730 Q44 V46 should I retake?

Wow... a 730 is an excellent score! I would be completely happy with that score! However, if you do feel that you can raise your Quantitative score, it might be worth a second try. You do have to realize though, that while your quantitative score may rise, there is that small chance that you might get a set of Verbal questions you find more challenging and end up with a slightly lower score. Good luck!

Verbal 44

I wasn't even hoping for that. I would have been happy with a 40. I took my test today and got 680 Q47 V36

At least I am not in the dilemma you are in I am certainly retaking. Manhattan SC here I come.

How were your practice test scores on Quant? One sure shot way of improving quants at least by a couple of points is by retaking GmatPrep multiple times and analyzing your mistakes to abject boredom. I did that and it has certainly helped me Quant.

I just took a practice test and got exactly the same score...hmm. It sounds like, from reading other posts on this topic and elsewhere in this forum, that the quant section can be more easily improved with serious studying than verbal? That's encouraging...I went through a kaplan book but came nowhere near the point of "abject boredom". What's the best quant prep guide out there for someone on a $100 budget?

Kaplan????

Have you heard MGAMT? Their quant books are amazing. Need to spend a lot time on them though. For $108 I bought 8 strategy guides. RC and CR are a waste of time, but the rest are great.

Good luck for your retake. I just started my preparation for my retake (gave the test this morning) pathetic ha?

I have heard of MGMAT - yeah I see their 8 guide pack for ~100 on amazon. Tons of 5 star reviews...I'll pick that up.

Oh wait I got a 46 Q 44 V this time - that explains why the overall score dropped to 720. I'm not too worried about the 2pt verbal drop, I think I went through it because I was anxious to see the quant score. So that's encouraging already.

Good luck to you on your retake, intern, and you too, vben...not gonna try to spell that. Hopefully we meet at a top-10 in the near future. I'll let you guys know how the mgmat guides work out for me.

Johnnykage

Interesting score split, that! I think that if you believe you can improve your quants ie the 44 in quants was in the lower range of your practice scores, it's worth a try to take it again. Do allocate 25% of your prep time to verbals still - and 75% to quants - don't want to pull down your verbals score by a lot.

What are you doing differently this time for quants? Am trying to understand how you are planning to notch up your quants score.

Have you looked at Bunuel's DS and PS question banks - especially the 700 level tough DS and PS problem sets with explanations? I think there is a wealth of help there. Search for his profile, go to his signature and download these gems free. Also, go through the GMATClub free online maths book - lucid, to-the-point and a very nice read.

You could go through the GMATClub PS, DS discussion threads, which are broken down into 700-level questions and 600-level questions. You can find these links here: viewforumtags.php

And, I have heard very good things about the GMATClub Maths tests set.

Congrats! Great score and most of the people would be more than happy to score 700+

I think it is worth re-taking. If you got a strong undergrad GPA in a quant-based program, are performing well at your current job in finance/accounting, and are smart enough to get a V46, you're clearly capable of a higher quant score.

The two schools you're targeting are obviously elite programs and hard to get into, so I think it is worth not having to wonder whether you could have increased your chances of success by improving your quant score.

So the combination of your ability to improve and the benefit of not having potential regrets makes it worth re-taking, in my opinion.

As for what resources to use to improve:
- Looks like you've already decided to get the 8 MGMAT strategy guides. Good move there. These were very helpful for me, especially number properties and word translations. Also, buying these gives you access to the online MGMAT CATs, which are of high quality.

- I also recommend getting the GMAT Club tests. They're not adaptive, but all the questions are 700+ level to begin with, so they're basically "pre-adapted" for high scorers, if that makes sense. I credit these tests with pushing my Q score from the 46 range to the 49 range I got on the actual exam. Caveat: don't start using these exams too early in your prep. They are REALLY hard and can be depressing/not helpful if you haven't built your Q scores up to a certain level before you start using them.

Btw, I was like you: I was naturally good at verbal but struggled in quant. You can read my debrief about what resources and strategies I used to improve my quant score, if you think it would be helpful to you. I don't know how to link that post, but if you just click my username it will probably pop up.

Good luck!

Johny, are you crazy? Why would you retake the GMAT with a 730? The GMAT is a checklist for MBA programs. You really think scoring a few points higher in math is going to give you a better chance? What if you score lower on V, or worse score lower on both? Q44 is a great score and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Example, one of my friends that goes to Kellogg got a Q42, V45. He was concerned about this and flat out asked adcom whether he should take it again. They said no, its just a checkmark on the app. He had a 3.8 in finance from a State Univ. and worked 3 years at Delliotte. Now he is top 10 in his class and got a kick ass job.

I myself am taking the GMAT tomorrow and have scored a 43Q 3 strait times on practice tests (hence why I asked him if this was a high enough Q score). Leave the high quant scores to the Math experts, its not finance math. You should be spending your time on the other parts of your app. and not on the GMAT.

Congrats on the awesome score!

I know with the finance background and with mostly A's in my math/finance classes, I shouldn't be too concerned, but I am anyway given what I perceive to be my relative weakness in the rest of my app. I graduated from a CSU, not a UC (much less an Ivy), I don't have any management experience, volunteer leadership stuff, etc that I see on a lot of the apps posted elsewhere in gmatclub. So I feel like I need an edge elsewhere, and the GMAT is one place I can do that (if I get a higher quant score). Whereas I cannot retroactively give myself management or leadership experience. I could write great application essays and get good letters of recommendation, but I figure most of the applicants to top-10 schools are going to have those as well (not a differentiating factor).

faro, thanks for the advice. I read your thread already...I think I'm kind of in the same situation. I hadn't really studied for the GMAT, didn't take a practice CAT so I had no idea really what my score would be. I was actually hoping to get a high 600. On the actual exam, seeing all the number properties questions and rules related to exponents/square roots that I hadn't dealt with since algebra, I felt like I could have done much better on the quant section. I think a 48-50 is likely given some decent prep time, and I'm a little late on applying for schools this year, so I may as well put in some time, take the test, and focus on next year's applications.

Yea, if you're applying next year, and feel that you can do better, I would definitely put in the effort.

Quant is "teachable" so you have an opportunity to get a killer score that can position you even better. Plus, personally, I think the GMAT quant teaches you some very worthwhile business skills (analyzing a lot of data, framing a problem and making decisions relatively quickly.)

Congrats. Great score. I think there is no need to retake.

It depends on if you think you can repeat the 46V. If you're confident in that, given your quant background, it might be worth re-taking.

Personally, though, I'd stick with the 730.

Johny,

I think you were missing the point to my post earlier. First, I don't think a 750 or 780 will differentiate you much from a 730. If you look at all these "Calling applicant" forums you see people with 780's getting dinged all over the place. My point is that if you are missing the extra curriculars and/or community service, then spend your time and money doing those things instead of going through months of prep work to get a slight score increase. Again, the Gmat score is a checklist and gets you in the door. It is up to you personally to make a good impression on admissions. If you get in there and are like "hey I haven't done anything but look I improved my gmat 50 points the second time" they are going to be like ok great, what else have you done?

I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me and I have not even gone through the process yet. I am just repeating what a buddy told me who got into Kellogg with a 690. They are not going to ask you about your Gmat. They are going to ask you about everything else. So take your awesome score and start developing the other parts of your story and puffing your resume. I am sure there some exceptions and ya a 780 would look good, but you will still be competing with 780's who have the other things that you said you didn't. Think about the big picture.

I see what you're saying, but I worry specifically that my 66% quant score will be a liability. I don't care so much about improving the overall score.

Well seem as though your mind is made up. I will shut up now lol. Good luck!