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With all this snow days and hype I almost forgot about one year anniversary of my second attempt on GMAT in preparation for the part-time MBA program. It actually was on February 7-th. In my post about the first taking of the GMAT I already mentioned that the score of 550 that I got that time would fit me comfortably in the GMAT ranges of part-time MBA programs in GWU School of Business and Kogod School of Business at American University. I would be at the lower end of the mid 80% range for part-time MBA program at Smith in University of Maryland, but still it was quite reasonable result for that school, which was at the time my preferred school. Of course, Georgetown McDonough with its mid 80% range of GMAT score in 620-700 would be out of question alltogether.
Even with these quite reasonable chances of getting into MBA program this year, I had a very deep dissatisfaction with my first result on GMAT. Also, I was not absolutely sure that Smith part-time MBA program was a definite top choice for me. I wanted to keep my options open, so I needed to get a higher score on GMAT if I would change my mind and decide to go for Georgetown part-time MBA.
American University MBA program was a very-very last resort. I was planning to apply to it just for a backup, but I remember thinking at that time, and especially after attending their information session sometime in mid-February, that I might as well pass on the whole MBA aspirations if it were the only school that would accept me. In addition to their lowest ranking of the four schools on my list, there was some subjective feeling of resistence to this business school that I could not even articulate rationally. Let’s say, it just did not click for me.
My opinion about the GWU School of Business was not clarified around that time either. I just did not know enough about the program, so I had it on my list of possible schools, but I did not feel either negative or positive about it, other than the fact that it had lower rankings than Smith or McDonough MBA programs.
So, to solidify my chances for the University of Maryland part-time MBA, and to get any chance for Georgetown University MBA I had to get a higher score on GMAT. That’s why a week after my first failed attempt on GMAT I made up my mind to take it again.
My biggest weakness on the GMAT was quantitative part. That’s why in preparation for the second sitting on the test I focused mostly on the math. Almost all my preparation time I dedicated to the quants. Based on my experience with simulation tests and my actual GMAT test I identified one area in the quants where I needed most improvement: equations and inequalities.
By that time I have already heard enough positive feedback about Manhattan GMAT series. That’s why I decided to try out one of their guides:Equations, Inequalities & VICs .VIC here stands for Variables In answer Choices. In addition to quite clear explanations of the principles and GMAT techniques it also included one year access to 6 Computer Adaptive Online Practice Exams and online questions bank for equations and inequalities. If I had to buy the whole set of their GMAT Strategy Guides it would cost me between $150-200, depending on what kind of promotions was running at the time. But the beauty of their flexibility is that you can buy just a book on what you feel you need extra help and that book would give you access to the online practice tests and bank of questions related to the topic of the book. The price for a single book from Manhattan GMAT series -$26, is kind of steep, given that The Official Guide for GMAT Review can be bought for about the same price. But for me it was well worth it.
I mentioned already that I was not doing much of cramming on verbal. So in addition to my cramming on quants, with particular emphasis on the book from Manhattan GMAT, I was doing all practice tests I could put my hands on. And I was doing this under “real” conditions: timed test, with 10-minute breaks between the parts. My actual test this time was scheduled for 8 AM. So my practice tests I was doing all on weekends at that time.
On the morning of the GMAT test I felt quite prepared, though I knew that conquering the quants was still going to be an uphill battle. During the test I did not really know how I was doing, as I was too consumed with the questions. At the end of both sections I had to answer a few questions without really thinking, because I was running out of time. And as everyone knows with GMAT it is better to not have any questions unanswered, because you are penalized more for those than for the wrong answers.
When I saw my results at the end of the test I had mixed feelings. Even though I improved my score by 60 points, I was still short of my minimum target of 620. Here are my results for the second take of the GMAT test:
Total score – 610/69 percentile
Verbal score – 39/87 percentile
Quantitative score - 35/42 percentile
As you can see I improved my verbal score by moving from 78 to 87 percentile. My quant improved somewhat, even though not as much as I hoped. Still, with this score I have strengthened significantly my standing for Smith part-time MBA. I got a slight chance of getting into Georgetown part-time MBA, and I knew that I would not need to apply to Kogod whatsoever, as I felt that GWU School of Business would suffice as a backup. So I was in the game again, and all I had to do now was to finalize my choice of the program, if I got accepted to more than one. That process was not finished until I actually had two acceptances and one waiting list letter on my hands later. But that’s a topic for another post.
