it (with our guidance!) :)

Edited to add: ask your admissions question in our Ask An Admissions Consultant folder. I've always heard that the schools will take your highest score, but I don't know whether that changes if you've taken the test 5 times.

[hap630]

Thank You samichange and StaceyKoprince for your responses.

Satcey below is the break down of my scores :-

Nov 2011 - 610 - Q47, V27, AWA - 4
Oct 2012 - 530 - Q46, V18, AWA - 3, IR - 7
May 2013 - 540 - Q44, V21, AWA - 3.5, IR - 5
Dec 2013 - 560 - Q48, V20

I am looking at the links(From your post) now and will get back to you on this.

In addition to that i have posted a question in Ask An Admissions Consultant Folder regarding my admissions questions.

Let me know you thoughts after looking at my score breakdowns.

Thank you so much for your support.

[StaceyKoprince]

I still need a lot more information from you in order to advise you. I can't tell much just from the score breakdown. :)

The only thing that does jump out: your verbal score was higher on the first test than on the later tests. Do you have any ideas about why?

I notice that the later three tests all included IR, while the first one didn't. Do you think you could be using up too much brain energy on IR and then running out of steam by the time the verbal section comes around?