GMAT failure

[Wheatmaster]

So I took the GMAT this morning after a couple months of relatively light studying. I focused primarily on verbal since I am in college for engineering. When I began the the exam, I literally freaked out the whole writing portion of the exam. Great start to the $250 exam. I did better in teh quantitative section but did terrible in verbal. I resulted with an unofficial score of 470. Just great. Looks like I'm not going to business school....

 

[Special K]

Study a lot harder and retake the test?

 

[Delita]

Oh man. Epic fail

 

[jarfykk]

Relatively light studying only works when your mastery of the English language is far and above what is considered fluent. Even if you're moderately educated (like a BS in Engineering might lead one to believe), the GMAT is fairly demanding, particularly the verbal section. Since you now know it is your weak spot, you can spend a couple months of relatively dedicated studying prepping for the next time you take it.

PS - Why are you looking at business school? Not at all a knock on going to it (very valuable to many folks), but a large number of folks go there for reasons that don't really make sense and wind up equaling $50k in debt and a job they could have gotten with their existing degree and 2 years of experience. Just do whatever calculus that reflects your goals and life, but being sure to take into account the actual cost of business school plus the opportunity cost of going to it (i.e. 2 years of income and experience) in addition to the perceived and actual benefit you're seeking from it. Good luck!

Edit: And keep in mind crummy verbal scores are nothing new to admission boards, just be sure to meet the school minimums, preferably their median score as well, and be able to sell yourself well. That said, study and re-take it if you're inclined to continue.

 

[Cattlegod]

Ouch. What school are you going for and what was last year's average?

 

[mb]

Where were you wanting to go? 470 is adequate for some schools. Also, how solid are your recommendations and undergrad achievements? That can help offset a low score.

 

[dbk]

just take it again...don't send those scores in.

 

[Schfifty Five]

GMAT is tough man, I had to take it twice to get a decent score...and even then it's not what I want it to be.

It's expensive too, $250 each.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Wheatmaster
So I took the GMAT this morning after a couple months of relatively light studying. I focused primarily on verbal since I am in college for engineering. When I began the the exam, I literally freaked out the whole writing portion of the exam. Great start to the $250 exam. I did better in teh quantitative section but did terrible in verbal. I resulted with an unofficial score of 470. Just great. Looks like I'm not going to business school....

doesn't sound like you prepped as much as you could have.

 

[Wheatmaster]

I'm entering senior year, majoring in Architectural Engineering and want to go get a MBA in Real Estate Development or Finance. I think knowledge on construction and real estate development would go hand in hand. Unfortunately, the places I'm planning to apply (UW Madison and Depaul) are extremely competitive and my score would be a joke.

 

[geckojohn]

PWN3D... it's okay though

 

[Imdmn04]

Go work several years and then get an MBA.

MBA programs that accept applicants without work experience is a joke anyway.s

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Originally posted by: Imdmn04
Go work several years and then get an MBA.

MBA programs that accept applicants without work experience is a joke anyway.s

:thumbsup:

The whole point of MBA school is to learn from your peers mistakes in the real world, and not out of a textbook and those damn Harvard case studies.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: Wheatmaster
So I took the GMAT this morning after a couple months of relatively light studying. I focused primarily on verbal since I am in college for engineering. When I began the the exam, I literally freaked out the whole writing portion of the exam. Great start to the $250 exam. I did better in teh quantitative section but did terrible in verbal. I resulted with an unofficial score of 470. Just great. Looks like I'm not going to business school....

you wouldn't even get into a legit b-school straight out of undergrad...

 

[jman19]

*knifes OP*

"HUMILIATION"

 

[Wheatmaster]

well the whole reason I decided to take a go at it now rather than later is that I am still in school mode more or less.

 

[Elbryn]

no offense but thats pretty bad. what kind of studying did you actually do? it doesnt realistically sound like very much, you had have finished way below the median in verbal and still below the median on the quanititative side to get that score. if you are really considering an mba, take the gmat a bit more seriously and study more with some programs that test you like the test does. that does equate to sitting down and taking at least several full blown practice tests if not more. if you've got a high gpa that helps counterbalance the gmat somewhat as well. last thing to do is to check out the part time mba programs. they are typically less stringent in requirements but will usually require some work experience to get into. i got into my part time program with a low gpa but high gmat. i'd consider taking the gmat again if you feel that may be any part of your future, it stays valid for 5 years and the test cost is only going to go up.

 

[Passions]

bwahahahahhahahahah!!! don't all the scores get reported as well? so you're stuck with that score. haha

 

[Nerva]

Originally posted by: jarfykk
Relatively light studying only works when your mastery of the English language is far and above what is considered fluent. Even if you're moderately educated (like a BS in Engineering might lead one to believe), the GMAT is fairly demanding, particularly the verbal section. Since you now know it is your weak spot, you can spend a couple months of relatively dedicated studying prepping for the next time you take it.

PS - Why are you looking at business school? Not at all a knock on going to it (very valuable to many folks), but a large number of folks go there for reasons that don't really make sense and wind up equaling $50k in debt and a job they could have gotten with their existing degree and 2 years of experience. Just do whatever calculus that reflects your goals and life, but being sure to take into account the actual cost of business school plus the opportunity cost of going to it (i.e. 2 years of income and experience) in addition to the perceived and actual benefit you're seeking from it. Good luck!

Edit: And keep in mind crummy verbal scores are nothing new to admission boards, just be sure to meet the school minimums, preferably their median score as well, and be able to sell yourself well. That said, study and re-take it if you're inclined to continue.

thats not necessarily true. in investment banking, fresh out of undergrad in a good year you can make 150, but if you have an mba you can make 200-250, even 300. so i would say that is a pretty big difference.