Today is a one year anniversary of my first attempt on GMAT. To be more precise, it was not on the same date, but the same day- Saturday after Thanksgiving a year ago.
On Friday before the test I knew it was not one of my brightest decisions to schedule the test for that Saturday. Thanksgiving I spent enjoying the day with the family, overloading on turkey and accompanying holiday fare. Needless to say an idea of doing anything for the test preparation did not cross my mind. My original thought was that I would have some time on Friday to do last minute cramming. But Friday was pretty much a day to get back to my normal self. So before the exam I did not do any preparation on Thursday, not much on Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday my exam was in the afternoon. I did some very light review, as every source on preparation for GMAT recommends you to stop cramming for exam on the night before the test (I agree it is a good advice in general), so your brain has time to settle all the facts and be fresh and alert for the test itself. Since I did not want to do real cramming, and there was nothing else I could really do before the test, that time on Saturday was basically lost. It just gave room for building more test anxiety, which is never good.
By the time I sat fot the test around 4 PM I was already burned out. At the test I knew I was not doing very well, particularly on the quant part which had been my biggest challenge to begin with.
I did not have a temptation to cancel my score without looking at it. My rationale was that if I paid $250 for the test and even did not do well, I at least wanted it to be learning experience, and I had to know my score to have a proper benchmark. Otherwise the money would be total waste. Also, taking GMAT was one of the testing points to see if I even was cut for the MBA in the first place. I thought, if my score was not acceptable for the part-time MBA program at my target Business Schools, then I would just have to accept the fact that it was not for me. At that point in time, and even much later, I was not yet sure that this MBA route was the right thing for me, given the serious financial and time commitment, and my age. In some way I was looking for a reason why I should not or could not do the MBA.
Using my teenage daughter’s language, the revealed score for my test was epic fail. But regardless what lingo you use it was miserable:
Total score – 550/ 51 percentile
Verbal score – 36/ 78 percentile
Quantitative – 29/ 25 percentile
I considered my verbal score reasonable, but quantitative was killing me.
My first reaction to the score was: “OK, this is what I am worth. I will submit my application with this score (which I did anyways before the start of the test, by selecting the four Business Schools I was planning to apply to), get rejected and put this whole MBA adventure behind me.”
Frankly, even with this score I had a very reasonable chance of acceptance to at least three of the schools I was considering at the time, based on the class profiles of part-time MBA programs.
My full list of target part-time MBA programs was as follows (in the order of my preference at the time):
Smith part-time MBA, University of Maryland (GMAT mid 80% range: 510-690)
McDonough evening MBA, Georgetown University (most selective of the four, GMAT mid 80% range: 620-700)
Professional MBA, George Washington University (GMAT mid 80% range: 480-650)
Kogod part-time MBA, American University (GMAT mid 80% range: 490-610)
The GMAT ranges data are taken from this year’s Businessweek ranking of part-time MBA programs. These scores are very close to what I knew from research about the programs last year. As you see, I was very well qualified for George Washington and American University part-time programs, and my chances for Smith part-time MBA were very reasonable.
Nevertheless, I considered my score a failure, as I was shooting for at least 620, in order to get a shot at Georgetown McDonough School of Business, even though it was my second choice. And even more than effect on my chances of acceptance, that score was a blow to my self-esteem. Based on the practice tests I had taken from various GMAT preparation sources, even with the awareness about my quantitative lacking, I was expecting, and would be consent with the score of at least 620.
This was one of the reasons I decided to take a second attempt on GMAT, after I recuperated from the first failure in a week or so after the test.
can be bought for about the same price. But for me it was well worth it.
