BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

underwhelming 690 (Q43 V42)

Find out how Beat The GMAT members tackled GMAT test prep with positive results. Get tips on GMAT test prep materials, online courses, study tips, and more.
This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:28 am
Location: Singapore
GMAT Score:760

underwhelming 690 (Q43 V42)

by citystatekate » Sun Oct 03, 2010 12:59 am
Pacing on quant was good and horrible on verbal but I ended up with Q43 (65%) and V42 (95%). My first thought when the score popped up: <groan> WTF I HAVE TO RETAKE THIS <sigh> Where did I go wrong with quant?

My GMAT experience begins the night before. After a six-day workweek I had dinner and went to bed at 8 PM (I am a champion sleeper!). I got up at 6 AM with a stomach ache and lots of nerves. I went for a run to calm down and had a banana and yogurt for breakfast. I arrived at the test center as it was opening at 8:30 AM.

For the test itself, I was remarkably calm - no anxiety whatsoever. AWA was a breeze, and during the break I had a banana and water. Quant seemed fine, and my pacing was impeccable. There were a couple problems that I identified as hopeless and immediately skipped, but all in all I felt quite confident. My pacing on verbal was horrible because I've never needed a pacing strategy - I had two tricky RC passages that threw me off and had to rush through the last 8 questions.

I've taken each GMATPrep Test twice, all in the 700s (710, then 720, then 710 and 750. Quant ranged from 44 to 49, verbal from 41 to 46) and on G-day I feel great but end up with Q42 in the 65th percentile! What's up with that?

Test prep material:
OG 12 and MGMAT guides for Sentence Correction, Reading Comprehension, Number Properties, Geometry and Word Translations. I worked through the OG as part of BTG's 60-Day Program, and went through the OG again in chronological order. I'm not sure what I should do differently when I prepare to retake. Any ideas?
Last edited by citystatekate on Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
Top
Source: — I just Beat The GMAT! |
User avatar
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:17 pm

by dart2gmat » Sun Oct 03, 2010 1:54 am
Hi,

Congrats!..690 is a decent score..but the problem is almost
all the top B schools require a average quant and verbal score
..(both)...unfortunately,ur verbal is above average and your
quant isnt..(the average that they look for is 80%)..so you might
just have to retake..not to better 690..but you have a stronger
reason..to better you subsection score..but I dont think you will
need much of a time or effort..just a bit on quant practise and you
will be good to go for a upper 700 hit and a massive score in a
month's time..may be you will miss your R1 deadlines..but thats ok..
with a consistent verbal,a 49-50 in quant can catapult your score
to an awesome high!!

ADB!

Regds,
dart2gmat
Top
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:25 pm
Thanked: 6 times
Followed by:1 members

by ashokkadam » Sun Oct 03, 2010 1:59 am
Great score!
Just make a wise decision if you have decided to retake.
citystatekate wrote:Pacing on quant was good and horrible on verbal but I ended up with Q43 (69%) and V42 (95%). My first thought when the score popped up: <groan> WTF I HAVE TO RETAKE THIS <sigh> Where did I go wrong with quant?

My GMAT experience begins the night before. After a six-day workweek I had dinner and went to bed at 8 PM (I am a champion sleeper!). I got up at 6 AM with a stomach ache and lots of nerves. I went for a run to calm down and had a banana and yogurt for breakfast. I arrived at the test center as it was opening at 8:30 AM.

For the test itself, I was remarkably calm - no anxiety whatsoever. AWA was a breeze, and during the break I had a banana and water. Quant seemed fine, and my pacing was impeccable. There were a couple problems that I identified as hopeless and immediately skipped, but all in all I felt quite confident. My pacing on verbal was horrible because I've never needed a pacing strategy - I had two tricky RC passages that threw me off and had to rush through the last 8 questions.

I've taken each GMATPrep Test twice, all in the 700s (710, then 720, then 710 and 750. Quant ranged from 44 to 49, verbal from 41 to 46) and on G-day I feel great but end up with Q42 in the 69th percentile! What's up with that?

Test prep material:
OG 12 and MGMAT guides for Sentence Correction, Reading Comprehension, Number Properties, Geometry and Word Translations. I worked through the OG as part of BTG's 60-Day Program, and went through the OG again in chronological order. I'm not sure what I should do differently when I prepare to retake. Any ideas?
Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
Top
User avatar
Moderator
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:20 am
Thanked: 5 times
Followed by:1 members

by ezhilkumarank » Sun Oct 03, 2010 7:27 am
citystatekate wrote:Pacing on quant was good and horrible on verbal but I ended up with Q43 (69%) and V42 (95%). My first thought when the score popped up: <groan> WTF I HAVE TO RETAKE THIS <sigh> Where did I go wrong with quant?

My GMAT experience begins the night before. After a six-day workweek I had dinner and went to bed at 8 PM (I am a champion sleeper!). I got up at 6 AM with a stomach ache and lots of nerves. I went for a run to calm down and had a banana and yogurt for breakfast. I arrived at the test center as it was opening at 8:30 AM.

