Self-Prep: 710 after 4 attempts, and I will take this score.

Hi

I am a 30 year old Indian working in a marketing industry. My story of GMAT is as follows.

It all started in 2010 when I thought GMAT is something that I can ace in my dreams. I barely prepared for anything and I walked into the exam center with confidence. I got a shocker!! My GMAT score was 630 (Q49, V26). I was devastated and I continued to do my job.

Later, I started my preparation again in Q4'2011 and wrote my exam in Q1'2012. I knew that verbal was my weakness and I prepared carefully. I went through all the Manhattan guides, CR Bible, and the OG 12. I prepared for 5 months in total and I started to touch 700s in mocks. I got 700 in my last two mocks in Manhattan and I got 680 and 690 in my official GMATPrep exams. I convinced myself that I am there (700 level) and I would get a 700 plus in the exam. I gave my exam and I got a 680 (Q49, V34). I was not happy, but I decided to apply with this score.

I applied to ISB, MIT, and Cornell, and I didn't receive even an interview from any of the three colleges. I was devastated. The consultant told me that my GMAT score has to be improved because I belong to the Indian applicant pool. So, in 2013, I decided to write the exam again. I took some time off from work and I have given the exam again. As usual, I knew I need to focus on Verbal. I bought the Question Pack and the Exam Pack from GMAC. I practiced a lot and I was happy with my mocks. I scored in the 700 to 740 range in mocks. I used Kaplan, MGMAT and official mocks. On the day of the exam, I did my essay and IR well. I took the break and returned to start the Maths section. I told myself to slowdown and cross-check my answers in Maths. I was happy with my performance in the Maths section. When I started my verbal section, the first question was an SC and I was not sure of the answer. I didn't want to do the first question wrong, but at the same time I was not able to decide between two options. I spent more than 4 minutes on that question. It goes without saying that I had problem managing my time in the Verbal exam. In the end, I got Q49, V33 and a total score of 680.

I was really disappointed. But, I decided to prepare again. I focused on understanding the clauses and modifiers very carefully. After working for 4 months and scoring consistently in the range of 720 plus, I decided to give the exam for one final time. Because of my previous experience, I wasn't very confident that I can score above 700. My essay and my IR went well. The first question in Maths stumped me a bit. It was a convoluted question. But, after 4 minutes I got to the correct answer. I moved slowly and cautiously in the initial questions. I felt Maths to be tougher than what I saw in GMAT Prep. At the end, I somehow managed my time well. I wasn't very happy with my Maths performance. I knew that I am not getting a Q50, but I prayed that I should atleast get a Q49. I took my break and I had a few slices of apple and one banana. I told myself that I should atleast do my Verbal well. The first few questions were SC and I felt confident of the answers. After 10 questions (including one RC), I had 56 minutes left. I was happy with the timing too. But, I started to get very lengthy SCs (3-4 lines) and very lengthy CRs (6-7 lines). Then came the bomb! I got an RC with 5 paragraphs and then followed by another RC with 4 paragraphs. The 5 paragraph RC was difficult and there were too many transitions in the idea. The RCs slowed me down and I lost valuable time attempting those RCs. When I was Q29, I was having 17 minutes left and I knew that I was in trouble. At the end, I got a Q49, V36 710.

I realized that Q49 is now 79 percentile, whereas my earlier score reports show some 80+ percentile for Q49. I think Maths is getting tougher on the GMAT.

Some of my mock scores are as follows:

GMAT Prep 4: 730
GMAT Prep 3: 730
GMAT Prep 2: 760
GMAT Prep 1: 760

MGMAT 6: 710
MGMAT 5: 730
MGMAT 4: 710
MGMAT 3: 680
MGMAT 2: 670
MGMAT 1: 670


Though I am not super happy with a 710, I will definitely accept this score and apply to colleges. I am interested in pursuing Marketing and Consulting in future. I hope I can apply to atleast a few schools from the top 12 with this score.

I decided to apply to Kelloggs, Anderson, McCombs, and Kenan Flager in R1. Kindly let me know your thoughts on what do you think about my four attempts and a score of 710. Will the four attempts be a drawback in my profile?