Need Help-GMAT in 5 weeks & Practice Test Scores (450-550)

[salesh.aswani]

Hi Stacey,

Today i gave my forth attempt of GMAT after my last attempt in 2013 May. This time i thought i was going to score 650+ in the real test as in practice i scored 670 (Q: 44, V: 38) and 660 (Q: 46 V: 35).

I gave both these practice test in test like conditions. Even if you remove 30 points from each score due to repetition of test question i was expecting to score 630. But in the test today i ended up scoring 580 (Q: 43, V: 27).

I score lower than my third attempt. My last three attempt scores are,

1st GMAT: 510 (Q: 35, V: 25)
2nd GMAT: 560 (Q: 42, V: 24)
3rd GMAT: 600 (Q: 43, V:30)

In my forth attempt i never expected a drop but ended up with score drop by 20 points due to verbal. Though this time i was most confident. Seems like in my destiny an MBA is not written. I started my GMAT prep in Jan 2011. But still not getting any where.

Should I quit and do something else?


Regards,
Salesh Aswani.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry that you had a disappointing test day.

I can't tell you whether to quit or whether to keep going - you really do have to decide that for yourself. I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) that you've mostly been studying on your own. I looked back through our posts and noted that, last year, I suggested that you may want to look into working with a tutor.

There are no guarantees for anything, and tutoring is very expensive, so it's possible that you will work with a tutor, spend a lot of money, and still not get the score that you want. It's also possible, though, that a tutor will be able to figure out what issues you're having and why you're struggling to improve - things an expert might be able to assess but that you might not be able to see or fix for yourself.

Should you try that? As I said, I can't answer that question for you. You'll have to decide how much you want to pursue this goal and what it's worth to you. I will mention (as I think I did in an earlier post) that a lot of people pursue business school because they think they "should" even when it's not necessarily the best career move they could make.

So you (and everyone thinking about b-school!) should definitely think about whether you really want this or whether you're pursuing it just because you think you should or because other people are, etc. If it's the former, then you might decide that you're willing to invest money in something like tutoring, even though you know it might not work - but you're willing to take the risk because you want to try everything you can. If it's the latter, then you might decide that you don't want to keep going not because of the GMAT but because this isn't the right path for your career plans in general.

On that last piece, no doubt your friends and family already know that you've been studying for the GMAT and thinking about b-school, so you might feel that you "have" to do keep going now because they all know. But you're allowed to change your mind about other things related to your career, so why not this? All you have to say is that you made the best decision for yourself given your long-term career goals. Period.

Let me know what you're thinking.

[salesh.aswani]

Hi Stacey,

You are kind enough to read through my frustrations and constant disappointments I have face on this test.

I feel that MBA is something I want to do and not because people are doing it or because I have told family and friends. What hurts most is people who had no plans on doing an MBA are already done with because I told them about it.

Any ways in terms of tutoring I did take up class based instructions in Dubai, but that did not help me much I took up classes after my 1st GMAT attempt in which i ended up scoring 510 (Q: 35, V: 25). But due to work and other family pressures I could not make much use of it and ended up giving my 2nd GMAT attempt in December in which I scored 560 (Q: 42, V: 24).

So classes as such did not make much of a difference. Then based on self prep and some online verbal classes by e-gmat I bumped up my score for my 3rd GMAT attempt to 600 (Q: 43, V: 30).

Thereafter life happened and due to family commitments I postponed my test from Oct 2012 to March 2013 and then finally to August 2013. For the 4 th GMAT attempt i started my prep since May 2013 and had covered up well enough. Made notes on mistakes I made in practice, kept an eye on takeaways from each question that I got repeatedly wrong, gave short quizzes that were of 10 questions minimum and took down time of each question, and did not take a break from the GMAT for more than a day. The results showed in my practice tests.

Then just the day before my 4th Attempt I had disturbed sleep and ended up with a "heavy head" in the morning. But I thought I could still crack the test. I don't want to accept that due to lack of sleep i could have messed up the test this bad, but the whole 4th attempt of GMAT seems like a blur. Except for few quants question I don't remember much. Verbal all seems like a blur.

Now I am back to the drawing board. I know I have to maintain a schedule to study in the morning hours prior to work as my normal work hours close 10+ hours. I wanted to know based on the practice test results and the fact that I was fatigued on the day of the test, should i schedule my 5th GMAT attempt in September or October. Looking at the work commitments it seems more prudent for me to take the test in October. But I am not stopping my studies for the GMAT. I will go through questions I have gotten wrong previously. Improve my timing and try to do harder quant questions.

My aim is to only score 650+ where quant and verbal should both be above 70%. If I compare my target score with the highest score I have gotten in my real GMAT I only require 3 to 4 points more in Quant and require 4 to 5 points more in Verbal.

I am considering my options now in terms of private tutor and other resources. Any suggestion with regards to my further GMAT study strategy will be helpful.


Regards,
Salesh.

[StaceyKoprince]

How much do you think that stress / anxiety hindered you on test day? We all feel some stress / anxiety. Yours might have been worse because you've been studying for so long, because it was your 4th test, and because you didn't sleep well and went in already feeling not-so-great.

What about the previous tests? How stressed / anxious were you?

You may want to look into this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... mat-score/

Also, I want to say: I know you're struggling with this test, but you have also gone from 510 to 600. That's a very good improvement (the average improvement on official tests is only 30 points!).

Given what you have done already, I do think that you need some outside help. If you can afford to work with a tutor, that will be most efficient - but tutors are very expensive.

You may also want to look into another class. Try to find a class that doesn't have too many students - maybe 20 or 30 maximum. You want to have easy access to the teacher to be able to ask questions and get some personalized help. This kind of class will be more expensive than one with 100 or 200 students, but it will still be less expensive than tutoring.

Finally, make sure that the teacher or tutor has actually taken the GMAT and scored at least a 700. When I was in India last year, I talked to some companies that hire people to teach who haven't even taken the GMAT! I don't know if that is also happening in other countries in the middle east and asia, but it's possible.

If work commtiments make October better, then take the test then. Don't try to rush it - take the time that you need.

[salesh.aswani]

Hi Stacey,

As advised I have looked around for private tutors, but find that approach very expensive.

In terms of GMAT classes I have taken them before from instructors who have taken the GMAT test itself. The class size was small i.e. between 10 to 15 students. I also had private access to the instructors as well.

Besides private tutoring is there another way I can work it out by myself to bump my score to 650. I think it is possible, but need a little understanding as to how to go forward.

In terms of stress in other test (i.e. first three attempts) I was quiet relaxed as I had a given up on my goal score prior to giving the first three tests, since my practice test scores were well below my target score of 650+. But in the last test I was full expectations and 90% sure to cross the 650 mark as I had done well in my practice test.

Still struggling to accept defeat on this test!!!


Regards,
Salesh Aswani.

[StaceyKoprince]

Tutoring is very expensive, yes. It might be the case that another class is the best way to go - then you'll still have access to the teachers but at a much lower price.

I would also be happy to advise you as to how to work on your own. I need to get some more detailed data on your strengths and weaknesses in order to advise you.

First, read (or re-read) these articles:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

Next, use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):

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

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis and what you think you should do based on that analysis. Make sure to take into account what you read in the first two articles I linked above. We'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)