I wasn't planning to take GMAT this early coz I wan't feelin ready at all. I was originally scheduled on 12/29 but the closing of my company (yes! "unfortunate things" happens!) forced me to change my plan. My initial schedule was to take at late Dec and work on my applications at the same time. If I screw my test, then don't submit the application!

The final result made me wonder again. Since all the prep scores were all miserable, on the 500 level, I told myself that if I score somewhere around 4-500s, I should just concentrate on looking for a job and forget all about grad school coz it's merely impossible to improve to 650 within a few weeks. (All my applications are due mid January coz I am an international student.)

However, I made a 600. Not good enough for me to get into my desired schools while not as bad as I thought. I was also surprised on the breakdown coz I got Q 44 and V 30. The math part was so much lower than my expectation while my verbal was much better than all my prep scores. I am relatively strong on the Q part compared to my verbal skills. During today's test, I barely finished all Quantitaive questions (guessed on the last 4!) and 31 only on V.

Should I do it again then? I am not aiming for a high score over 700 but somewhere between 650 - 700. Well, I still register for the early January test in case I decide to do it again. But I do feel bad coz I wasted $250 bucks just on trying it out.

50 points in one month is definately possible. I have seen multiple 100+ point increases within thirty days reported by dedicated members in this forum. It all depends on how hungry you are to get into your schools of choice. I`d schedule a retake for early January so you can still make your application deadlines. Otherwise you could spend several years of your life asking yourself "what if?"