This is It?!

Right now, I'm in AV Surfer Powerplant, which surprisingly, has an internet shop of sorts. Just behind the kick ass flat screen TVs they sell. I had my lunch about two hours ago, and I got off the phone with Maan about twenty minutes ago.

Okie. So how did it go??

Not so great. Not horrible. But not stellar.

My unofficial score is far below than my target score. It isn't terrible. I didn't fail or anything. But if I stick to this score, I'm going to have to ride on the strength of my application, my recommendation letters, and my work experience a lot more. Papa wants me to retake it, saying money is not an issue, and that I could review more.

Ugh. I think that's it right there. I think I'm pretty much done with reviewing. I spent a considerable amount of time reviewing and doing practice tests. I think where it went wrong was my lack of the quick analysis and solution. As Riza shared before, I should time myself in answering the questions. One minute per question. I spent a lot more time on a couple of the math questions than I should have. I didn't finish that section of the test, hence the penalty on my score. The verbal section of the exam was a breeze, and so was the analytical writing. I think by now, I've pretty much established that Schmenten is NOT left-brained.

Perhaps my targets and my expectations were too high. I know deep down I could have done better. But the weird thing is, I don't feel so bad. When I was on the phone with Karina and Maan, I was telling them, "Is it so weird that I don't feel so bad?"

Right now, Papa is pretty insistent that I retake it. I'm thinking... Will the effort I put into reviewing more intensely result to a significant increase in my score? I have to push myself doubly hard to pull it up to Ivy-League standards. Maan pointed out that I should first try and see the minimum requirement for the schools I am targetting. The schools in NY and in Sydney are still pretty much in my alley, despite my not so impressive score. I'm more inclined to just "doing with what I have."

Maybe I'm being fatalistic here, but my thinking right now is this is the score I got and perhaps it's the score I was destined to have. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for those who would like to do better and thus retaking the test. Kudos to you. But I dunno. Cosmic connections, the universe conspiring.

Haaaaay. I just want to get my official score, which Maan said will not differ much from the unofficial score. A couple of points higher should do it, I think. I don't know how well I did in the Analytical Writing section, but it don't think it'll pull my unofficial score down.

I do see where Papa is coming from. If we're investing in this, then make it a worthy investment. He doesn't want me riding on my other credentials. However, I don't think one's GMAT score is the sole basis of acceptance.

Argh. Tis the word for the day. "ARGH"

At the end of the day, nothing lost. I still have my job (not terrible, but not exactly the type of job I get out of bed with a smile looking forward to). This exam is the first step of the application process. I still got a long way to go. If I will be retaking it, I'll be doing it for the wrong reasons (to appease my financier Haha!). Maan said that if my heart isn't in it, then the more "intensive" review might not be as effective.

Ok universe. You have me at the palm of your hands. I gave it my better shot (not my best). Let's see where the road will take me now.

To those to said a little prayer for me, thank you! Thanks for the "Good lucks" and the votes of confidence. Thanks for listening to the rantings of a hungry test taker.