DEBRIEF: 11 Years of Real GMAT History; Proof that it's a scam.

Having had the chance to review many of the threads, and the misfortune of a long history with the GMAT, I thought I'd
share some real GMAT results with you to show how they've changed (inflated) over time.

In May 1996 I graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering. I've had as much calculus and math as you can take without a
degree in Math, or maybe Electrical Engineering.

Fast forward to June 1999. I decided to take the GMAT and return to school for an MBA. I bought a Princeton Review Test
Prep book, procrastinated and never opened it until the morning of the exam, skimmed through only the verbal section for
roughly 3 hours and headed off to the test. I never took a practice test and did not know specifics about the format. Here
are my results. Pay special attention to the Scaled Scores and Percentiles in June 1999.

Verbal 36 Percentile 80
Quant 45 Percentile 88
Total 660 Percentile 90
AWA 6.0 Percentile 99

As a point of reference, the Business Week or U.S. N&WR Best Schools issue [can't recall which] reported that the average
score for those accepted to Wharton's top ranked MBA program was, you guessed it, 660.

Fast forward thru 2 Masters Degrees [2001 MBA & 2006 MS Finance] and I'm now in the process of applying to PhD
programs in Finance. Guess what...my scores aren't valid. Despite the fact that GMAC assures us that scores are
standardized over time, and that the point of the test is to prove one's ability to succeed in a graduate business program
[something I've done TWICE], no school would accept my application so here we go again.

December 2009: I paid my $250, scheduled and took the test 10 days after scheduling it, and only 4 days after cracking
open my OG GMAT 11th Ed. book. This time I read took the Diagnostic Tests and scored above average or excellent in
every section. I also read the Math Review, and did 2/3 of the word problems section. I did not do any data sufficiency,
verbal, or AWA prep or practice problems. I did skim the 2-3 page summary for each though and was confident I should do
well. At midnight, the night before the exam [yes, it's not advised but I'm a night owl and I march to the beat of my own
drum] I took one of the Official practice tests (using software you can download to your computer from the GMAC website)
and I scored 43 on the Verbal [95th Percentile], and I believe 42 on the Quant [75th Percentile] for a total of 700. It was
2:30AM. Wasn't the best score in the world, but given my background and desire to get into a mid-tier PhD program, I was
happy. I got into bed at 3:30AM to get some sleep before my 8AM exam [I don't sleep much]. Unfortunately, on this night
I couldn't fall asleep and I tossed and turned. I slept less than 2 hours. Not good.

I got up at 6:30AM. Showered & Dressed. Drove to the test center. And was registered by 7:30AM. I began the test shortly
thereafter and simply killed both AWA sections. My confidence was high. I took a break, attempted to psych myself up, had
a few gulps of water and headed back into the test. I began the very first Quant problem and just couldn't seem to get it,
despite the fact that I'd solved that exact type problem before. I refused to give up. I looked up and noticed I spent 5
minutes on it. NOT GOOD. I panicked and guessed and moved on. I had to race thru the rest of the test and with just
under 2 minutes to go I had two problems to go. I attempted the penultimate problem [eliminating an answer or two], and
then guessed. With 15 seconds to go I guessed on the last problem and was so exhausted that I don't know if I saved it or
not. I was devastated.

I took the 2nd break. Attempted to recover mentally, and headed back in for the Verbal. It went well, but about half way
thru I realized I was having some trouble processing what I was reading. I knew I was exhausted, but re-read passages
and answers and trudged on through. I finished with 2 minutes to go. Time to make the decision of keeping or canceling
the score. I did some quick cost-benefit analysis and decided that as long as I got a decent score I'd still get accepted to
one of my safety schools. I selected Report Scores and waited to the result to flash on the screen:

Verbal 40 Percentile 89
Quant 39 Percentile 53
Total 640 Percentile 75
AWA 6.0 Percentile 90

Needless to say, I knew a few things immediately. My verbal abilities had improved over the last 10 years through the
course of two masters degrees. My ability to do 10th grade math quickly had degraded 20 years since I'd taken (and used)
any of it. And, finally, my odds of getting into even my safety school was now in jeopardy. I sulked for a few hours and
then called the Director of that very school's program and asked for advice. I could retake the exam after a night of sleep
(and I knew I'd do better) but thanks to the GMAT's "31 days between tests rule" I was now going to miss the deadlines
for virtually all of the better schools. I was, again, devastated. The Director advised me to retake the test because most
program deadlines weren't really set in stone, and even if official scores arrived later most schools would accept them.
So...I paid my $250 and scheduled another test exactly 31 days later, this time at Noon instead of 8AM. I also bought
the OG GMAT 12th Ed. book and pledged to myself that I would do all the remaining practice Quant problems in the 11th
Ed., and ALL of the Quant problems in the 12th Ed. Well, one thing led to another, the holidays came and went, and guess
what. I did it again. I think I must secretly like to sabotage myself.

