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First attempt 680 (q46, v38) NEED ADVICE

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Matteo123
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First attempt 680 (q46, v38) NEED ADVICE [#permalink] New post   20 Oct 2016, 04:46
Hi guys, first of all a few info about myself: I'm a 21 years old non native speaker and, as you've probably guessed, I'm not gonna apply for an MBA but for an MSc.
I took the GMAT last September and scored 680 (q46, v38).

My preparation

At the beginning of my prep I took the Official Guide diagnostic test and I've realised that my math skills were pretty bad whereas I did quite well in the verbal section.
Based on these results I've decided to allocate the 11 weeks that I had in this way: 7 weeks for the quantitative part, 3 for the verbal part and 1 for reviewing/mock tests.
As regards the books that I've used: veritas prep 12 books and the 2015 OG.
In the review week I did the 2 free GMATprep tests and scored respectively 640 and 660. In between the 1st mock test and the 2nd as well as in between the 2nd and the real test, I've actually used this wonderful website by trying to solve as many quant question as I could.
Since I was aiming to break the 700 wall I wasn't satisfied with my GMATprep scores, nevertheless, when I saw 680 at the end of the real thing I must admit that I was quite happy.

Considerations

Verbal section: being a non native speaker, who had spent only 10 months in the U.K. through an university exchange program, I'm quite happy about the v38 (85%). I reckon that the reason behind it, is the fact that I've started reading books in English about 2 and half years ago and so far I've read something like 30 books (books that range from harry potter to scientific books). Besides, to be honest, in the SC part 90% of the times I just picked the one that sounded better.

Quant section: I think that, considering my starting level, I did a good job. Nevertheless, I feel like that if I had done more practice question (especially word problems, which are my weak point) from this website I would have scored higher. I think that I've spent too much time on books and too few on this website.

What do think I should focus on for my second attempt? Any general suggestion or comments?

Thanks in advance.
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
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First attempt 680 (q46, v38) NEED ADVICE [#permalink] New post   20 Oct 2016, 13:33
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Hi Matteo123,

First off, a 680/Q46 is a fantastic score (it's right around the 85th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. This is meant to say that you could have very easily scored 700+ on Test Day, but you made a few too many little mistakes. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train, hone your skills, and score at a higher level. You also likely do NOT need 11 more weeks of study. You could very easily retest in a month (or less) and hit your goal score. Given your Scaled Score results, you have a fairly even opportunity to pick up points in the both the Quant and Verbal sections, so if you do choose to retest, then you could focus on either area (or work on both). Since you never hit 700+ during your practice though, you will likely need to learn and properly practice some new Tactics - so investing in some new practice materials would likely help in that regard.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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ScottTargetTestPrep
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First attempt 680 (q46, v38) NEED ADVICE [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 03 Nov 2016, 18:09
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Hi Matteo123,

First of all, based on the fact that you scored a 640 and 660 on practice exams, a 680 is a great improvement on your actual GMAT. Since a 680 is right around the 84th percentile, you clearly have a solid grasp of GMAT quant and verbal fundamentals. However, to increase your score to a 700+, you may consider following a study routine of focused practice, so you can locate and fix any weaknesses that are preventing you from breaking the 700-score barrier.

For example, if you are reviewing Critical Reasoning, be sure to practice a large number of questions just from Critical Reasoning: strengthen and weaken the conclusion, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. The results of that practice will help you determine your weak areas within that topic. Once you find and fix your weak areas, move on to the next verbal topic.

You should follow the same routine for quant. If you are reviewing Number Properties, be sure that you can practice 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. Based on the results, you can find and fix your weak areas. Only then should you move on to the next quant topic.

Also, for your retake, you may consider using study materials besides the Official Guide as your main resource. While the Official Guide is a great book because it has official questions from past GMATs, it has limited instruction and does not provide full exposure to all GMAT topics.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me directly.

Originally posted by ScottTargetTestPrep on 20 Oct 2016, 16:57.
Last edited by ScottTargetTestPrep on 03 Nov 2016, 18:09, edited 1 time in total.
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Matteo123
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Re: First attempt 680 (q46, v38) NEED ADVICE [#permalink] New post   20 Oct 2016, 23:56
EMPOWERgmatRichC wrote:
Hi Matteo123,

First off, a 680/Q46 is a fantastic score (it's right around the 85th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. This is meant to say that you could have very easily scored 700+ on Test Day, but you made a few too many little mistakes. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train, hone your skills, and score at a higher level. You also likely do NOT need 11 more weeks of study. You could very easily retest in a month (or less) and hit your goal score. Given your Scaled Score results, you have a fairly even opportunity to pick up points in the both the Quant and Verbal sections, so if you do choose to retest, then you could focus on either area (or work on both). Since you never hit 700+ during your practice though, you will likely need to learn and properly practice some new Tactics - so investing in some new practice materials would likely help in that regard.

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


Thanks for your reply Rich,
I think you're probably right, right now I don't have neither time nor energy for a second attempt. Moreover, as you said, a 680 is not that bad and even if it is, I can definitely compensate it thanks to my high GPA.
Anyway, if I change my mind and actually start my second prep, I'll definitely follow your advice.
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Re: First attempt 680 (q46, v38) NEED ADVICE [#permalink]
20 Oct 2016, 23:56

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