For the test itself, I was remarkably calm - no anxiety whatsoever. AWA was a breeze, and during the break I had a banana and water. Quant seemed fine, and my pacing was impeccable. There were a couple problems that I identified as hopeless and immediately skipped, but all in all I felt quite confident. My pacing on verbal was horrible because I've never needed a pacing strategy - I had two tricky RC passages that threw me off and had to rush through the last 8 questions.

I've taken each GMATPrep Test twice, all in the 700s (710, then 720, then 710 and 750. Quant ranged from 44 to 49, verbal from 41 to 46) and on G-day I feel great but end up with Q42 in the 69th percentile! What's up with that?

Test prep material:
OG 12 and MGMAT guides for Sentence Correction, Reading Comprehension, Number Properties, Geometry and Word Translations. I worked through the OG as part of BTG's 60-Day Program, and went through the OG again in chronological order. I'm not sure what I should do differently when I prepare to retake. Any ideas?
Here is my take:

690 is a good score and you could convert it to a great one by package yourself well. As for the retake, I guess I would do it if I am seriously looking for at least 50 points jump.

Also yours Verbal and quants score is very balanced and based on what you have stated, there is a definite room for improvement. A concentrated burst of effort is probably required for you to move further into the 720-250+ group. Maybe you need to focus on pacing yourself in the Verbal section and practicing questions from the upper bins (harder, 700+ questions).

All the very best for your retake and keep us posted on your retake strategy and score once done.
"The will-to-do achieves the deed, when the mind that wills is strong indeed"
Top
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 265
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:45 pm
Thanked: 26 times
Followed by:2 members
GMAT Score:760

by mj78ind » Mon Oct 04, 2010 9:55 am
Hi congrats on the score!

Not long ago I was in a similar situation I had a 700, decided to retake and was well worth it. Do read my post (link in signature) to get some ideas specially for Quant.

Cheers
Call me 1 - (412) 897 6727 (US) or leave a msg on BTG for GMAT advise / questions.
If you like the solution, check out my debrief at and leave a comment:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/760-done-dea ... 66740.html
Top
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 114
Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:25 am
Location: Atlanta, GA
Thanked: 12 times
GMAT Score:700

by InkyBinky » Mon Oct 04, 2010 10:54 am
I had a similar experience a couple weeks ago. I scored 750/760 on GMAT Prep 2 (attempts 1 and 2) and was scoreing around 50 in quant and 42-44 verbal. But on the real thing I bombed the quant side and wound up with a 700 (44Q/42V). I was bummed that I fell short of my expectations, but I also realize that 700 is a good score and more than meets my needs for the part-time programs I'll be applying for. I think you should weigh the value of retaking. Unless you're really focused on attending a top 10, a retake wouldn't be necessary. Even if you do, 690 would probably serve you well.
Top
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 57
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:25 pm
Thanked: 5 times
GMAT Score:730

by 007.r.mason » Mon Oct 04, 2010 2:37 pm
I would say that you look at the positives and focus on Quant. You can use Grockit for practice and re do the materials again. Revising MGMAT books would also be a good idea.

You surely have the potential to score 740+ if you can lift up your score in quant!! Don't miss this as this may impact the school that you get admitted to.
Aim high!!
Achieve excellence!!
Top
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:41 pm
Thanked: 5 times

by gsbjake » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:50 pm
Congrats dude. 690 is a solid score, not underwhelming at all! It's now time to focus on hammering those application packages and interviews. I'm actually taking mine later this week and have been preparing with the similar stuff. I've been doing OG 12, MGMT guides for Sentence Correction and Reading Comprehension, and Benchmark GMAT prep. Definitely hoping to break 700 this time! Congrats again.
Top
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 748
Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 7:54 am
Thanked: 46 times
Followed by:3 members

by outreach » Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:51 pm
690 is a good score..but it depends on the college....u need to look into the colleges that u r going to apply along with there median score
that shd give u a fair idea about your chances
-------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
General blog
https://amarnaik.wordpress.com
MBA blog
https://amarrnaik.blocked/
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:28 am
Location: Singapore
GMAT Score:760

by citystatekate » Mon Nov 08, 2010 4:18 am
After talking to UVA Darden admissions folks about my score, they said that for a native English speaker they don't put much emphasis on verbal GMAT performance, so my stunning 95th percentile is not nearly as interesting/relevant as my 65th percentile quant performance. Such a low percentile demands I use my optional essay to defend my quant skills, and this is time the admissions readers could/should be spending identifying and delighting in my strengths.

My takeaway from this conversation: (1) for born and bred Americans, the composite GMAT score doesn't matter -- it's quant and only quant, and (2) if you have the time, retake. If a Q65% makes Darden hesitate, then I'm guessing it's a non-starter for the Harvards and Stanfords of the b-school spectrum.

