GMAT Strategy

I took the GMAT on 14th Oct, and scored a 700 (Q48,V37). While I'm glad there's a '7' there, I really wish my score was better, especially verbal, since I scored up to 42 in my practice tests.

Should I retake? If I do, I'll probably do so around the last week of November. What should I do to improve?

mriiidula wrote:I took the GMAT on 14th Oct, and scored a 700 (Q48,V37). While I'm glad there's a '7' there, I really wish my score was better, especially verbal, since I scored up to 42 in my practice tests.

Should I retake? If I do, I'll probably do so around the last week of November. What should I do to improve?

First Order : Congratulations for that '7' in the score.
Second: This is my suggestion

If u are 99% confident of a score of 740 and plus go for the retake!
otherwise work on ur application!

1. You earned a good score. Congrats! Enjoy it.

2. You (based on your previuos post that I read) scored above your testing range. I'm skeptical of scores on GMAT prep when it's a retake. I think people tend to see problems they've already seen and that this inflates scores (saves time on the exams. (Note: I think taking the GMAT prep tests multiple times to get more exposure to advanced problems you have haven't seen before is a great idea. I just don't think the scores are always accurate.) You're highest score on a non-retake was 690. You scored a 700. That's a really good exam-day performance. A lot of people get nervous on exam day and score worse than their practice exams. You saved your best performance (so far) for the actual exam.

3. I don't know anything about you, but I would assume you do have the potential to score a 740. Questions to ask yourself: You seem to currently be at the 700 level; do you want to put in the work required to score a 740+? Is the time and commitment needed to do that better used on raising your score than on something else? Do you think potentially increasing your score truly strengthens your candidacy? Are you doing this more because YOU want to prove to yourself that you can get a better score or because it will help you get into the school of your choice? There are no right or wrong answers. These are just questions that you might want to ask yourself an answer honestly.

4. No one on this board can tell honestly tell you how to improve based on this post. If you decide you want to take the exam again, the best course of action (in my opinion) would be to go through practice problems and exams that you've completed. Identify the types of questions/problems that cause you troubles. From there, you can use this board to help you improve on those specific areas. I'm a huge fan of doing problems from the OG books and keeping track of how long it takes to complete each problem. If I get a problem right... but it took me two and a half minutes to answer it... then I want to know why it took me so long and how I can view the problem/concepts in a way that will help me find the correct answer faster.

Congrats! And good luck with applications (and if you choose to retake, good luck with your exam!)

Why do you need a 740 ? What are your target schools?

For improving your score to 750 would suggest raising Q to 50 and verbal to 40. How to do that - find areas that are weakest and iron them out.

Thanks a lot for the responses guys, really appreciate it

Riprop: That was a very informative post, thank you. I myself do feel I can score higher, especially since I was only halfway through the OG before it was time for my test. Maybe given another month things may improve. I'm not booking a test date until I practice and score above 750 on a practice test at least twice.

Riprop wrote: 4. No one on this board can tell honestly tell you how to improve based on this post. If you decide you want to take the exam again, the best course of action (in my opinion) would be to go through practice problems and exams that you've completed. Identify the types of questions/problems that cause you troubles. From there, you can use this board to help you improve on those specific areas. I'm a huge fan of doing problems from the OG books and keeping track of how long it takes to complete each problem. If I get a problem right... but it took me two and a half minutes to answer it... then I want to know why it took me so long and how I can view the problem/concepts in a way that will help me find the correct answer faster.

I've never had a problem with timing. I did OG questions untimed, although I knew that I was within 2 minutes for quant and within 1.5 mins for verbal. I timed certain sets of questions and found that I averaged around 45 seconds per SC question, which was fantastic since it gave me more time for RC. I always used to finish the practice tests around 15-20 mins early in each section.
But the real test wasn't like that for me. I hurried with the last 6 questions in both sections, finishing with just maybe a minute left on the clock. It's unnerving really, which is why I think I was so thrilled for that 700.

AbhiJ wrote:Why do you need a 740 ? What are your target schools?

For improving your score to 750 would suggest raising Q to 50 and verbal to 40. How to do that - find areas that are weakest and iron them out.

I never said I did I just wanted to score better. And you're right, although I thought quant was absolutely awful. Guess the ones I got wrong were the experimental questions

i'm in the same boat as mriiidula .. took the gmat on 12october and scored 700 (Q48 V38) ..
i'm planning on retaking the gmat in novermber .. but i'm really really disoriented and confused .. i dont know how to start my prep and where to start from..

i know i am weak in advanced Number properties DS questions as well as advanced Statistics DS questions ..also Verbal overall needs improvement ... anyone who has scored in the 700s and retaken gmat ?
please help

Hi Mriidula,

Congratulations for such a good score. Yes that '7' factor is always encouraging for the aspirants.
Coming on to your retake query, we would advise you to re-think on it as you are the only person who can do the justice with this question.

If you are confident enough to score above the present score and if you can do preparation for one more year than nothing could be better than this

Hope you will be able to solve this problem soon. Feel free for any further assistance

mriiidula wrote: I never said I did I just wanted to score better. And you're right, although I thought quant was absolutely awful. Guess the ones I got wrong were the experimental questions

mriiidula/djabhi,
That doesn't seem right...You should always take the test with a target score in mind, as a means to enter your target college. Does your current score help you get there. Then stop. Do you need a higher score to ensure better chances for your college, and do you think you have the chops to get that score? Only then, retake. Retaking the GMAT simply because you feel you can score better works only when you want to work for GMAC, or become a GMAT trainer at ManhattanGMAT or something...

A 700 is really good score for many B-schools. By re-taking, it shows that you are focusing on the wrong things. At the top-schools, the GMAT opens the door, and your score is more than sufficient. The rest comes down to the quality of your application. Think about the alternate ending here. What IF your score drops (could be a bad day)? Schools can see ALL your scores so imagine what somebody is going to think if they see you had a 700 and re-wrote and then had a lower score?? It is bad enough that you re-wrote with a 700!

Cheers!

ha ha .. Welcome to the 700 retakers club.My retake is on 31st .

I take it for the first time on 11/04.

I'm confident I can score in the high 600s low 700s range, but it'll take a good day for me to score 750+ as I'd like. I'd probably retake if I don't have a good day.

Government reimburses me for my first take

This is really late, but thanks for the comments everyone. I decided not to retake in the end, since I'm applying to 6 schools - so many essays and applications to deal with apart from my final year at university. I can always retake later if I don't get in anywhere this time around, as I'm still a college senior.

Happy New Year!