Advice for Re-Taking the GMAT

I used a combination of Princeton Review (Cracking the GMAT, Cracking Quant, Cracking Verbal) but stopped after reading through those once as I found the questions were too easy and not reflective of the actual test. I did find some of their methods helpful. I also used the Kaplan GMAT 800 once I felt comfortable trying to tackle harder material; I used the Official Guide for most of my nightly practice questions. I used CATs from all of these providers as well as 6 from Veritas Prep. I feel part of the reason I did so poorly I had trouble creating a rigid study guide and schedule; I also only made an error log for my CATs but did that later in my studies. I'll be sure to do both from the onset of my second attempt.

I would say that for half I did the full CAT and the other half I only did the Quant and Verbal sections. I took them at my office every Saturday afternoon since I was most often the only one there and would try and mimic the testing conditions as close as possible (i.e. no music, one screen, etc.) I've taken several licensing exams at Pearson testing centers so I am fairly familiar with the environment and don't think that was an issue. However, I took the actual exam in the morning and my practice tests in the afternoon which I think could have affected me (I am definitely not a morning person). There were a few times my browser would crash during a CAT and I'd have to pause the exam but overall I tried use the CATs to get used to the pace of the test. I think nerves, timing on Quant, and overlooking the IR section are where I really struggled.

I don't have all the scores for my practice CATs (again, I know I should have done an error log) but I've listed the ones I recorded below in chronological order:

1.) Princeton Review: Q39/V33/T590
2.) Princeton Review: Q33/V33/T580
3.) Veritas: Q37/V34/T590
4.) Veritas: Q40/V40/T650
5.) Veritas: Q40/V42/T680
6.) Veritas: V44/V42/T690
7.) Manhattan: Q38/V38/T640
8.) GMAC: Q38/V40/T650

When I switched to Veritas I noticed the Quant material was substantially harder than PR so I really honed in on my weaknesses and tried to understand why I was getting the question wrong/making careless mistakes rather than how to answer and saw an improvement. I think some of it honestly may have been blind luck as I failed to address timing issues and focused more on content; I also found a lot of careless errors were made due to overlooking exactly what the questions were asking for (i.e. solve for x, mistake for value of y). I really don't know how or why my score dropped of so substantially in the actual exam but I'm confident I can score in the high 600's. Ideally, I'd like to score at least at 700 but know it may take a few tries. The schools I'm interested in are Darden (UVA), Kenan-Flagler (UNC), McCombs (Texas), Wake Forest, Jones (Rice), Freeman (Tulane), and Goizueta (Emory). Many of these are a reach but I'm especially interested in Rice and Tulane.

Thanks again for any advice and help.

Hi bakerrr,

Do you remember what your Quant and Verbal Scores were on your Official GMAT. I know you ended up canceling that score, but I'm interested in seeing how your sectional scores compare with how you were scoring on your CATs - that little bit of extra information will give me a better idea of what you were missing out on.

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistically you can make your CATs line up with Test Day, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your scores can become - and that's part of what happened here. You didn't note which of your CATs were FULL CATs, but from what you describe about Test Day, you didn't feel properly prepared to face the FULL GMAT and that *hints* that you were skipping sections more often than not. You also admit to NOT being a morning person, but you ended up scheduling your GMAT for the morning (while you took your CATs in the afternoon).

Thankfully, these problems are easy-enough to 'fix', but it will take some serious time and effort to get you up to your score goal. You might also need to invest in some new GMAT resources.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Rich,

CATs 1, 2, 7, & 8 were full exams; the rest were just Quant and Verbal sections. On those my IR scores were 2, 3, 4, and 3 respectively; I never received an AWA assessment from PR or Veritas. I didn't look too much into the IR scores as I really didn't concentrate much on that section, which I believe hurt me on test day. In hindsight, I very much agree with you that recreating the environment is incredibly important. For my second attempt I will schedule it in the afternoon so I can have time to run through some practice problems and get my mind working before sitting for the test. I believe my scores for the Official GMAT were AWA?/IR2/Q28/V39/T530; I'm only 100% sure of the total score. I was pretty disappointed at the time and just wanted to get out of the exam.

