Retake Strategy to break 750 barrier

[StaceyKoprince]

What did you do on those 4 repeated CRs? Did you get them all right? Do you think you really would have gotten them right if you'd been seeing them for the first time? (Did you get any of them right the first time?)

If you got them right even though you think you might not have if they had been new, then yes, you might have inflated your score.

How much time did you spend on them? Did you take the full 2 minutes for each one or did you answer more quickly than you otherwise would have? If you answered more quickly, then you also gave yourself an artificial time advantage, which would help you on other questions. So that could inflate your score even more.

(For future reference: if you are taking any CAT and see a question you recognize, make yourself stay on the problem for the average length of time for that question type. Do the problem again. Then ask yourself, completely honestly, whether you would get this right if it were new. Answer accordingly - get it wrong on purpose unless you are confident you would get it right as a new question.)

And what do I do to get SC up to 90-95% accuracy?

Wrong question. You need to be able to get harder questions right to lift your score - but you're still going to get even harder questions wrong!

So it really is about continuing to practice / analyze what we discussed last time: the most tempting wrong answers vs. the right ones.

How many real tests have you taken in the last 12 months? (You're limited to 5 real tests per 12-month period.) As long as you aren't at or close to the limit, you might as well take advantage of the pilot. It only costs you $250 and half a day of your life, and you can always cancel the test if something disastrous happens.

If, though, this would be test 4 or 5 in that period, then you have a harder decision to make. When would you be allowed to re-take again (ie, when was your oldest test)? If you took it twice 11 months ago, then no problem; those 2 tests will fall off the list in another month. If, on the other hand, you took it 4 times in the past 3 months, then you'd have a significant delay before you could re-take again.

[akulk112]

Yes, i got all 4 CR's right. I had to rework two of them, and that took 2 mins each. As for the other two i marked the answers within 20 secs. But i had a about 7 mins left on the Verbal section(this never really happens). Turns out as i was reviewing the remainder of the section, I got 2 questions from SC that were familiar to me(i got one correct and one incorrect). So my score is definitely inflated.

As for the actual GMAT, I have just taken in once last year(in Sep 2015). This'll be my second attempt. But i was more worried about the 'Canceled' that'll show up in the score report.(In case i get lower than my previous score) But as i tried to reschedule, it turns out that tests booked under this 'Section Select Order' testing scheme can't be rescheduled beyond the window that they are offered in i.e. i can't reschedule these beyond 16th March . So looks like i will have to give it.

[StaceyKoprince]

The "canceled" designation only shows up on what you see. The schools can't see that - so it doesn't matter!

So you might as well take it. Also, they just announced new (good) policies regarding canceling scores; see here:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... d-pricing/

Let me know how it goes. I'm very curious to hear how the order affects your testing experience - if you find it mentally easier, etc.

[akulk112]

Hi Stacey,

First of all, thanks for all the help. Even an increment of 1 point(or 10 points) would not have been possible without the great articles/feedback/suggestions. Although my target score was 750, but i'm ok with the performance. I think apart from quant just one point away(51), i think my verbal has maxed out.

I gave my GMAT today under the new 'Section Select' testing scheme. Here is the break down

730(Q 50, V 38) IR: 8

I took it in the following order Quant First, then Verbal, then IR and then AWA.

Although the section select is a good tool to have, but for the IR and AWA i lost all motivation as the scoring sections were over. By the time AWA came, i was in no mood to type. (Hope i didn't screw up my AWA score).

Quant: I finished it with 8 mins still left on the clock. The only difference with this attempt was that I did not carry the baggage of earlier sections. Last time i thought that i did not do well in the IR, and was a little less confident going into the math section. This time i zipped through quant. I got like 3 super time consuming questions(on each of the 3 i think i took 3-3.5 mins).

I felt at ease in Verbal(my weak section). I managed to finish it on time and i was not rushing through the last couple of questions as i had done the last time. I think taking it second might have helped a little bit. RC and CR were quite easy. For SC, i don't know where some of the questions came from. For at least 2 questions of SC, i had no idea what was to be done. (this is what i think killed my chances of a V40). But i felt good as i had still some steam left before the section ended. I had a good 16 mins for the last RC(q33 - q36) and the 5 questions. The RC was super tough. And i had like 8 mins left for the last 5 questions. (Here were those two nasty SC's Q 39 and Q41).

For IR, I thought i had lost the plot midway, as a set of questions(set of three) was extremely tough, but managed to get through it somehow.

For AWA, (i hope i did not bungle it up), i lost interest in typing but managed to write something to finish the test.

I don't think I have the energy to take the GMAT once again. Hope this is it.

Thanks again.

[StaceyKoprince]

Wow - 730 is amazing!! Congratulations! I hope you celebrated.

You couldn't have lost all motivation for IR and essay - you still scored an 8 on IR.

You don't need to worry about taking it again - your scores are great. Now you can rest! And then... applications...

[akulk112]

I will celebrate soon. Just catching up on work(i was taking work casually during the last 15 days of my GMAT Prep.) Yeah..rest/vacation is much needed. I already have a fair idea of what universities I'll be applying to. So will get started on apps soon. Does MGMAT run a blog on admission/interview help as well. If yes, can you point me to that thread.

[StaceyKoprince]

We don't, know - we concentrate solely on the test. But I really like the admissions consulting firm MBA Mission. We share a lot of their stuff with our students and we even run some joint free workshops. (I think there's a series coming up in April and May - check out our website or www.mbamission.com to see!)

They've got a blog and a lot of good info out there - I would definitely check out what they have to say.

[akulasa16]

Hey Stacey,

How are you doing?

I just wanted to write to you and let you know that I have been admitted to Fuqua for the upcoming fall session(2017). I just wanted to thank all the people who helped me on the way there. So thanks a lot for assisting with my GMAT prep. Your blogs and and insight for super helpful and awesome. Thanks again!

<posted by the same person with this account akulk112, don't know how the signature changed >

[StaceyKoprince]

That's so exciting! Congratulations—I'm really happy for you.

Thanks so much for coming back to let me know. Most people don't and I really like to hear what happens! I appreciate it.

Have a great time in school!