GMAT SCORE 640 AFTER THIRD ATTEMPT

[subhamitrab]

Hi,

please suggest what to do???third gmat attempt
score
1st attempt - 570
2nd attempt -600
3rd attempt -640

mock test score
last manhattan test - score 710 to 780
gmat prep- 760-780

i am tired & disappointed. please suggest.

work experience - 5years
profile- good(good visibility, awards, 3- reportees)
pre-sales(technical as well as commercial)
one sales account handled directly(almost 2 crore order from that account.

very disappointed with the score

please help. shall i apply to colleges or attempt once again.

my prob is all my mock tests showing better score.
but on the exam day, i screw up in verbal(20-28).quant score in main gmat (49-50-pretty decent)

[StaceyKoprince]

The good news is that you have improved each time on the real test. But why are the real test scores so much lower than your practice test scores? Until we figure that out, we can't figure out what path is the best one to take.

There are a number of reasons why this can happen; read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ent-wrong/

Which areas (from that article) do you think apply to you?

I'm going to guess that at least part of the problem is an inflated score on practice tests, simply because there is such a *very* large drop, and it's happening on both MGMAT and GMATPrep CATs. Are you doing the essays? Are you sticking strictly to the time limits, including the length of the breaks? Have you been seeing questions that you already saw / studied before? Have you been giving yourself any other artificial advantages that you would never get on real test day?

[subhamitrab]

Hi Stancey,

Thanks for your reply. I have gone through the link and i could find the below during the time of my exam.
+ points
1. I have prepared well and aware of the GMAT material and the way to approach the questions.
2. Good in quant as i love maths, so i don't need to spend too much time in quant and have scored quite decent score of 49-50, though yes, in all practice test i have always scored 51.
3.I have practiced for 3.5hours with 8 mins breaks during my practice test
4. I don't face much problem for SC & CR, and i could do 95%-100% correct when i do the questions, however RC somestimes i face little problems in the word meanings.
-points
1. I have written practice test 1 day before my exam.
2. Have not written exam during the period when i am writing the actual exam.
3. Studied the day before the exam and didn't relax much
4. Spent more time in the initial questions of verbal to make sure and all the starting questions come correct and then struggled with nervousness in the later questions due to lack of time
5. As i am not very good in verbal, i normall feel little anxious before the verbal section and start feeling blank and not understanding anything as i read the questions during the actual test.
6. Noit very good in vocabulary, so get nervous whenever i see an RC question.
7. Didn't not concentrate on exercise and food much and i felt exercise will make me tired to prepare


The main thing is i feel dissppointed now after getting low score for three times. I am not sure whether i should apply with these low score or write the test again. Will it have a negative impact on the B school applications if i write for the forth time.

I have 5 years experience and can get good refernce from my GM and all. need your help and suggestion.

[sporshi]

Hi, Read your query and thought of sharing my inputs as i know how dreadful you must be feeling right now.

As you have already attempted thrice, a fourth attempt will not make much difference to your 'image' but might give you a 700+ score....so if possible, i feel you should try one last time taking care of all the shortcomings.

And since your scores have only improved, you have a valid point to explain during your interviews.

Hope this helps!
Sporshita

[StaceyKoprince]

It's true that some schools don't like to see 4+ test scores - but the major issue is that they don't like to see someone take it repeatedly without improving. And you are improving each time, so that's good.

You still might want to talk to an admissions consultant, though, about your situation and your admission profile. They'd be better able to advise you (my area of expertise is really just the test itself).

The two major points that jump out at me from your list:
- you've got timing problems (point #4)
- you're struggling with anxiety (point #5)

If you already know that you've got timing problems, then they are likely even worse on the real test, because you're anxious and know "this is it." And if you are mismanaging your time too much, then that's going to result in a definite score drop, because you're going to end up with strings of wrong answers at some point (due to running out of time) and that will kill your score.

So solution #1 is to work on that timing problem:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

SC:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... n-problem/
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/03/ ... sc-problem
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/03/ ... -problem-2

CR:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... g-problem/

RC:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... p-passage/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... c-passage/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... rehension/

Solution #2 is to work on the anxiety. Tell me, have you been just as anxious all three times? Or have things been a little bit better / easier each time? (I'm guessing that just being exposed to the test process repeatedly helps at least a little bit - and your scores have been getting better.)

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

The "In It To Win It" article (the first one I linked) can also help with anxiety because you can keep reminding yourself: I don't need to get everything right. I only need about 60% correct. So if I don't know this vocab word or this SC is too hard for me, who cares? It's only one problem. And one problem will not cause me to lose the match. (See the article and you'll understand what I'm talking about. :)

Finally, I know you're frustrated because you've been studying so hard and haven't gotten the score you wanted, but you have improved each time. The average improvement from official test 2 to official test 3 is 0 (zero) points. You improved 40! That's huge! I know it's tough, but you are really getting somethwere. You can feel frustrated and yet still feel proud at the same time. :)