I already have been given some old materials from a friend who's starting at Wharton in the fall but also plan on buying the new OG (2016) as well as the Manhattan Quant guides. I'm fairly confident that I can maintain if not slightly improve my Verbal score but I obviously need to really improve on Quant. Hopefully, repetition and a new approach can help me bring that to where I'm comfortable on test day. I was also referred to a local tutor to help improve in specific areas I'm struggling as I start studying again. I also have to take 5 business days off in a row for work and was going to use that the week of the exam to tie up loose ends. I'm confident I can master the material but where I really need advice is timing strategies.

Thanks

Bakerr

I am sorry to hear about your GMAT experience. Rich has covered all the relevant concepts but based on my personal experience, you should get the enhanced score report (ESR) that is the official 'feedback' from GMAC on your GMAT (https://www.mba.com/global/store/store-c ... eport.aspx). Refer to this link for more detailed information about ESR: 7-reason-why-gmat-esr-isn-t-useful-detailed-analysis-193100.html. Luckily, ESR is also available for test taker-cancelled scores. It is a useful tool that can guide you where have you gone wrong.

Additionally, I see that you have not taken any GMATPREP CATs. There are subtle but important distinctions in the wording of the questions be it verbal or quant, for questions provided in 'other companies' CATs vs GMATPREP. GMATPREP questions are retired questions that will be of representative language and the final score calculation will also be using the same algorithm that actual GMAT uses. I would not put my money on scores provided by CATs. Try to gauge your performance only by GMATPREP CATs (taken with AWA and IR, same number and time for the scheduled breaks and with nothing that is not allowed in the actual exam to be present!). Additionally, the usual trend is to see a +/- 30 in scores predicted by GMATPREP (definitely true in my case for both of my attempts!). Buy the exam pack 1 and question pack 1, both provided by GMAC and these include 2 more CATs(for a total of 4 CATs) and 400 additional questions (https://www.mba.com/global/store/store-c ... ction.aspx)

Personally, I have used MGMAT CATs to be filler CATs that will provide me good practice for my test taking stamina and nothing more.

For quant, GMATCLUB tests provide good targeted practice and also CAT like quizzes that you can attempt for reinforcing the concepts. Look at the theory for the quant section mentioned in the GMATCLUB quant book (gmat-math-book-in-downloadable-pdf-format-130609.html) and for corresponding questions, look in the signatures of Bunuel (quant forum expert!) (members/member-73391.html). For targeted practice (without purchasing gmatclub tests), go to viewforumtags.php

Hi bakerrr,

You've mentioned a couple of times how you think the IR section "hurt" your scores on Test Day, but IR is a separate score and has NO bearing on your score out of 800. Many Business Schools have publicly stated that they do NOT factor in an Applicant's IR score in the evaluation process, so you shouldn't be worried about that section and you shouldn't be spending too much time to work on it.

IF....you become overly upset or distracted by the IR section on Test Day, then that 'negativity' could have carried over into the Quant section, but that didn't happen on the 4 CATs in which you included the IR, so I find it odd that it would be a factor on the Official GMAT. The Q28 implies that you made LOTS of little mistakes throughout the section. Having to rush through the last 10 questions or so would probably also have hurt your score, but that wouldn't be enough on its own to drop you 10+ Scale points. Thus, some of your focus during this next round of studies should be on the 'precision' in your work (note-taking, labeling, NOT doing work in your head, etc.).

Do you have an idea about when you might want to retake the GMAT?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Rich,

I think I got nervous on test day with the IR because I really gave it little focus for my study and practice. I know it has little weight for schools and no bearing on my total score but I think having to rush through it may have led to some stress and mistiming when I began the Quant section. I completely agree that the Q28 was caused by a lot of mistakes and timing; that's why I'm optimistic I can fix those mistakes before I set for the test again. From what I've read, most people study for the second attempt for about 6-8 weeks. I am on vacation the next week or so and was planning on creating a study schedule and purchasing new materials when I return. Ideally, I'd like to have a second attempt, hopefully with much better results, complete by the middle of September so I can at least have applications ready for most of my target schools' second round. Unfortunately I don't think it would be feasible to have a score I'm happy with and applications done for round one but I'm certainly going to try.

Thanks again.

Hi bakerrr,

You should enjoy your vacation - everything will still be here when you get back. Once you've mapped out how you want to approach this next attempt at the GMAT, you should post here and we can go over the details.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich