Scored a 760, but very lopsided. Retake...?

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JoelCairo: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 3; Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:57 pm; Location: Cambridge, MA; Thanked: 1 times

by JoelCairo » Sat Jul 09, 2011 2:00 pm

So I took the GMAT yesterday, and scored better than I ever had on any practice tests (44Q and 51V, so a 760). Mostly I'm thrilled, but I'm a little nervous about that Quant score for the programs I'm targeting (top 20, a couple top 10s). I've heard about the apocryphal 80/80 percentile cut-off for top programs, so will a 66th %ile Quant kill me if I'm 99th %ile Verbal?

By way of background, I'm from a Humanities background, elite Liberal Arts undergrad (3.7 gpa 6 years ago), finishing a Masters in Political Economy (3.9 gpa). Classic "poet" profile. I've demonstrated a little bit of Quant chops, I got an A in a graduate-credit level stats class I took via Continuing Education at a very fancy local university last year, and was asked back to serve as a grader the semester after. So I have something to show on the quant front, but it's still pretty thin. Not sure if it can offset that Quant score in the eyes of a top 10 adcom.

The Math 44 frankly wasn't that abnormally low for me. I had a couple practice tests up in the 88th and 77th percentiles, but I also had some where I bombed out and ended up below the 50th. Needless to say, math is not my strength. The verbal, though, has never been a problem. I've consistently been scoring in the 99th percentile on all CATs since the diagnostic, so I have no doubt that I could boost my current overall score by retaking if I were to do more math studying.

I just wonder if I'm crazy to even consider retaking the test, and investing yet more time into the GMAT, rather than spending that time on the rest of my app. Opportunity costs, trade-offs etc etc.

Any advice?

Thx

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ryanweng88: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 3; Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 1:04 pm

by ryanweng88 » Sat Jul 09, 2011 3:05 pm

Congratulations~! 760 is a amazing score and that's the 99 percentile. Remember only 1 out of 100 test takers score more that 750. I really dont think you need to retake the exam anymore. I would focus more on the application if I were you.

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prodizy: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 188; Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2011 10:27 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 34 times; GMAT Score:700

by prodizy » Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:07 pm

If you are applying to a program that is quant intensive then take the exam again. You have scored a rare 51 in verbal. 51. You have demonstrated mastery in your area of expertise. That's awesome. Congrats.

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rohu27: Legendary Member; Posts: 586; Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 4:38 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 31 times; GMAT Score:730

by rohu27 » Sat Jul 09, 2011 11:30 pm

Congrats on the awesum V51.
Just wanted to knw as you took the the test yesterday, you must have had the integrated reasoning section too.
how long was it and at the section was at the end right? (just to reconfirm)

Have time? https://www.beatthegmat.com/730-q-50-v40 ... 88058.html

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MBACRACKER: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 32; Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 9:21 am; GMAT Score:560

by MBACRACKER » Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:17 am

V51 score is rare...simply fantabulous....how did you prepare for the verbal?

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mriiidula: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 83; Joined: Sat May 28, 2011 4:16 amFollowed by: 1 member; Location: England; Thanked: 3 times; GMAT Score:700

by mriiidula » Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:37 am

I don't think the integrated section is part of the GMAT just yet, it wont be added in until 2012.

Congrats on your score, especially verbal. IMO, its not necessary to retake, because I think your score is high enough to be competitive. I would focus on my essays/resume.

Follow my GMAT Journey here:
https://magicalmri.blocked

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rohu27: Legendary Member; Posts: 586; Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 4:38 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 31 times; GMAT Score:730

by rohu27 » Sun Jul 10, 2011 2:00 am

mriiidula wrote:I don't think the integrated section is part of the GMAT just yet, it wont be added in until 2012.

Congrats on your score, especially verbal. IMO, its not necessary to retake, because I think your score is high enough to be competitive. I would focus on my essays/resume.

hey,

i very well knw abt that. thanks anyways.
but all test takers who take their test between july 5tth and aug 9th are supposed to test out the new section -it wouldnt be scored obviously.

btw nice blog there

Have time? https://www.beatthegmat.com/730-q-50-v40 ... 88058.html

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mriiidula: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 83; Joined: Sat May 28, 2011 4:16 amFollowed by: 1 member; Location: England; Thanked: 3 times; GMAT Score:700

by mriiidula » Sun Jul 10, 2011 2:04 am

rohu27 wrote:
mriiidula wrote:I don't think the integrated section is part of the GMAT just yet, it wont be added in until 2012.

Congrats on your score, especially verbal. IMO, its not necessary to retake, because I think your score is high enough to be competitive. I would focus on my essays/resume.
hey,

i very well knw abt that. thanks anyways.
but all test takers who take their test between july 5tth and aug 9th are supposed to test out the new section -it wouldnt be scored obviously.

btw nice blog there

Oh I apologise, I didn't know that actually.
But that's interesting, Joel, how was it?

And thank you

Follow my GMAT Journey here:
https://magicalmri.blocked

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JoelCairo: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 3; Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:57 pm; Location: Cambridge, MA; Thanked: 1 times

by JoelCairo » Sun Jul 10, 2011 3:20 am

Thanks for the replies everyone.

