Retake the GMAT after a bad score

[nicogmat92]

Hello Everybody,

I am Italian (so the GMAT is not in my native language) and I am trying the Gmat test to enter in a Business school.
I have a good english knowledge and I am very motivated to get a result > 650.
I did a test in December, this is my story...

I started to prepare my Gmat test in October, when I was in New York, and where I did the Princeton Review Course for a month, twice a week.
Also I have this staff:

Books
GMAT Review OG 2015
Kaplan official book
PrincetonReview books

Software/Online-based material
GMATPrep Default Exam Pack
PrincetonReview software
Kaplan Software

I'm posting the scores from Princeton, Kaplan and CAT below:

Kaplan 1 (CAt1) 440(39-11) 6th october
Kaplan 2 540(44-17) 12th october
Kaplan 3 580(39-33) 16th october
Kaplan 4 560(46-19) 27th october
Princeton 1 560(40-27) 3rd november
Princeton 2 530 (43-20) 11th november
GmatDefault 1 540(41-23) 15th december
Princeton 3 550(38-27) 1st december
Princeton 4 570(39-29) 3rd december
Princeton 5 520(43-19) 4th december
GmatDefaul2 530(44-20) 6th december
Princeton 7 630 finally broke the six-hundred wall
Princeton 6 570(37-32) 16th december
GmatDefaul1 (retake) 610(44-30) 17th december

And then 4 days before the test (23rd december), my last two tests:
Princeton 8 460(32-22) 19th december
Princeton 9 470(32-23) 20th december

The day of the test, I thought to be ready, I did a very good essay, I got 4 in IR, I did a good math, and I thought a good Verbal.
Final Score?...530...
I was very upset, I know that I am not the best in Verbal, but that day everything was clear

I did this test the 23rd of December, and now I am planning to retake it the 29th of December.
As you can see, I am not the best, but I am not bad in math, but I can not do a good Verbal part, and also my scores are not scaling big!
What do you suggest?
I have a lot of problems with the verbal part, I started to read books in English and watching movies, but of course, this is not enough.
I saw this software:
EMPOWERgmat online course
I am going to do the free trial day.

I really need help to create a Studying plan for January and some advices with the Verbal part.
(I have January free, so I can study all the day, if it i necessary)
Best regards to everybody and thank you for your answers.

[[email protected]]

Hi nicogmat92,

The information that you've provided is really helpful - there are a couple of things that stand out that help to explain why you have not hit your goal score yet.

1) Your Scaled Scores for the Quant and Verbal section "swing" too much, which means that you're not approaching this Test in a consistent way. In the Verbal section, you're "narrowing it down and guessing" too often; in the Quant section, you're probably losing points on DS questions and little mistakes.

2) You took too many CATs in December. Practice CATs do NOT make people into better Test Takers. Taking a FULL-length CAT, under 'test-like' conditions, will give you a reasonable estimate of how you might score on Test Day and point out your weaknesses. Real improvement comes from review, doing practice problems, drilling in concepts, learning to spot patterns, etc. Under normal conditions, I recommend that you take no more than 1 CAT/week.

Considering how you were scoring during that last month, your Official GMAT score makes sense. To hit your goal score, you'll need to improve in BOTH the Quant and the Verbal sections. To that end, I have a few questions:

1) Did you take the GMAT in December because you were on a deadline?
2) Are you planning to retake the GMAT on JANUARY 29th?
3) Can you push that Test Date back?

4) What Business Schools are you planning to apply to? And when?

Thankfully, Business Schools don't care if you take the GMAT more than once. Also, since the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Exam, you CAN train to CRUSH it, you just haven't gotten to that level yet. I think that you're going to need more time to study than you've given yourself before January 29th. You need to remove all of the 'bad habits' you've developed during your original studies and replace them with better tactics and precision - that process takes time.

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

[nicogmat92]

Hey Rich,
Thank you for your answer.

I took the test in December because I would like to be one of the first to enroll in the Esade MSc program, not having a very good bachelor degree.
Yes I would say the 29th of January because I have to work in February and I do not have a lot of time, and also for the reason above of the importance of the enrollment time.

What do you suggest to remove "bad habits" and to improve both in math and in Verbal, especially in Verbal? What do I need to study and how?
Would be useful buy the EMPOWERgmat online course?

I would like more than 650, so I have to improve a lot my verbal.

Thank You for your answer.
Nico

[[email protected]]

Hi Nico,

You did not mention it in your prior post, but what were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores when you scored 530?

I also have a few more questions about how you studied:

1) When you took your practice CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) What time of day did you take your CATs and what time of day did you take the GMAT?

3) How did you sleep the night before your GMAT?
4) How long is the ride to the Testing Center?

Have you done any studying so far in January? If so, then what have you been working on and what materials have you been using?

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

[nicogmat92]

Hi Nico,

You did not mention it in your prior post, but what were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores when you scored 530?

I also have a few more questions about how you studied:

1) When you took your practice CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) What time of day did you take your CATs and what time of day did you take the GMAT?

3) How did you sleep the night before your GMAT?
4) How long is the ride to the Testing Center?

Have you done any studying so far in January? If so, then what have you been working on and what materials have you been using?

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

Hey Rich,
I can not remember very well, but I think was 44-22.

Yes when I do a Cat, I usually do all the test.
I did the test in the same period of the day in which I used to do Cats.

I slept well, I am not a person scared by exams, but I can remember that my test was in the afternoon, and in the morning I studied a bit (watched my error notebook, and the formulas)
Was 20 minute ride, But the 29th is going to be a little bit more, because I changed the exam place.

I am studying all the day in January, 7-8 hours per day, I bought your course (EmpowerGmat). It is very useful, I just finished the Stage 1, and in the first Cat I got a 590 (44-27).

If you have any type of advices, they are going to be very useful!!!
Thank you again.

Nico

[[email protected]]

Hi Nico,

After taking a CAT, it's really important to do a full review of that CAT. Most Test Takers get questions wrong for just a handful of different reasons, so it's important to figure out WHY you're getting questions wrong. How many times was it because of a silly/little mistake? How many times was it because the question was too hard? How often was it because you didn't know a particular rule/concept? Focus on fixing the silly/little mistakes first (they're usually the most frequent cause of wrong answers) and you'd be amazed at how quickly your score can increase.

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