I just Beat The GMAT!

I came back from the test centre, got 680(Q-49, V-34). Although my scores in VA in the Manhatten tests were better- 45 twice, 42, 38. GMAT Prepv2- 40, 36
Couple of comments on prep:
1. I have been studying primarily through OG 12, Manhatten Sentence correction, Official guide verbal workout
2. I have been preparing on and off from last 2-3 months. Some days I could devote 1-2 hrs and other days I could spend only less than an hour for prep. Weekends were better 4-6 hrs.
3. Gave first GMAT Prep 20 days back got 730 then gave Manhatten CATs- 740, 720,710, 770, 710 and 2 days before test, GMAT Prepv2- 700. Got demotivated after seeing the last score as I was looking forward to a score of >740 but still thought I can learn from the mistakes and can do better at test.
4. Test day reflections:
a) IR few questions were really time consuming and had to guess on last 2-3 questions, my timing was not great
b) QA- very similar to GMAT Prep, not calculation heavy, few probability but not very difficult. I had to guess on few questions where I couldn't solve with in less than 3 min.
c) VA- Not sure what went wrong here. One RC was really difficult , answers were hard to find. I really had a bad timing here. I was having 13-15 min left for around 15 questions and had to really move fast to finish test and definitely accuracy would have gone down.

May be I should have postponed taking the test when I got 700 in GMAT Prepv2 2 days before test but I had gone through few posts in which some people mentioned they got a much higher score in actual GMAT. I thought to test luck and probably it didn't favor me. A lesson that decision should have been based on only facts..

Just a brief background, I am an Indian with almost 8 years experience.

I am considering 2 options and need inputs on both:

1. I am thinking of applying with the current score to the Schools where I can expect admits and focus on my application.
2. Appear again in a month's time and give more CATs,learn from mistakes and try to do better than what i have done now. Target would be 740+

Does it make sense to appear again in a month's time and expect a 8-9 points improvement in VA in actual exam. I still think my preparation was better although I accept results don't reflect the same thing..

Hi kg - first off - congrats on the 680!! Although it's not the score you wanted, it's still a good score in the larger scheme of things. This test is HARD and you're in the range of high achievers.

The good news is that your quant score is strong - and that you could probably boost your score above 700 with more focus on the verbal. Given your background, a higher overall score will definitely help you if you're thinking about a top US full-time MBA.

However, we don't know exactly which programs you have in mind, and it's possible that many American schools may feel you'd be a better fit to an EMBA track, given how much work experience you have. The EMBA programs typically have wider ranges of test scores and GPA, so you *might* be OK with the current socre... it's really hard to say.

Of course, the adcoms look at far more than just the test score, but history tells us that Indian candidates stand out more easily with scores above this level.

You've already tested twice and you've essentially proved that you can handle the difficult coursework you'll find at bschool. Where you dedicate your energy now is up to you -- if you've already had trouble finding time to study on a daily basis, it's going to be even harder to do that plus work on essays - and everyone should be moving into essay-writing mode at this point. Applying in Rd 1 is important.

Not sure any of this is helpful in your making your decision!!! Much of this depends on which schools we're talking about, and the entirety of your profile. We see people with a 680 get into good bschools all time time, and we also see candidates with much higher scores be turned away. Lots of variables to consider but in general a higher score helps.

Let us know what you decide to do!!!
EssaySnark