It's Over...

Today was my GMAT appointment. After Thursday's GMATPrep Test (610) I was pretty nervous. I got a good nights sleep, woke up, ate a good breakfast, and left with plenty of time to make it to the center. Walked in, read the rules, got fingerprinted, they took my picture, and I was led into the actual testing room. I went through the administrative stuff, selected my schools (USC, UCLA, UNC, NYU, and Wake Forest), then started the AWAs. I felt both of these went fine.

I opted not to take the break in between AWA and Quant. I don't know why, but I just wanted to keep going. Unlike practice tests, I used every available minute for the Quant section. I felt I did a good job here, and gladly took my break before Verbal. Now, my Q had been pretty consistent lately, but my V had started dropping. Once again I found myself on the last three questions with 25 minutes to spare, never a good sign. There were a few questions where it seemed like two answers were perfectly acceptable, and others where none seemed correct. After the exam, I went through the survey and stuff, then accepted my score (I didn't pay $250 to NOT see where I was at).

680. A bit below my target of 700, but above what I had been scoring at lately. My practice tests, in order, were: 580, 600, 660, 700, 680, 650, and 610. So, this score actually sits at the top part of my distribution. Here's the kicker: I got a 44Q/38V split. That's the best I've ever done in Q, but well below my usual mark in V. Had I gotten a bit better on V, I would have nailed that 700 I was looking for! So close!

In all, I can't complain about Q, but I'm fairly upset about V. I had always tested much better on Verbal, and struggled with Quant, and it seemed everything switched at the end. Maybe it was the change from Manhattan GMAT tests to actual GMATs that did it.

Now, I have to decide if its worth applying to my target schools. I know with my GPA it's a hard sell at any of my schools, but maybe it's worth shooting for them anyway.

D-Day Approaches

Sorry All! It's been a crazy few days, which is why I haven't gotten to post. Work, family drama, relationships, and the 4th of July weekend took most of my time. My GMAT appointment is Saturday at noon. On Sunday, I took MGMAT #6 and got a 650. Lower than my last two (700 and 680), but I chalked it up to the fact that I had been partying since Thursday, and probably wasn't in the best frame of mind.

Tonight, I took GMATPrep #1. I wanted to get a sense of actual questions (other than from OG11). I got a 610. I still can't believe it. My splits were 41Q (actually about right) but 33V, which is INSANELY lower than what I typically get. Did I just get accustomed to answering Manhattan GMAT questions? What the heck happened? Mom offered some words of encouragement...I was on an unfamiliar PC (which I'll be on Saturday), the room was insanely hot, and I had spent 10 hours at work. Maybe she's right. I felt OK going into it, and I know a few of the verbal questions hung me up, but I still couldn't believe it was that bad. I've never scored that low on verbal!

This has obviously scared me for Saturday. What if this score is more reflective of my tests, and not the MGMAT scores? Also, why are my scores so spread out (580, 600, 660, 700, 680, 650, 610)? Very strange.

Hopefully the last two were just outliers, and I'm actually closer to the middle range of those scores than the first or last few.