Retake Timing Question

[SaraA913]

Hello,

I recently took the GMAT after studying for 4 months and scored a 690 overall. While I know this is a fairly good score, it does not exceed my +700 goal. Additionally, my Quant and Verbal were not very balanced with a ~93rd percentile Verbal score and a ~58th percentile Quant score. In my last three practice tests I scored a 670 on the Manhattan CAT, a 700 on the GMATPrep, and a 710 on the GMATPrep (2 weeks prior to the exam) with a 70th percentile quant score. I am fairly certain I am capable of doing better in the quant section than I did on the actual exam and want to be sure I get it correct the next time around.

I wanted some advice as to when I should time taking my next test. Unfortunately, work is getting busy for me and we are entering into the holidays where there is a lot of travel and schedule inconsistencies. That being said, I am afraid of waiting until after the holidays to retake the exam and forget a lot of the work I have done thus far. I feel that I am extremely close to beating that 700 mark and just need a bit more time to get it all together. Do you have any ideas as to what would be the best strategy?

Additionally, because I have been studying for so long, I feel like I have hit a bit of a wall as far as study materials go. I have worked through all of the OG problems and strategy guides. While I plan to revisit all of that material, I was wondering if you had any insight as to what would be most useful to prepare for this retake.

Thank you!

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes, 690 is a great score - congratulations! If your goal is 700+, you've hit your goal. (Yes, I know that your score doesn't start with a 7, but there is no statistical difference between 690 and 700 - really!)

As you noted, the real concern is the quant score. Check the websites of the schools to which you plan to apply, but if you're aiming for a school that wants something in that 700 score range, then you want at least a 45 (you scored 44) and ideally a 46 or 47. (The good news: you're not that far away.)

I'll guess that you're not planning to apply this year or you likely would've mentioned deadlines. If so, then we can ignore that consideration.

It's okay to take about 3 to 6 weeks off (especially if you're feeling burnt out) without much worry of forgetting everything. You may be a little rusty when you start up again, but if you've got the time, then you just add a couple of weeks to your re-take study time to get yourself back up to speed.

I agree that waiting until January is non-ideal; you can, but then you'd want to give yourself an extra month or so to get back up to speed. If you have to wait, then you have to - but ideally you'd get started before then.

Some people actually study more over the holidays because they aren't working as much. It's not necessary to study at the same time every day, just to study a little every day. Other people are in the midst of family stuff, so that doesn't work out as well. What do you think would be the case for you?

Also, did you take our course? If so, you're eligible for a free Post-Exam Assessment (if you haven't done it already). This is a phone call with an instructor to figure out what happened on test day and come up with a plan to re-take the test. If this applies to you, please send an email to gmat@manhattanprep.com and request the Post-Exam Assessment. (If you're planning to take a few weeks off, then you can wait a few weeks to have the meeting.)

Let me know what you think about the above and we'll come up with a timeline.

Next, let's get into the quant details so that we can start to formulate a study plan. (You'd also do this in your PEA, if you're eligible for that.)

First, read these two articles:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

Think about how what you've been doing so far does and does not map to that information, and what (if anything) you need to change about your study approach.

Then, use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CATs (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Based on all of that, figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as any ideas you have for what you think you should do. Then come back here and tell us; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)