GMAT Strategy

Hi all,
I took the gmat on 8th July 2016 and scored 630 (Q42 V34). This was my second attempt and i scored 610(Q47 V28) on my first attempt. As my score distribution states, i dropped majorly in quant (from 65 percentile to 47 percentile) on my second attempt. I am not happy with my scores as i was expecting to near 690 in my second attempt.
With this post, i would like to request your valuable inputs stating whether i should retake the gmat for the third time or should i just apply. My target is to apply for mba programmes that are among top 40 worldwide.

Here's my profile:
Nationality: Indian
Graduation: B.tech Civil Engineering ( First Class Degree, 6.1/10 CGPA)
Work Ex: 4.2 years of Post Graduation work experience as of now (will be 5.4 years by the time the MBA programme starts)
6 Months of additional work experience during graduation (Final Semester)
Work Sector: Environmental Consulting, Waste Management, Energy Management.
- Worked in environmental consulting firm based in India.
- Worked on multi sector roles involving Managerial, Client Interface, project management, Strategy in the firm.
- One of the founding members of the Waste to Energy Company, which is establishing its first commercial scale plant in india. (Currently leading the project development team and logistics management team of the company.
Basically, my work experience has been quite diverse in this sector and have been entrusted upon with large segment of responsibilities.
My Aim- is to pursue my mba in general strategy because my experience in the consulting sector would suffice my abilities for the same and i seek to continue my career in the waste and energy management sector post MBA, grow my business (waste management company).
Considering above details, Kindly suggest me the suitable schools for my profile and whether i should retake the GMAT.

Hi ishan36.

This question would probably get a better answer if it were posted in the Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant section of the forums. https://www.beatthegmat.com/ask-an-mba-a ... t-f40.html

All the same, I guess that really there are two aspects your question, the degree to which the score makes sense for your goals and how difficult increasing your score might be. So I will address the second aspect.

I think that without too much trouble you could get your quant score back up to the high 40's. Probably you made some silly mistakes when you took the test, and maybe also the depth of your GMAT quant skills is not quite what it has to be in order to consistently score high on quant. So you could take some more practice tests to work on accuracy, and you could use the results of those tests to guide you in some topic by topic quant work. I bet that if you were to get better, maybe via a little more solid understanding, in maybe eight to ten areas of quant you would readily hit Q47, or higher.

You can access a few thousand categorized quant questions by setting up a free practice account in the GMAT area here. https://bellcurves.com

Meanwhile, your verbal score seems to be bouncing around too. Widely fluctuating scores tend to indicate that a person's processes for getting to answers could be tighter. Alternatively, maybe you just got better at verbal between the tests. If you feel that your processes for getting to verbal answers could be tighter, you could continue working on verbal, seeking to get better at seeing what you have to see in order to get right answers.

The upshot of all of this is that you are looking pretty strong GMAT-wise, and I bet that with a month of prep to address some of your less strong quant topics, tighten up what you are doing in verbal and take some practice tests to improve accuracy and get better at handling the test, you could hit 690. For one thing, the difference between 630 and 690 is roughly only about six right answers. Do you think that you could do some slightly more difficult questions and get six more right answers in a month? I do. So maybe doing the work is worthwhile.

Hi Rich,
First of all i took my first attempt on 16th March 2016, approximately 3.5 months before my second attempt. I devoted around 7-8 months for the first attempt and around 3.5 months for the second attempt.
- My mode of studying was Self Study as i am a working professional and have hectic schedule on weekends also, so couldn't enroll for any coaching.
- My study material included, OG 16, Quant review 16, Verbal review 16, GmatPrep Pack 1, MGMAT Guides 1-5, E-gmat verbal Online Course and Crack Verbal Online course. Besides that i took all the gmat prep tests pack (1,2and3). I also took MGMAT test (1-6).
- My target score was around 720 but after my second attempt i am somehow exploring the possibilities of applying to some good B school with the current score.
- I plan on applying for round 1

If you're looking for additional practice as you gear up for round three, check out our question bank: https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat-question-bank/

(And if you can get Q47 once, you can certainly do it again. Make sure to spend a fair amount of time thoroughly reviewing those official practice tests you've taken. Jot down some notes from each one regarding strategic adjustments you can make.)