Retake Advice

[nandinitaneja]

Hello all,

I took the GMAT today and scored a 690 (Q45, V39). Leading up to the test, my last 3 GMAT Prep CAT scores had been between 710 and 730, with my verbal consistently around 41-42. Unfortunately, it didn't play out that way on test day. Since I am looking at applying to programs where the average score is 715+, I assume that it is recommended that I retake the test, but any inputs on this would very helpful.

I had taken some time off from work to prep for the test, but will be going back to work beginning next week. My areas of improvement coming off my experience today seem to be stress and pacing specifically during the quant section (Quant had been my weakness leading up to the test) and from the score, likely some of it spilled over to the Verbal. During the test I did feel like the Verbal went well, and I am wondering if there is any way (score report with a breakdown etc.) that I can look into what went wrong here during the test.

Given this, what would the best strategy to prepare for a higher score in my next attempt?

Thanks!

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Hi nandinitaneja,

First off, a 690/Q45 is great score (it's just shy of the 90th percentile), so you've done well. Barring a few select programs, this score would not keep you out of a Business School. Remember that the application process is 6 or 7 pieces (sometimes there's an interview, sometimes there's not) and the GMAT is just 1 of those pieces.

It's also worth noting that GMAT gives you a score that is within +-29 points of actual ability, so your 690 is in line with your practice scores. GMAC does not offer you the opportunity to review questions, but your slight drop in score is likely due to a few little mistakes that you made along the way.

Before you choose whether or not to retest, you might consider speaking with an Admissions Expert (there's a Forum full of them on this site). Talk through the schools that you're planning to apply to, as well as the other aspects of your profile/application, and you should have a better sense of your "standing."

If you do end up retesting, you'll need to provide some more info on what you've done so far:
1) How long have you studied?
2) What resources did you use?
3) When you took CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR)?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[nandinitaneja]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your reply and insight, I did speak with an Admissions Counselor, and she recommended that I do try to retake and get closer to the average score for the programs I am considering. She is aware of all the pieces of my profile, and feels that my GMAT score will support my app much better at the average point.

I understand that my range was 690 - 730, but given the consistent upward trend in my practice tests I was hoping I would end up with a score on the higher side of my range, and given that that did not happen, am looking for suggestions or prep strategies that will reduce the odds of a disappointing score on the retake. In addition, I am more disappointed with my Verbal score (39) since I had been scoring in the 40-44 range in the last 4 practice CAT's I took. To give you a better sense of my prep going into the exam this time around, I studied for about 2.5 months, and for 1.5 months I took time off from work to focus solely on studying (but studied for an average of 6 hours a day).

I started my prep reviewing the MGMAT Quant books, and worked through the OG 12 and 13 alongside to practice concepts. I also took one-on-one tutoring with Princeton Review, primarily focused on Quant and worked through some materials and handouts from class. I supplemented these with Exam Pack 1 and the PrepPack questions, and for verbal I largely focused on reviewing SC using the MGMAT Guide and handouts from Princeton. I was not having any issues with RC and CR so I didn't address either of those sections of the verbal and mainly practiced them only during the full length CAT's I took with no dip in scores in either of these sections. I however have no way of knowing if this held true during my actual test.

I took 6 full CAT's prior to the test, (4 GMAT PREP, 1 retake from GMAT PREP and 1 Princeton Review), completing the entire CAT each time after the first (Essay and IR included).

Any advice on how to prep for a retest given this context would be very much appreciated, and thank you so much for your help Rich.

[[email protected]]

Hi nandinitaneja,

Can you list the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores from your CATs? That information will help me to give you some specific advice.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[nandinitaneja]

Sure Rich.

GMATPrep (retake) June 3rd: 690 - Q42 V41
GMATPrep July 2nd: 710 - Q45, V41
GMAT Prep July 13: 710 - Q48, V40
GMAT Prep July 18: 730 - Q47, V44

[[email protected]]

Hi nandinitaneja,

Your scores are all impressive (and they're all "in line" with your Official Score), so there's not going to be a "big fix" to your situation. At this scoring level, the little mistakes can have a big impact on your score. That's ultimately what happened on Test Day (especially in the Quant section) - you made a bunch of little mistakes and it cost you too many points.

With a Q42, the first Quant content area that you should work on is DS. The "quirky" part about a DS question is that you'll never know if you made a mistake; you'll just pick one of the wrong answers. Since you'll see so many DS questions (usually about 15 or so), it's a big category of potential points. It's not just about doing lots of DS questions though; HOW you're approaching these questions probably needs to adjustment.

With a V39, you don't have any weak spots in Verbal, but you're probably missing some SCs that are based on some rarer versions of grammar rules (and possibly some idiom rules) and some more layered CR and RC prompts. Reviewing your prior practice CATs should provide some insight into what little things you're missing on this side of the Test.

Since your studies were so "book heavy", you might consider adding some non-book resources to this next month (or so) of studies.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[nandinitaneja]

Thanks Rich! I think you're right on the non-book sources as good prep material for the retake. I discovered video explanations on https://www.gmatquantum.com 2 weeks before my test, and found them hugely helpful when I redid the OG Quant problems. Just wanted to point out that I scored a 45 on the Quant, not 42, not sure if that changes your advice on the DS, but I think that's likely a good place to start. During the test I did feel like I was more or less just guessing the final answer on the DS questions (after eliminating ~3 options), and can't say I felt hugely confident with most of my guesses.

I've been reading reviews of the Empower Prep Materials, and I think if I had a better sense of what questions to dump during the test, that would be hugely helpful in reducing my anxiety during the Quant, and improving my pacing in general. Will be trying the free demo this weekend

Really appreciate all your help and advice!

[[email protected]]

Hi nandinitaneja,

Test Takers who score in the low 40s in Quant typically need extra reps in DS, so I still think that you would benefit from it (I must have been looking back to your prior CAT scores when I typed Q42).

I think that you'll find the demo materials will give you some valuable perspective/tactics that you can use against all the various DS prompts you'll see on Test Day. If you have any questions about that material, then feel free to contact me directly.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[nandinitaneja]

Will do, thanks so much for your invaluable advice Rich!