I know this isn't a score to be getting too excited over, but seeing how on my first attempt I rec'd a 480 I think a 600 isn't too bad of a score. The real determining factor of why I don't think it was too bad of a score is because I just received the acceptance letter of my school of choice! I was a bit concerned because I was positive I was going to get 650+ on my second time around, however before I sat for the test I told myself if I get over a 600 I'm not retaking the test and I'm just sending my application with that score and it turned out to work in my favor.
My recap of the test: May 8, 2008 --> 600 Q:36/48% V:36/80%
AWA: This was a piece of cake, two very simple topics to write about.
Quant Section - I finished the quant with about 15 seconds remaining and definitely had to guess on the last 3 questions only leaving myself about a minute for each. I didn't think I was doing too bad on the quant because I felt like I was getting 2 questions right before I got 1 wrong for the majority of the test and based on my practice tests I was normally scoring around a 40 so when I saw I rec'd a 36 I was shocked.
Verb Section - I took the brake between the quant and verb section and happened to run over my time by about 3 mins, so when I returned to my seat I was a little flustered to see that the clock had already started running. Thank god that during every CAT test I took leading up to the test I finished with at least 5 mins left, so I figured I would be ok. The questions were SO DIFFICULT and I could of swore I was answering every single question wrong but I just kept telling myself take one question at a time so I could enable myself to get my score to climb back up. I finished with about 1 min left.
After completing the test, I randomly clicked through every stupid question they asked because I was SOOO FRUSTRATED and positive I did absolutely Terrible but once I clicked that button to show my score and it paused for an eternity (more like 2 seconds realistically) the 600 popped up on the screen and I was relieved to say the least!
GMAT Prep 1: 500
MGMAT CAT 1: 530
MGMAT CAT 2: 530
MGMAT CAT 3: 560
MGMAT CAT 4: 580
MGMAT CAT 5: 500
MGMAT CAT 6: 630
GMAT Prep 2:630
Over a 4 month Period I kept tally of all the hours I put in studying and it totalled around 330 hours. It was a lot of work for a score that wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it was good enough to get me to where I wanted to be. If I took it again do I think I would do better? Hell YEAH, but it doesn't matter cause I'm DONE WITH THE GMAT. It was fun while it lasted but I’m glad to get back to a normal life NOT dealing with combinatoric and Permutation questions.
Oh yeah one piece of advice, it is imperative to bring food to the testing center with you so you can snack on both of the brakes. There is no way you can take this test without being properly nourished and hydrated because it is very exhausting. Also make sure you practice taking the tests under the exact timing situation as the actual GMAT this way you can mentally prepare yourself for the grind.