As for the new integrated section, I did indeed do one of those afterwards. It was very different from the other sections, with two basic question types:

One was a big decision flow chart type of thing, with questions asking you to dig into it and answer some logic questions. ("If A, then B, C or D?")

The second looked a bit like the reading comprehension sections, except that instead of a block of three paragraphs of text, you saw a short text and then a couple of tabs you click on to reveal tables of data. The questions here were asking you to compare the data ("which of the rows has the following ratio between columns A and B?") Interestingly, that one required some calculation, but the software had a calculator for you to use.

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Dan@VinciaPrep: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 384; Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:54 amFollowed by: 13 members; Location: Paris; Thanked: 92 times

by Dan@VinciaPrep » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:39 am

Hello!
Congrats on the sweet score!

As for your question- maybe you should ask someone in admissions at the schools you're applying to. It's worth a shot. With that said, only take the GMAT if you're going to make a significant increase to you Math score, at least a 47 I would say. While admissions officers often say they only look at the highest score I've known some officers to pay more attention to the "story" that your GMAT exams tell.

If my post helped you- let me know by pushing the thanks button

I'm a private tutor in Paris, I provide online and in person consulting for the GMAT and MBA application essays.
GMAT tutor paris
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Frankenstein: Legendary Member; Posts: 1448; Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 9:55 amFollowed by: 53 members; Location: India; Thanked: 375 times

by Frankenstein » Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:53 am

Hey Joel,
Congrats on your awesome score. Verbal score is insane

Any tips on Verbal section would be appreciated. I would just echo what the above expert has posted. Retake it only if you are sure you can reach at least 47 in Quant.

Good luck!

Cheers!

Things are not what they appear to be... nor are they otherwise

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Vivek Murari: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 16; Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2011 8:06 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 1 times

by Vivek Murari » Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:13 am

Congrats on the great score man....Verbal score is awesome...

It would be helpful if u can write about your preparations (and any tips) w.r.t. to the verbal section for all the preppies out here

Good Luck with the applications man...

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ikaplan: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 181; Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:06 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 17 times

by ikaplan » Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:16 am

I think you are crazy if you consider a retake.

760 is an awesome score!

"Commitment is more than just wishing for the right conditions. Commitment is working with what you have."

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kevincanspain: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 613; Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:17 amFollowed by: 64 members; Location: madrid; Thanked: 171 times; GMAT Score:790

by kevincanspain » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:00 am

Don't even think about retaking unless you are applying to a quant-heavy program and you are sure you can improve your score to at least a 47

Kevin Armstrong
GMAT Instructor
Gmatclasses
Madrid

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tanviet: Legendary Member; Posts: 1404; Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 6:55 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 18 times

by tanviet » Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:15 am

JoelCairo wrote:So I took the GMAT yesterday, and scored better than I ever had on any practice tests (44Q and 51V, so a 760). Mostly I'm thrilled, but I'm a little nervous about that Quant score for the programs I'm targeting (top 20, a couple top 10s). I've heard about the apocryphal 80/80 percentile cut-off for top programs, so will a 66th %ile Quant kill me if I'm 99th %ile Verbal?

By way of background, I'm from a Humanities background, elite Liberal Arts undergrad (3.7 gpa 6 years ago), finishing a Masters in Political Economy (3.9 gpa). Classic "poet" profile. I've demonstrated a little bit of Quant chops, I got an A in a graduate-credit level stats class I took via Continuing Education at a very fancy local university last year, and was asked back to serve as a grader the semester after. So I have something to show on the quant front, but it's still pretty thin. Not sure if it can offset that Quant score in the eyes of a top 10 adcom.

The Math 44 frankly wasn't that abnormally low for me. I had a couple practice tests up in the 88th and 77th percentiles, but I also had some where I bombed out and ended up below the 50th. Needless to say, math is not my strength. The verbal, though, has never been a problem. I've consistently been scoring in the 99th percentile on all CATs since the diagnostic, so I have no doubt that I could boost my current overall score by retaking if I were to do more math studying.

I just wonder if I'm crazy to even consider retaking the test, and investing yet more time into the GMAT, rather than spending that time on the rest of my app. Opportunity costs, trade-offs etc etc.

Any advice?

Thx

Thank you for your post. I am good at math but very weak at verbal. Moreover, I am a non native. I wish to ask you somthing which is important to my preparation.
I want to know what you read, what subjects you study in your undergraduate program. Could you describe the subjects taugh in your undergraduate program.
For example, you study literature so what fiction books required which you read.

the purpose is that I want to read the topic and text similar to what you study . Many person in the gmatclub forum recommend me to read fiction books and I see very effective doing so. Now I can read 2 or 3 passges on the test days. Before I can not read a passage.

besides litrature, what more do you study? Do you study government policy, class in the society or economics. Please, list the all the subjects you study, and discribe briefly the subjects. my bacground is in mechanical engineering and so I do not know about humanity.

I think you get what I want to know. I need to read a lot. And I do not know what I should read. ok, Please, list the subjects and description of the subjects.

Thank a lot.

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