What is the average score for ur 1st diagnostic test

This topic has expert replies
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:17 am
Hi all,

I'm about to start off with my preparations for the GMAT, have booked a date in sep 2nd week. My query is what is the average score for ur 1st diagnostic test without any preparations or say atleast 10% preparations?? I took the GMAT powerPrep test 1 and got a 490. Is that an average or a bad score??


Thanks,
Vid

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Site Admin
Posts: 6773
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 1249 times
Followed by:994 members
Vid wrote:Hi all,

I'm about to start off with my preparations for the GMAT, have booked a date in sep 2nd week. My query is what is the average score for ur 1st diagnostic test without any preparations or say atleast 10% preparations?? I took the GMAT powerPrep test 1 and got a 490. Is that an average or a bad score??


Thanks,
Vid
Performance for the first diagnostic is going to vary a lot--some people are naturally great test takers, others require a lot of preparation to achieve a top score.

What score are you ultimately aiming for, Vid?
Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:17 am
Hi Eric,

I am aiming for a score of 720+ and have another 6 weeks for my exam. The problem is I am working & i hardly get more than an hour or two to study everyday. Right now i going through the basics of Quants. I am not sure of the amount of preparation i require to go from a score of 490 to 720+..

Thanks,
Vid

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Site Admin
Posts: 6773
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 1249 times
Followed by:994 members
Vid wrote:Hi Eric,

I am aiming for a score of 720+ and have another 6 weeks for my exam. The problem is I am working & i hardly get more than an hour or two to study everyday. Right now i going through the basics of Quants. I am not sure of the amount of preparation i require to go from a score of 490 to 720+..

Thanks,
Vid
Hi Vid:

Given the fact that you have just a few weeks left to study, as well as constraints on your time that limit each study session--I think you are going to have a difficult time getting a 720+ score.

A 100-point improvement would be impressive with six weeks of study, but that would be well below your target. My advice is to:
  • Push out your test date two more months to provide more time for you to study
  • Consider enrolling in a reputable GMAT prep class.
I don't want to disillusion you, but you do have an uphill battle to get a 700+ score in your current time frame. Be sure to take a lot of practice tests. If your scores keep increasing with each subsequent test, then maybe you are on the right track to perform well on the GMAT.

Best of luck!
Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:17 am
Eric,

If i want a score of 700+ and do take the exam 6 weeks from now, how many hours per day would i need to prepare??

I have to brush up on my quants a lot coz on verbal i am pretty decent. I have a score of 290 in my TOEFL CBT, which i took in june. So basically i need to ramp up on my quants & in verbal i need to develop the patience to do the RC's.

What would u suggest??

Thanks a lot for your input.

Best,
Vid

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 3:08 pm
Location: Spain
Thanked: 1 times

by dblazquez » Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:53 am
Vid,

TOEFL has nothing in common with GMAT. Maybe you have RC in both, but the TOEFL ones are literally piece of cake compared with the GMAT ones. I took TOEFL a couple of months ago with one week of study and scored 107 iBT with 29 out 30 in RC, but the GMAT is at other level :) have in mind that TOEFL is written with foreigners in mind, while GMAT is aimed to graduated, native speakers :)

But everything is possible!! make an schedule, totally cut your social life, and start with OG... try to do at least one test every 4 or 5 days and check out whether your goal is reachable!

Concerning the first score.... dont pay much attention. The second test will be way more accurate.

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Site Admin
Posts: 6773
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 1249 times
Followed by:994 members
Vid wrote:Eric,

If i want a score of 700+ and do take the exam 6 weeks from now, how many hours per day would i need to prepare??

I have to brush up on my quants a lot coz on verbal i am pretty decent. I have a score of 290 in my TOEFL CBT, which i took in june. So basically i need to ramp up on my quants & in verbal i need to develop the patience to do the RC's.

What would u suggest??

Thanks a lot for your input.

Best,
Vid
It's not about the number of hours per day. It really is all about the quality of your study. Take some time to really think about a study strategy. If you have only one hour per day, write an outline of how you will use that time--practice questions, reviewing explanations, reading chapters for the textbook, etc.

Check out my blog for details on how I created my own study strategy: https://beatthegmat.blocked

Like Daniel said, anything is possible. But also be realistic--you have a lot to improve over a short time.

Best of luck!
Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school

User avatar
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 6:51 am

by radhika88 » Sun Feb 22, 2015 2:53 am
Hi Sorin,

I wanted to check out the blog but it says access denied. Any chance I could have a look at this?

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 321
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:04 pm
Location: B 7/2, Okhla Phase-II, New Delhi - 110020
Thanked: 41 times
Followed by:13 members

by manyaabroadtpr » Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:27 pm
radhika88 wrote:Hi Sorin,

I wanted to check out the blog but it says access denied. Any chance I could have a look at this?
Hi Radhika,

You can access our blog on "5 Best Practices and Tips to Improve GMAT Verbal Score" on the link below.It will be helpful.

https://blog.manyagroup.com/detail.html?authorid=62

Good Luck