GMAT 660 ->620 ->640. Targeting 720

[hprasanna84]

Hi All,

My GMAT experience(s).

1. Sep 2008 - 660 (Q:48, V:33)
2. Sep 2009 - 620 (Q:44 V:30)
3. Aug 2010 - 640 (Q:39 V:38)

I do not think my second and third attempts reflect my true abilities as I had a few challenges before the tests(travel, work related). But I do not want to use these excuses to explain my poor gmat scores.

My mock test scores have been fair(GMATprep around 690-740, Manhattan - 700). These led to believe that I could score a 700 but my actual scores prove otherwise.

Schools that I target have an avg score of 700 (I have 5+ years tech consulting experience). At this point, is it a wise decision to retake the gmat for an incredible fourth time? I'm planning to retake(before November i.e. before the R1 deadline of my target schools) only if I score consistently around 720+ in my mocks.

Also, I'm, not sure how schools read a profile with four gmat scores. I know that it can either indicate perseverance or a lack of test taking ability but I'm wondering whether I will be slotted in the 650 bracket even if I do manage to break the 700 barrier.
What has been the general experience of people with similar scores?

Looking forward for your thoughts.

Prasanna

[tarunsingh20]

Hi Prasanna,

I am not sure if I can answer your question, but would like to mention something i noticed based on looking at your score :

Your perf in Verbal has been decent. However your quant has fallen down more than it should.. I feel it is because of two reasons : Stress and challenges ( as you mentioned) and anxiety/pressure you put on yourself for answering every problem correctly.

So if you decide to take GMAT again, sit, back relax and have fun. I am sure you will score much higher than you have done

[StaceyKoprince]

Re: whether you should re-take from the point of view of the schools, ask an admissions consultant - they know what the schools want (and don't want) far better than I do.

In terms of your score, did you take your practice tests under 100% official test conditions, including the essays? This includes taking two 8-minute breaks, not using the pause button, not getting up to do something else (even go to the bathroom) in the middle of a section, etc. Any of those things can cause an inflated practice test score - even a little inflated.

If you did take the tests under 100% official conditions, did both your quant and verbal scores drop on the official test? Or was the overall drop mostly due to either quant or verbal? Give us some numbers from your practice tests. (And, if you did deviate at all from official conditions, specify how for each test.)

The one thing I do notice is that, on your third test, your quant score really dropped and your verbal score really jumped. That gives me hope - you can get those higher scores even on the official test. You just haven't gotten them on the same test. Thing about your most recent official test. What was different compared to your last official test and your practice tests? Did you have any timing issues? Did you mostly study verbal leading to the last test? Why do you think the scores changed the way they did?

Also, the other thing that I think is a positive is that the tests are spread out over time. Talk to an admissions consultant about this, but I think that's a lot better than having three tests that you took over the last 6 months.

[hprasanna84]

Hi Stacey,

Glad to hear from you!

The only thing different with my practice tests were the essays. I usually do not take them, I just take some time to think of some points. Apart from the AWA section, its 100% official conditions.

Reg my scores, verbal has been pretty consistent @36-39 and math in the 45-49 range(these are mgmat CATs and gmat prep). In the real test, I knew I had done bad in math as I had to take a guess on the last 7 questions(5 were random guesses). I spent way too much time in the initial questions and paid the price.

One thing that I did notice was that math was significantly tougher when compared to Gmat prep or even my earlier attempts(more on par with the questions from the manhattan gmat). I also feel that I spent more time on few questions than necessary in the math section since I wanted this to be my last(and best) shot at the GMAT. During the break I realised that this was not going to be my last attempt after all :-) and was far more relaxed.

I spoke to a few of my friends who are in some of my target schools and they feel that a 700+ score would significantly improve my chances(in terms of getting an admission and even a scholarship).

I still feel I'm comfortable with the difficulty level of the GMAT and think 700 is achievable. I've consciously worked on my SC skills and I'm satisfied that verbal is range bound(36-39). Pacing in the math section has been a problem and that is something I'm looking to work upon.

I will definitely learn one thing from my last attempt - whether I'm good with CATs or not (hopefully the former ;-) )

[StaceyKoprince]

FYI: skipping the essays is a significantly different condition and can inflate your score. Taking a 2h40m test (75m x2 + 10m break) is a very different situation than taking a 3h50m test (60+75(2)+10+10). If you skip the essays, you are not fully prepared for the mental stamina necessary to score as well as you can on the test.

It looks like your verbal stayed high (where you'd been scoring on practice tests), but your quant dropped. And, yes, your timing problems would have contributed to that significantly. If we assume that you got 5-7 wrong in a row at the end, and you had been scoring around the 70th to 75th percentile prior to that point, then your score would have dropped probably around 12 to 20 percentile points (depending on various factors). That accounts for most or all of the drop to your final score of 39.

So if you can keep up your verbal skills and even out your quant timing, you may have a shot at improving your score. You'll need to work on timing to make sure this happens.

First: change your mindset. 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.)

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2009/12/ ... management

I think you would also benefit from a timing exercise: 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. 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 one minute has gone by, push the lap button. When you're done, 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). Note: at the same time that you are using the stopwatch to time this "1-minute" thing, also use the OG Stopwatch (in your student center) to track the total time spent on each question.

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.)

* For SC, 1min is well beyond the half-way mark (we're supposed to average about 1m15s here), but you can almost always eliminate at least some choices on SC in that timeframe. Once you've got that "I'm around the 1min mark and I'm struggling" feeling, go through any remaining choices ONCE more. Pick one. Move on.

** 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.

Have you talked to any admissions consultants about the other issues? What did they say?