And so, with a luxurious one-month break of hiding from my study materials and at the urging of my Asian supervisers who are only interested in writing recommendation letters for top 10 schools, I will begin the process of re-studying for the GMAT. Sigh...

As you may be able to tell, motivation is going to be a challenge :| Any suggestions?
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:28 am
Location: Singapore
GMAT Score:760

by citystatekate » Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:06 am
Hi y'all! A quick update - I've enrolled in Knewton's 13-session online course. I'm midway through and it's going pretty well. The dynamic stats help me track my progress in fine detail and that keeps me motivated. I think it's also helpful to have video as a cornerstone of my prep - it keeps me more engaged than re-reading my MGMAT books. And the 50-point improvement guarantee is an exciting motivator too - for me, that's a promise of a 740 or my money back! B-)

What I've noticed is I'm much stronger on CR than I originally thought (usually SC is my strongest suit), and RC is still a test of stamina. On the quant side of things, I am still not as strong as I want to be, but I've realized that one of my biggest vulnerabilities isn't specific concepts but reading comprehension - that is, I get questions wrong because I misunderstand what the question is asking.

This week I'm scheduled to take the first of six CATs, and I'm curious to see how that goes. I find it strange that my Knewton classes so far have not discussed a high-level pacing strategy for each section - I've only seen a tactical focus on solving each Q within 2 minutes...

I'm on target to take the GMAT by the end of the month, although my parents are pleading for me to fly back to the US for Christmas, which could potentially derail the momentum I'm building. Decisions, decisions.

Happy holidays,
Kate
Top
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 332
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 3:50 pm
Thanked: 41 times
Followed by:7 members
GMAT Score:720

by rishab1988 » Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:58 am
citystatekate wrote:Pacing on quant was good and horrible on verbal but I ended up with Q43 (65%) and V42 (95%). My first thought when the score popped up: <groan> WTF I HAVE TO RETAKE THIS <sigh> Where did I go wrong with quant?

My GMAT experience begins the night before. After a six-day workweek I had dinner and went to bed at 8 PM (I am a champion sleeper!). I got up at 6 AM with a stomach ache and lots of nerves. I went for a run to calm down and had a banana and yogurt for breakfast. I arrived at the test center as it was opening at 8:30 AM.

For the test itself, I was remarkably calm - no anxiety whatsoever. AWA was a breeze, and during the break I had a banana and water. Quant seemed fine, and my pacing was impeccable. There were a couple problems that I identified as hopeless and immediately skipped, but all in all I felt quite confident. My pacing on verbal was horrible because I've never needed a pacing strategy - I had two tricky RC passages that threw me off and had to rush through the last 8 questions.

I've taken each GMATPrep Test twice, all in the 700s (710, then 720, then 710 and 750. Quant ranged from 44 to 49, verbal from 41 to 46) and on G-day I feel great but end up with Q42 in the 65th percentile! What's up with that?

Test prep material:
OG 12 and MGMAT guides for Sentence Correction, Reading Comprehension, Number Properties, Geometry and Word Translations. I worked through the OG as part of BTG's 60-Day Program, and went through the OG again in chronological order. I'm not sure what I should do differently when I prepare to retake. Any ideas?

I think you did fine considering that scored 710-720 on GMATPrep.You might be knowing that as you retake the GMATPrep,its reliability goes down.The scores get inflated.

You are within 30 point SD.You could either have scored anywhere between 680-750!

Btw did you give MGMAT CATs also?
Top
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 332
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 3:50 pm
Thanked: 41 times
Followed by:7 members
GMAT Score:720

by rishab1988 » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:02 am
InkyBinky wrote:I had a similar experience a couple weeks ago. I scored 750/760 on GMAT Prep 2 (attempts 1 and 2) and was scoreing around 50 in quant and 42-44 verbal. But on the real thing I bombed the quant side and wound up with a 700 (44Q/42V). I was bummed that I fell short of my expectations, but I also realize that 700 is a good score and more than meets my needs for the part-time programs I'll be applying for. I think you should weigh the value of retaking. Unless you're really focused on attending a top 10, a retake wouldn't be necessary. Even if you do, 690 would probably serve you well.
For quant scores,I think even GMATPrep is not a good indicator for the real test is much more adaptive.It has unlimited questions at its disposal.The real indicator,according to me,is MGMAT CAT for quant.

As for verbal,the difficulty level in verbal is highly subjective,according to me.What might be easy for you,might be difficult for others.

You can also use GMATFocus for quant to get an idea of where you really stand in quant.
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:28 am
Location: Singapore
GMAT Score:760

by citystatekate » Fri Jan 07, 2011 2:01 am
Hi everyone,

I finished the Knewton program one week ago and today I made my second attempt at the GMAT and got a 760! YAY YAY YAY!

My debrief for that experience is here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/done-with-th ... tml#329351

Thanks for your words of encouragement along the way!
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1