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Retake? Low quant, High verbal.

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Retake? Low quant, High verbal.

by BuckyBadge » Mon Nov 02, 2015 5:08 am
I just took the GMAT for the second time (more on that later) and received a 710. This included a 42 Quant and a 44 verbal, though (Also an IR of 8...does this matter at all to programs?). Is it worth retaking in attempt to increase the Quant score considering the below? I'm only really looking at top 10-15 programs, and would not have much time to study/retake (Big 4 hours and admissions deadline constraints). I also understand the very Harvard and Stanford are probably out of reach with this GMAT/quant score.

I have a relatively solid undergrad GPA (3.7) in business, majoring in Accounting. I also have a MAcc degree (Masters of Accountancy). I am a CPA, and have worked in Big 4 accounting for 3 1/2 years (2 of which have been overseas in London). Is this background enough to alleviate the low quant score at top schools?

I took the GMAT once before in 2010, so the score is no longer valid, but I had a 710 back then as well. That score included a slightly lower verbal and higher quant. I believe it was 45 quant and 42 verbal. Is there a way to highlight this (slightly) higher quant score in the app? Or is this test just too old, and the score difference not enough, to matter?

Basically, is this quant score of 42 going to kill me with top programs (particularly Booth and Kellogg)? Would improving it a few points give me any benefit?

Greatly appreciate any advice you can offer!
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Mon Nov 02, 2015 7:54 am
BuckyBadge wrote:I just took the GMAT for the second time (more on that later) and received a 710. This included a 42 Quant and a 44 verbal, though (Also an IR of 8...does this matter at all to programs?). Is it worth retaking in attempt to increase the Quant score considering the below? I'm only really looking at top 10-15 programs, and would not have much time to study/retake (Big 4 hours and admissions deadline constraints). I also understand the very Harvard and Stanford are probably out of reach with this GMAT/quant score.

I have a relatively solid undergrad GPA (3.7) in business, majoring in Accounting. I also have a MAcc degree (Masters of Accountancy). I am a CPA, and have worked in Big 4 accounting for 3 1/2 years (2 of which have been overseas in London). Is this background enough to alleviate the low quant score at top schools?

I took the GMAT once before in 2010, so the score is no longer valid, but I had a 710 back then as well. That score included a slightly lower verbal and higher quant. I believe it was 45 quant and 42 verbal. Is there a way to highlight this (slightly) higher quant score in the app? Or is this test just too old, and the score difference not enough, to matter?

Basically, is this quant score of 42 going to kill me with top programs (particularly Booth and Kellogg)? Would improving it a few points give me any benefit?

Greatly appreciate any advice you can offer!
I think you're being a bit pessimistic here. Would adding a few point to your quant score strengthen your candidacy a bit? Sure. But admissions committees just need to see evidence of quant proficiency somewhere, and, fortunately for you, you've got quite a bit of it. You have a CPA. You have a strong undergrad GPA. You aced IR. So you might want to redirect this thread to the admin consultants for advice on how/where to best emphasize these elements of your candidacy: https://www.beatthegmat.com/ask-an-mba-a ... t-f40.html

(And it might be worthwhile to give the GMAT one more shot, even without much prep time, because why not? Hit a Q47, great. Don't improve, cancel the score.)

But in any case, you have enough strengths that there's no reason to rule out the most competitive programs preemptively.
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by MartyMurray » Mon Nov 02, 2015 8:57 am
I am wondering how much preparing you did before achieving your current score. If it was a lot, then maybe leave it at that. If you didn't prepare very much, then likely you could achieve a significantly higher quant score, and a higher verbal score, by doing some key things.

Scoring 740 would take something along the lines of getting two to three more questions right in each section. Scoring Q46 or higher would take getting maybe four or five more quant questions right, which would take getting better at a handful of quant problem types. Maybe you could do one or both of those things without exactly killing yourself.

If so, maybe you should go for it.
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by [email protected] » Mon Nov 02, 2015 10:34 am
Hi BuckyBadge,

First off, a 710 is an outstanding score (it's right around the 90th percentile overall), so you should apply to any Business Schools that interest you. A Q42 might be a 'red flag' IF you're planning to apply to any highly competitive Finance Programs - otherwise, it's not as big of an issue as you think it is. Since you're ultimately asking Admissions questions, you would be better served asking an Admissions Expert. There's a Forum full of them here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/ask-an-mba-a ... t-f40.html

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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by BuckyBadge » Mon Nov 02, 2015 10:40 am
Thanks both of you for your responses!