Two nights before the exam I did not sleep. Not even a minute. Tom make it worse, instead of studying I spent time
completing my application for a program that had a deadline the day before my exam. I finally got it done at dinner time
the night before the test and I was exhausted. This time for sure, I had truly destroyed my chances of getting in
somewhere. Oh well, maybe a night's sleep would help this time. I went to bed at 9PM. I got up at 4AM, took a shower, re-
read the Math Review and began to do practice Data Sufficiency problems. I did about 40 problems, took a break to eat a
couple slices of leftover pizza, and then got back to work. I did about 40 more problems [just over half of the total] and
decided it was time to go to the exam. I got there 45 minutes early. I registered. It was packed this time around, and
prepared for my date with destiny.

I absolutely killed the first AWA question. I was feeling good as I started the second. About 15 minutes into the second, I
realized I didn't really like what I was writing but reasoned that it didn't matter. Most schools would look at the perfect 6.0
I scored on the last test and cut me some slack. So, I finished the question, wrote probably 6 paragraphs of solid but not
stellar writing and headed off to my first break. Again I took a few gulps of water, attempted to psych myself up, and got
down to business. The first problem was the same exact style question as it had been a month earlier. I was ready this
time, though. I cranked through the problem and got to my answer and didn't find it as one of the options. How could this
be? I looked at the clock and realized I was already 3 1/2 minutes in. This time I made the split second decision to guess
and move on. I worked through the rest of the test, at times ahead of schedule, and at times behind. I had 10 minutes to
complete the last 6 problems. I did my best and was sure I did better this time. Not great, but better. Oh well. Again, I was
not shooting for U of Chicago or Stanford. I just needed a decent score.

I took the second break, had some water, and headed back in to get this GMAT nightmare out of my life forever. I needed a
strong finish so that I would NEVER have to take this test again. The test began well, but I had an inordinate amount of
Sentence Correction questions that [in my opionion] seemed to have answer A [the original way it was written and
underlined] as the correct answer. Oh well, I was confident in my verbal skills so despite the fact that it seemed odd, I kept
selecting answer A. Likewise with the Reading Comprehension questions, they just seemed to be harder this time around.
The Verbal section was HARD. What had I done to myself. Why did I have to re-read questions, passages, and answers
multiple times? I swear I read some of them 5 times. I wondered if I was doing really well and that's why the test was
hard, or if I was just really more tired and was perhaps not as strong verbally as I thought. Oh well...the test was almost
over. I did the last question with 6 minutes to go and prepared to see my result. I completed all the GMAT post-test info
and got to the screen where you Report or Cancel your scores. I sat for a moment before I prepared to see how badly I'd
sabotaged myself. I selected Report Scores and literally closed my eyes. How had I done?

Verbal 44 Percentile 97
Quant 43 Percentile 67
Total 710 Percentile 92
AWA 6.0 Percentile 90

Victory!!!! Now don't get me wrong, I will still fight an uphill battle with my Quant score, but I believe my background will
balance that out. Again, I'm not targeting the absolute top schools and I think my degrees and work experience are a
better gauge of my ability than a test of Math I studied literally 20 years ago. I have no doubt I could do every single
Quant problem on the test; apparently I just can't do them in 2 minutes. I know my limitations.

So...what have we learned? Don't be me. Don't procrastinate. STUDY. Do practice problems. Lots of them. Do timed
practice tests. Prepare. Take the test only after you've prepared for months, or at least weeks. And sleep well the night
before you take it. Be rested. However, I will also say this. You know what you know. Accept that. Be realistic in your
expectations. Not everyone should apply to Wharton, Harvard, Chicago, Stanford and Michigan. Unless you like wasting
your money, be honest with yourself. Do your best, see where that places you, and then apply to the best schools that will
reasonably accept you. It's fine to hope and wish and dream, but why make schools rich with application fees while you do
it?

The other thing I think my story shows is that this test is a joke. With virtually no preparation I've scored roughly the same
Scaled Scores three times over the course of 11 years. I haven't changed much, but the Percentiles sure have. My 45
Quant was an 88th Percentile in 1999. Today it's 75th Percentile max. This test does not define you. You define you. This
test makes GMAC money, and gives the school a method of culling through hundreds, if not thousands of applicants. That's
it. Your ability to succeed in Grad School has literally nothing to do with the angles of a hexagon, or the absolute value of a
number. I know this because I've been through it...twice. So good luck people, don't let this test get you down. Practice,
practice, practice. Then take it and move on with your life. Your GMAT score will not be on your headstone when you
complete your journey. Don't make it more than it is. Just a test.

Cheers~