710 (Q50, V35) How many questions did I miss?

[Guest]

I got 710 (92%) on my first attempt, with no prep courses. My Q is 50 (94%) and my V was 35 (74%).

- Is it possible to know how many questions I missed?
- What would my score be if I had gotten say another 5 questions correct?

I plan to take it again because my score is not balanced and verbal is below 80%. What can/should I do to improve my score to 99% overall?

[Guest]

Just learned that I got 6.0 on AWA. I wish I hadn't relaxed on verbal. RC and CR was too tough for me. How can I improve my score to 780-800 level? Any suggestions?

[StaceyKoprince]

Great job! Especially with no prep!

- Is it possible to know how many questions I missed?
- What would my score be if I had gotten say another 5 questions correct?

It's not possible to know that. The test is not scored based upon the percentage that you get right, as our paper-based tests in school were. Most people get similar percentages correct and incorrect. The test is scored based upon a complex algorithm in which the single biggest factor is the difficulty levels of the questions you answer correctly vs. incorrectly. So it's not about getting a certain number of additional questions right in order to achieve a certain score.

Awesome on the AWA, too.

Why do you feel you need a 780+? It is EXTREMELY challenging to score 780+. Fewer than 1% of all test takers score that well. No school requires a score at that level and the GMAT score is generally considered a "gate-keeper" - that is, a lower score can keep you out, but an extremely high score will not get you in. Once you hit a certain threshold, then the schools typically just put a check mark in the "GMAT" column and move on to the rest of your application. Unless you have a very specific situation (eg, a scholarship that specifically requires a 99th percentile GMAT score - though not many do), then you may want to spend some of your time working on other aspects of your application.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't take the GMAT again, though. The one thing you may be concerned about is the 74th percentile on your verbal score. Some of the very top schools want to see at least the 80th percentile for both of the quant and verbal subscores, so you should check with the schools to which you plan to apply and see if they require that. If you do decide to take it again to raise the verbal score, you can probably get away with studying on your own (based on your starting score - though if you think you'll struggle with procrastination, etc, then you may want to set up a study group with friends or sign up for a class to keep you on schedule). You'll need to identify some resources to give you strategies for all three question types and the grammar rules for SC (this stuff will typically come from a test prep company) and some resources that give you practice questions (here, you'd want to use all of the official material that you can - the three latest Official Guide books, the GMATPrep practice tests, and GMAT Focus). Then, it's a matter of setting up a plan and sticking to it!

[Guest]

Thank you, Stacey.

The one thing you may be concerned about is the 74th percentile on your verbal score. Some of the very top schools want to see at least the 80th percentile for both of the quant and verbal subscores,

Yes, that is the reason why I have to retake the test.

You'll need to identify some resources to give you strategies for all three question types and the grammar rules for SC (this stuff will typically come from a test prep company)

I have MGMAT books (bought in 2003). Do you use different materials in your MGMAT classes?

and some resources that give you practice questions (here, you'd want to use all of the official material that you can - the three latest Official Guide books, the GMATPrep practice tests, and GMAT Focus).

Never heard GMAT Focus before. I need to google that.

One issue I had during my exam was that for about 10 questions, I ended up with 2 very close options (elimininated the other 3 with 100% certainty). And, to my surprise, I had more problems in RC and CR than SC. I don't know if any studying with cure that. We'll see.

[StaceyKoprince]

Re: the MGMAT books, the 2003 books are the first edition. We're actually up to the third edition now (first published last October). I think the third edition is definitely a lot better than the first edition - you can try going to a local bookstore and browsing the books to see what you think.

GMAT Focus is new - just launched last year. It's an official product, like OG or GMATPrep, and it's a diagnostic test containing retired official questions, just like the other official products. So far, they've only released GMAT Focus for quant, although it's my understanding that they're planning a verbal product as well.

I think you can do something about the "2 options left" scenario. Most of the time, you've narrowed it down to one very tempting wrong answer and the right answer (hopefully!). When studying verbal, make sure that you can articulate:
- specifically why each wrong answer is wrong
- which wrong answer is the most tempting and why
- how to recognize that the tempting wrong answer is still wrong anyway so you can eliminate it
- why someone might be tempted to eliminate the right answer

This can get very tricky, so literally try to say your explanations aloud - don't just think, "oh, yeah, I get that." Force yourself to say it and you'll see whether you really do understand it well enough to explain it in your own words.