In regards to prep time, I put a reasonably significant amount of time in over the past month. I mostly focused on doing the practice problems and reviewing the answer explanations in the GMAT prep book put out by GMAC. All of those efforts were focused on quant and sentence correction, and I completed all the practice questions in the book for those three areas. Typically the only questions I get wrong in verbal portions of the practice tests I've taken over the years are sentence correction problems. I may have maxed out my abilities in that area.

On the two official practice exams I got a 710 (a bit higher quant and a bit lower verbal than the actual test) and a 740 which included a 47 quant score and a 46 verbal I believe.

I'm leaning towards the fact that it might be worth it to retake in just a couple weeks focusing on more quant studying between now and then to see if I can improve on that 42 at all. As both of you mentioned, there does not appear to be much down side in this strategy aside from the time commitment.

In regards to retaking it, if the score is basically the same, is it better to cancel it or simply keep the second score?
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by MartyMurray » Mon Nov 02, 2015 8:02 pm
BuckyBadge wrote:In regards to prep time, I put a reasonably significant amount of time in over the past month.
That is a decent amount of time but not a huge amount of time. Many people put in three months like that. I think that in two weeks you could make a big difference.
I mostly focused on doing the practice problems and reviewing the answer explanations in the GMAT prep book put out by GMAC.
The explanations in that book are not geared toward getting you a high GMAT score. I suggest determining what types of questions you find most challenging and doing searches for questions of that type on Beat the GMAT. You will find that the ways the experts are handling questions are much better, MUCH better, than the explanations in the Official Guide.
Typically the only questions I get wrong in verbal portions of the practice tests I've taken over the years are sentence correction problems. I may have maxed out my abilities in that area.
To be clear, there is not really any maxing of abilities. With sufficient preparation you could get all of the SC questions right too. Is doing that worth your time? Probably not. Still, it's good to be clear about the reality of the situation.
I'm leaning towards the fact that it might be worth it to retake in just a couple weeks focusing on more quant studying between now and then to see if I can improve on that 42 at all. As both of you mentioned, there does not appear to be much down side in this strategy aside from the time commitment.
That sounds right, and if you prepare for quant in an effective way you are almost guaranteed a higher section score.

Generally the most effective way to increase a GMAT quant score is to deep dive into specific topics. The Official Guide gives you mixed questions. Doing them is helpful and at the same time not going to get the job done. You are better off looking over your practice tests and otherwise figuring out what types of quant questions you find most challenging. Then learn all about each type of question and do practice questions until you are expert in each area, one area at a time. For categorized GMAT quant questions, you could set up a practice account here. https://bellcurves.com. You can also do internet searches to find questions by category.

By getting better at say seven to ten categories, you could really boost your quant score. Who knows. Maybe you could get better at handling a dozen more. The advantage gained by working category by category is huge.

Here's a blog post I wrote on working that way. https://infinitemindprep.com/raising-you ... the-board/

Meanwhile, keep working on verbal some to maybe increase your score there or to at least maintain a high level.
In regards to retaking it, if the score is basically the same, is it better to cancel it or simply keep the second score?
I am not an admissions expert, but I am guessing there is not really any reason to report duplicate scores. Obviously, even 720 or a higher quant score seems to be worth reporting. In any case it's likely that if you prepare effectively this will be a moot point as your next score will be higher. Just be sure to be rested for and keep your cool during the next test. No sense being ready to rock it and then sabotaging your performance by not being in an optimal state.
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Tue Nov 03, 2015 5:46 am
In regards to retaking it, if the score is basically the same, is it better to cancel it or simply keep the second score?
No reason to over-think the question of when to cancel - schools only care about your top score. The one thing to bear in mind is that schools like to see balance, so a test in which you received a 700: Q47/V37, would be well worth keeping despite the lower composite score.

Keep us posted....
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by BuckyBadge » Fri Dec 18, 2015 5:09 am
Just wanted to give a quick update. I actually misspoke in my original post, my scores were a 44 Quant and a 42 Verbal. So that already makes my Quant look a bit better! But, as predicted, I barely had any time to do much of any studying between the last time I took the test and now. Thanks to all of your advice, I decided to retake anyways.

I did not end up improving my quant score at all, that stayed right at 44. On the other hand, I did raise my verbal score from a 42 to a 46. This resulted in a Q44/V46 and a total of 730.

I'm very pleased with the 730 as that puts me right at or just a shade below the averages for all of the top schools. I'm disappointed in Quant as just a few more points would have made this score extremely impressive. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully my educational background/CPA/job experience will make up for my lower Quant score.

Again, thanks for all the advice!
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