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From 590 to the 700 Club (Q47/V40)

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From 590 to the 700 Club (Q47/V40)

by mbaover30 » Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:01 pm
So I took the GMAT earlier today and scored a 700. Though I'm glad I made it over the 700 hurdle, I'd still like to do a retake and gain an additional 30 or so points. Reading posts here on BTG allowed me to see that I was making two big mistakes in A) not reviewing enough and B) waiting too long to take practice exams.

I talk about my entire experience at https://mbaover30.com/2012/06/25/the-gmat-700-club/

At any rate, the study materials that I used included:

*OG Guide, Verbal Review and Quant Review
*GMAT Number Properties, Geometry, World Problems, Sentence Correction and Advanced Quant
*Powerscore CR Bible

I believe that I gave up about 20-30 points just in not being willing to let certain problems that were not going well go and move on. Big lesson that I hope to improve from by my retake.
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by Jim@StratusPrep » Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:25 pm
Congrats on the score... Awesome achievement. At this point quality applications are likely a better use of your time than more gmat studying...
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by mbaover30 » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:21 pm
I could not agree more Jim. That will absolutely be my focus.
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by muskamatt » Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:26 am
Wait so are you going to take it again or no? I am in the exact same position and would love some additional feedback
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:01 am
mbaover30 wrote:I believe that I gave up about 20-30 points just in not being willing to let certain problems that were not going well go and move on. Big lesson that I hope to improve from by my retake.
Great observation. At some point your score depends less on your content knowledge and more on your test-taking skills (including mental endurance!). Practice tests are the only way to improve those test-taking skills.

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by lunarpower » Sun Jul 08, 2012 7:05 pm
mbaover30 wrote:I could not agree more Jim. That will absolutely be my focus.
i believe that jim is trying to find a very nice, diplomatic way to say "don't take the test again", or at least "consider not taking it again". (jim, correct me if i'm wrong.)

business schools are looking to admit future business managers -- for whom the ability to prioritize is arguably the single most important skill. so, whether you should retake the exam depends on what that decision would reveal about your sense of priorities.
* if the rest of your application is totally in order -- if you have a substantial history of leadership, strong recommendations, and so on -- then there's no problem with retaking the exam, even several times. in that case, the decision makes sense: if that's the weakest part of your profile, then, by all means, keep working at it.
* on the other hand, if you don't have much going on in regard to the things that matter most on your application -- leadership, recommendations, experience, etc., the things that all matter more than the gmat does -- then do not retake the exam. under these circumstances, a decision to retake would broadcast, loud and clear, "i don't know how to set priorities properly."
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by mbaover30 » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:56 pm
Thanks Lunar,

Great points and I really appreciate all of the valuable time that you have invested into the several responses made to my two posts.

From the standpoint of proven leadership, community impact and work experience I would rate my app as very, very strong. A lot of this has to do with the fact that I am simpler older than 95%-99% of applicants (34); however, I have displayed leadership and community impact very consistently over the 12 years that i have been out of college, rather than sporadically or just in the year or two before applying. At the same time, adcoms expect more from older applicants in these categories (and rightly so), so I see these attributes putting me at parity with other strong applicants rather than being overwhelming differentiators.

So based on that, I *may* have the bandwidth for another GMAT; though as a priority it will be #3 behind (1) Essays and (1.5) Recommendations. I will ONLY take the GMAT if:

A) I can do so without sacrificing the quality assurance of either of the above
B) Practice tests taken around August/September show that I have a high probability of at least a 30 point jump.

If both A AND B are met, then I will definitely retake the test. If only A OR B (or neither) or met, then I will definitely NOT take the test. So technically, I have about a 1/3 chance of a retake. I'll see how things go.
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by mbaover30 » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:10 pm
[quote="lunarpower"]if that's the weakest part of your profile, then, by all means, keep working at it[/quote]

Yes, the GMAT is the weakest data point in my profile at the current time (well, my GPA is probably the weakest, but it is within range and I can do nothing to change at this point), which is why it's bothering me (that and I just don't feel that its even close to my best effort now that I can see some blatant flaws in my prep). As a non traditional applicant I don't want to have ANY weak points that will make it an easy choice to throw my app into a ding pile. If I get dinged after submitted my BEST app, then so be it; but I feel strongly that a 700 GMAT is not my best. And I do have just a tad bit of latitude to entertain the idea of a retake based on the circumstances highlighted above. I also feel like a GMAT toward the upper end of the 80% range will balance out my undergrad GPA, which is toward the lower 1/3 of the 80% range at most top 10 schools (though it was in a hard, quanty-heavy major...which counts for something).
Last edited by mbaover30 on Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by lunarpower » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:20 pm
sounds like you have your head on straight. good luck.
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by AbhiJ » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:56 pm
lunarpower wrote: * on the other hand, if you don't have much going on in regard to the things that matter most on your application -- leadership, recommendations, experience, etc., the things that all matter more than the gmat does -- then do not retake the exam. under these circumstances, a decision to retake would broadcast, loud and clear, "i don't know how to set priorities properly."
Can all the other aspects - leadership, experience be improved substantially in a short period of time. If one has the other aspects in place then even a lower GMAT score would suffice. On the other hand if one has less to show on leadership etc, then the GMAT score is the only variable. End of August, can be the deadline for the GMAT, unless one is applying to HBS. Two months should suffice for essays. GMAT score cannot ensure entry into Top 10 schools. However they may be important for 10-20. Currently I am scoring like 680-690 and looking to push it to 730.
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by lunarpower » Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:06 am
AbhiJ wrote:Can all the other aspects - leadership, experience be improved substantially in a short period of time.
many people on this forum study for the gmat for months on end; that's definitely enough time to make a tangible impact on those variables.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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