GMAT 23rd June, Sufficient Improvement?

[nikhilkapur1984]

Hi

I am a GMAT re-applicant (3rd time actually) who has been preparing for the GMAT on-off for about 3 years. The following post (Tome??) requires a little background which I have tried to structure in a manner befitting a future B School applicant

The Past

I took the GMAT in November 2009, had a terrible pre-test experience which I believe screwed up my score - ( 640, Q42 62%,V38 83%), immediately retook it and got a 680 - (Q44 69%,V40 89%) in December 2009.

I wasn't aware of the importance of the Quant/Verbal score split before and as I was getting consistent scores above 700 in practice CATs such as GMATprep and Powerprep, I wasnt really worried. I got some 740s and 760s before the actual GMAT exams. In hindsight, I realise that those scores were inflated because I had seen or remembered those particular questions while practicing and I already knew the answers which resulted in skewed scores and also because I never wrote the AWAs during practice conditions.

After the 640, I prepared with the Manhattan CATS in 2009 which gave me a reasonable assessment that my scores would be between 640 and 690 on the actual exam, athough I was hoping that my score would cross 700. No such luck! I applied with the 680 to several B-schools but the score was only good enough for waitlists and the interview stage.

The Present

I decided to retake the GMAT and started preparing 45 days ago as I wanted to get a score which would reflect the 80/80 split top b-schools look for. My background (financial consultant) implies that I should get a better Quant score. I concentrated on Mathematics using all the Manhattan Quant guides and I feel that I have improved considerably, however my quant scores on the Manhattan CATs still range between 70 and 80%. I can do the math given enough time but under time pressures I get many questions wrong in a row resulting in varying scores.

I gave 1 GMATPrep exam a week ago (without AWA) and got a 750 84%Q 99%V however the verbal score was slightly skewed because it included 1 or 2 SC questions from OG12 which I had already practiced. My previous Manhattan CAT scores (with AWAs) were (CAT1 - 690 Q43 70% V40 91%), (CAT2 - 700 Q46 79% V40 91%), (CAT3 - 670 Q45 77% V36 81%). I just took a full Manhattan GMAT exam (CAT 4) and got a 710 with a 74%Q 96%V. I have completed OG 12 with Quant and Verbal Review and am currently reviewing the questions.

The Future AKA The point already!!!

I apologise for the long and circumlocutory post but I felt I needed to lay out the background of the GMAT re-application strategy before I asked my question i.e. Should I delay the GMAT and concentrate on improving my quant scores further (if possible) ? D-Day is 23rd June.

[StaceyKoprince]

The more data, the better!

So, basically, you've currently got a 680 with a 69th percentile quant score. The major reason to re-take is to get a higher quant score, with the added bonus (hopefully) of an overall higher score as well.

Your practice test scores with essays put your quant score in the 70-80th percentile range, with your most recent score at 74th percentile. (I'm discounting your highest quant score on the GMATPrep because you didn't do the essays. I don't know for sure that that inflated your score on either section, but it's possible, so we're going to be cautious.)

Most schools that care about the quant and verbal subscores want at least 80th percentile in each section, so you're not quite there yet consistently. Plus, this would be your third time, and it's especially not worth taking it until you have a better shot at a real improvement on that quant score.

Bottom line: if I were you, I would delay a bit.

Next:

I can do the math given enough time but under time pressures I get many questions wrong in a row resulting in varying scores.

Okay, so you're having timing problems. You're close enough to your goal that it is *possible* that fixing your timing problems alone will get you there. It usually takes people about 3 to 6 weeks to fix timing problems, depending upon the severity (and how much you're practicing, obviously).

First, there's a mindset issue:
Think of this as a tennis match, not a test. You're going to win some points and the other guy is going to win some points; you're not going to win them all, right? Your goal is to put yourself into position to win the LAST point. Translated, that means you have to put yourself in position to answer the last question - you have to have time to address it. Otherwise, you've lost the last point, and by extension the match. When the other guy hits a winner, don't go running after it so fast that you hit the fence and injure yourself, thereby hurting your chances on the later points. (Translation: don't go way over when the problem is too hard.)

Next, you need to be able to spend enough time on every problem that you're not missing it simply due to speed, and you need to be able to cut yourself off on problems that are just too hard (and, note, that doesn't mean you cannot get it right at all, but it does mean that you cannot get it right in about the expected timeframe).

The below article and exercise can help:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/06/ ... ent-part-1

(Note: that's part 1 of an article that was just published today. The second half will be published in about a week, so check that website again to find it.)

I'm going to discuss this strategy in part 2 of the article, but I'll tell you about it now: learning about how long one minute is without looking at a watch or stopwatch. If you don't have one already, buy yourself a stopwatch with lap timing capability (or use your smartphone or an online program that gives the same capability). When you go to do a set of problems, start the stopwatch but turn it over so you can't see the time. Every time you think you're one minute into a new problem, push the lap button. When you're done with that problem, push the lap button again, then repeat the process for the next problem. When you're done with the set, see how good you were - and whether you tend to over or underestimate. Get yourself to the point where you're within 15 seconds either way on a regular basis (that is, you can generally predict between 45 sec and 1min 15 sec). Also check your timing for the entire question, of course.

Now, how do you use that when doing problems? If you're not on track by one minute, make an educated guess** and move on. (The general idea is that if you're not on track by the halfway mark, you're unlikely to figure out what's holding you back AND have time to do the whole problem in the 1 min you have left.)

** This also requires you to know HOW to make an educated guess depending upon the type of problem and the content being tested. So that's something else to add to your study: how to make educated guesses on different kinds of problems.

Do the above timing exercises with sets of problems. If you haven't already, you may want to do GMAT Focus (www.gmatfocus.com). These are 24-question adaptive quant diagnostics from the makers of the real test (so they use real test questions). There's a fee - I think about $25 for a 24-Q section.

[nikhilkapur1984]

Thank you for the advice, Stacy. Unfortunately, I read your advice just after the deadline for the extension of the date of the GMAT. I would have had to forfeit the entire exam fees so I thought I might as well go for it.

You were right as it so happens. I got a 690 on the actual GMAT Q47 77% V38 83%. My Quant score more or less stayed constant on the last few practice CATs at 47 but the percentile on those CATS was 79-81. Sadly, my verbal on the actual GMAT took a major nose dive compared to my last Manhattan CAT (V44 98%). Nevertheless, I wouuld like to thank the people at ManhattanGMAT for their help in improving my score to 690.

BTW, could you share any insight on how a b school is going to look at the variety of my past GMAT scores in context with this one?

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm glad that you got the 690 and that you bumped quant up to 77th percentile. That's close enough to the 80th percentile mark that any schools that care about the 80/80 will consider that you have met that mark.

Re: your last question about the schools, I think they will like to see that you improved overall and also that you got that quant score up near the 80th percentile mark. But you may also want to talk to an admissions consultant, since admissions is not my area of expertise.

Good luck with everything!