Please help me !!!

[neenavsa]

hi guys,

i have given my GMAT 2 days earlier and scored a 470!!!... i dont know what happened when i consistently got in the range of 550-590 in my prep tests. my target was atleast 600(i have a specified school in mind). i was almost sure that i will remain in 550 range and planned to retake the test, but when i saw a 470, i dont know if my preps will even help!, i am so depressed to see my score that i lost the trust in my ability to prep for the exam, i have done og twice and went through some other materials. i knew i wasnt good enough, but i didnt know i was this bad. i want to retake the exam and score atleast 150 points and above. can anyone help me plan my study???. i will only register for gmat after i feel a consistent increase in score in prep tests, so i am giving my self atleast 3 months time, how does that sound?? will i be able to increase 150 points in 2 months time? i am willing to keep my entire social life for this, i am already a graduate and have plenty of time with me before the exam. please guide me anyone, i am in desperate need for help.

thanks

P.S I am planning to go through manhattan 8 strategy guides and giving a week for each of them and going through og again. is this enough?? or do i need to go through more?? please suggest

[jnelson0612]

Hi neenavsa,
Sorry to hear it. Okay, first things first--let's figure out what happened on test day. Two things come to mind in this scenario: 1) timing problems (unable to complete one or both sections or had to guess several at the end to finish in time) and/or 2) severe test anxiety. Can you advise on this first, then we'll take it from there. Thanks!

[neenavsa]

Hi neenavsa,
Sorry to hear it. Okay, first things first--let's figure out what happened on test day. Two things come to mind in this scenario: 1) timing problems (unable to complete one or both sections or had to guess several at the end to finish in time) and/or 2) severe test anxiety. Can you advise on this first, then we'll take it from there. Thanks!

my timing was good, i have taken many tests and didnt fall behind time.even in this test i had finished on time. but i was tensed as hell, i even froze for few seconds before i could continue on my PS. the day before the exam i tried to solve a test and i couldnt because my hands were shivering and i had to stop doing it. i was paranoid thinking about my pre exam experience. i feel that no matter how hard i try to learn for GMAT, i will screw it in the final test because of my stress. i lose hope because of this. i have never been so stressed taking any other test in my entire life. Please help me

[StaceyKoprince]

Okay, so definitely stress is a major issue. The below two articles are good starting points.

http://www.manhattangmat.com/stress-tips.cfm
http://www.manhattangmat.com/strategy-series-stress.cfm

You're also describing significant physical reactions to the stress. Have you ever spoken with a doctor about your test anxiety? I have worked with several students in the past who had to take medication for this reason. I'm not a doctor and can't advise you at all on whether you should think about taking medication, but if you are having significant physical reactions (heart racing, difficulty breathing, nausea, etc.), then you may want to speak to your doctor.

Re: timing, you mention finishing the section on time... but that doesn't necessarily mean you don't have timing problems. I talk to students every week who finish the sections on time but still have timing problems - sometimes pretty serious timing problems.

Read this article and see if it helps you to figure out more about what went wrong on test day:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ent-wrong/

Then come back here and tell us what you think.

Did you take any MGMAT tests? If so, you can use the below article to analyze your most recent test:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Again, come back here and tell us what you found out. Please also tell us how (if at all) your practice test differed from official test conditions. Did you skip the essays? Did you take longer breaks than allowed or use the pause button? Etc.

For your study, you mention doing OG and taking practice tests. Those sources give you practice on real problems, but they don't actually teach you the material you need to know or how to get better at the test. What did you use to help teach you to get better?

I also suggest that you read these:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... tudy-plan/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... our-study/

Finally, you asked in your original post whether 3 months (or 2 - was one of those numbers a typo?) was enough time. For 150 points, you're probably looking at something in the 3-month range, though part of my answer to that depends upon your analysis from the "My Score Dropped" article above, so let's table that question until you give us more data.

Can you, in general, get yourself up to 600? Almost certainly - if you're studying in the right way, and if you can tackle the test anxiety issue.