The GMAT

Today I took the GMAT. The scores I received were lower than anticipated. My initial reaction was that I really should have studied more than ten hours over the past week if I had really wanted to do better, especially since it has been at least ten years since I have tried any of the math that may be on the test.
After thinking about it though, I thought that since the amount of people taking the GMAT had to be those that were already well above the average population, that maybe my competition was getting more difficult. I then thought if I beat more then half of the people who are taking the test and I barely studied, what does that say about the pool of candidates?
I was worried about whether the scores were good enough for the programs I was thinking about entering. I started looking at what scores were needed for what schools, and found that my scores were just fine and there is no reason to take the test again – unless I do it for personal satisfaction to prove to myself that I can beat 80%-90% or more of the people.
If I find the time in between actual work and course work, and am inclined to spend the $250 again, I may take the test a second time. Until then let me try and help those who have not as of yet taken the GMAT.
I found that after the math portion I still had about 10 minutes out of the 75 allotted. After the verbal section I had about 20 minutes left. This indicates that I moved to quickly through the questions. I should have taken more time to clearly read the question and all the answers.  If I was to give advice it would be to take your time and be sure to isolate the real question that is being asked. Once you think you have the answer – try to plug it back in and see if it works.  If it is the verbal part, take out all of the fluff and distracting parts the test writers put in and then reread the sentence. If the sentence talks about the most honorable baron of wherever, why not just make it simple and say “bob”.
I wish everyone luck who has to take the GMAT, and for those of you can afford the Harvards and Whartons of the world – I wish you even more luck, because you are the ones who really need it.