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A bit of advice about IR - GMAT 760 (Q49, V44)

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A bit of advice about IR - GMAT 760 (Q49, V44)

by adi88 » Sun Jun 01, 2014 3:44 am
Hi all,

Firstly I must say this forum has been quite helpful in my run up to the GMAT. So thanks to one and all here.

So I finally took the GMAT today and got a score which I was somewhat pleased with on one hand but also quite disappointed on the other. I got a score of 760 - Q49 (81 percentile) and V44(98 percentile), and IR - 4 (37th percentile!).

As you can imagine, my cause of concern is two-fold:

1) A lopsided score with a poor quant score.

2) A shockingly disappointing IR score! Had never scored this low in the mocks.

I had taken the GMAT Prep and MGMAT tests. The 6 MGMAT scores were never great (in the range of 690 - 720). The GMAT Prep scores were as follows:
1st - 650 (before preparation) - Q41, V38, IR 7
2nd - 770 - Q50, V45, IR 8
Re-downloaded 1st - 770 - Q50, V44, IR 8
Re-downloaded 2nd - 770 - Q50, V45, IR 8.

Needless to say, my IR score of 4 has me wallowing in agony. I need some advice on whether I should retake the test to hopefully improve my IR score and maybe get a few extra points in Quant.

On a related note, the grand old question - any idea if an IR score can bring my application down. I am targeting the top 5 US schools hence the extra pressure.

Would greatly appreciate any inputs.

Thanks a lot!
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by informmefast » Sun Jun 01, 2014 7:05 am
Would be great if you could throw in some light on your preparation because 760 is a great score nevertheless !
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by [email protected] » Sun Jun 01, 2014 11:03 am
Hi adi88,

First off, a 760/Q49 is a fantastic performance. You can now comfortably apply to any US Business School. There is absolutely no reason to retake the GMAT.

I'll offer some additional perspective on the numbers:

1) While a Q49 might not look overly impressive, it is. Top Business Schools "want" you to score in the high 40s (or in those rare cases, 50-51), even though they don't really require it.

2) Your score isn't "lopsided"; it just looks that way because the percentiles vary significantly from section to section.

3) Most US Business Schools don't care about your IR score. During your practice, when you "retook" those CATs, you would have seen the same IR material, so you didn't get as much practice in that area as you thought you were getting. Scoring an IR4 means that you made a few silly mistakes on the multi-part questions; those questions are "all or nothing" - if you get any part of the question wrong, then you don't get the points for that question. Again, this score is unlikely to affect your application at all.

When do you plan on applying to school? Since the Top5 Schools are so competitive, you might consider investing the extra time and money in an Admissions Expert.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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by adi88 » Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:08 am
Thanks a lot Rich. :) Greatly appreciate it. Got my AWA score today, fortunately scored a 6 there so am somewhat more convinced now that perhaps I shouldn't retake after all.

I plan on applying this year for admissions in 2015. GMAT was quite literally the first step in the process for me. Need to get started on applications later this year.
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by adi88 » Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:23 am
Hello Informmefast. I assume you are a GMAT aspirant looking to take the exam in the near future. First and foremost good luck! I know it can be daunting process but once you are done with it, you will be glad to have put in the effort.

My preparation was quite sporadic I'm afraid given the nature of my job (with unpredictable hours and business trips). But I'll try to chip in my 2 cents for your reference.

Resources - I had used two sets of materials:
1) MGMAT books
2) OG (for the practice questions).

I think the above two are more than adequate for anyone aiming to score a 700+. The OG is good for practice (you won't find so many practice problems anywhere else). MGMAT books, in my case, gave me a good theoretical background which I believe should always be the first step. I divided my studying into two parts, the first few weeks of theoretical knowledge building followed by a few weeks of practice interspersed with mocks.

Mock tests: I got the MGMAT tests along with my Manhattan books. I don't know if others would agree but a word of caution here - MGMAT quant is much harder than the real thing. The verbal section is more or less similar. My MGMAT scores fell on a wide spectrum from 680 to 780 (but the majority being in the range of 690 to 720).

Exam day tips: One thing which always works to my disadvantage is my nerves. I know it for a fact that if only I had been able to keep my composure during the test, I would have scored better in quant. The GMAT questions are seldom tough. They are just a bit tricky at times. So I would assume people who can manage to stay focussed and keep their cool will avoid silly mistakes in the actual exam and will be rewarded (rightly so).

I would advice anyone preparing for the GMAT to space out their practice tests and not be fixated on he practice scores much (I used to make that mistake but I realise not that that wasn't very wise).

Good luck!
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by TARGETSET » Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:53 pm
congratulations for a score that I am craving for. All the very best for applications
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by Genie89 » Tue Jun 10, 2014 4:55 am
Hey,

I took my GMAT today. Got a 770, Q50 V44. But screwed up my IR too :( Got a 4!

Its crazy because I had got an 8 on all of the practice tests, was super confident about this one section.. :/

From the thread I understand it doesn't matter much, anything else you heard offline?

I plan to apply to HBS, Stan, Wharton in this round.

Thanks
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