2nd GMAT in 2 months

Question

Hi all,
I took my first attempt at the GMAT today with a score of 640 (Q47, V31), I got really anxious as I didn't bring my passport with me and was only given 30 minutes to bring it back to the test center, I believe that somewhat affected my Verbal, which was the first section I chose to take. I scored around v38-40 at home but I guess it's different with the test center. Now I am planning to retake it mid November/early December and am struggling to find a study plan that works as I am targeting a 700+. Any advice, recommendation would be appreciated. Thank you!

akela · Answer

Hi  trangle1611 !

What study materials did you use before taking your first exam? What was your your study plan like? Did you take GMATprep tests?
Please elaborate

trangle1611 · Answer

I didn’t really have a study plan before the exam, I took the 2 free tests from Official Guide and 4 on Manhattan Prep and I scored around 680-690 during 1,5 month before my test. I was better on Verbal than on Quant during my preparation time, that’s why I decided to take the Verbal first, but I also know my weakness with Verbal is CR so I will work on tackling it this time around

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

mbaaspirant80 · Answer

Hi trangle1611 ,

As you said that you are good in verbal then only practice and work on some part are required for verbal.

For quant , you can use GMAt club tests. I raised my score to Q50 using these tests only.
Although these tests are harder than real GMAT but this is worthy.
Crux part is Don't forget to read explanation of each question

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi trangle1611,

First off, a 640/Q47 is a solid score (it's just a bit shy of the 80th 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:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admission ... tants-124/

As it stands, you're actually closer to a 700+ than you probably realize - and you could potentially improve a great deal with another 1.5 months of study. With a V31, you likely lost serious points in at least 2 of the 3 major Verbal categories (SC, RC and CR), so you will likely need to focus on more than just CR during the next phase of your studies. You might want to consider purchasing the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn't provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong (and what you should work on). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

1) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
2) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

trangle1611 · Answer

Hello, thanks a lot for your reply. I am planning to apply at the beginning of January (perhaps sending my application in mid-December) For Verbal, I got around 38-41 when I did my practice tests at home, but on the test day I believe I spent too much time on 2 CR questions which left me about 12-13 minutes to finish the last 15 questions, so I do need to work more on the time management aspect of it. I am planning to apply to HEC, ESSEC, ESCP Europe, emLyon and EDHEC. I got the CR Bible today and am planning to study a Quant book for the first 2 weeks of my 2-month preparation.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi trangle1611,

You seem convinced that over-committing to 2 CR prompts was ultimately the cause of your score drop. While you might be correct, it would help if we could rule out any other possible impacts on your performance/score drop. As such, I'd like to know a bit more about how you took your practice CATs:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you took your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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

trangle1611 · Answer

Hiii

I always took the entire CAT whenever I do it at home, but the time of the day varied, most of the time I tried to do it at noon so I will finish at around 5pm. I haven’t done any exam twice, but in the 2 free mock tests of Official Guide they had the same IR questions. On the actual test, I took my GMAT at 12.45 but the problem that day was that I did not bring my passport, and wasn’t admitted to the test till I borrowed a person in the building’s phone to call the test center to give me an extra 30 minutes and then called my roommate to bring a passport to me (my dorm was 30 minutes away and I wasn’t aware that as an international student, a driver license isn’t sufficient as an ID), also had no car and no money on my phone so it was a bit of emotional turbulence. However, I did take some pause at home during the test and I listen to some deep focus playlist while doing it. Another thing is that I always chose the traditional section order when doing it at home, but on my test day I decided to try something different and took Verbal, Quant, IR, then essay order. That’s about all the difference I can recall by now. Thank you! Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi trangle1611,

From what you describe about being denied entry to the Exam and scrambling to get your passport to the Test Facility - you likely experienced far more stress than you ever would have during your practice Exams - and THAT almost certainly impacted your performance. In addition, taking the GMAT in a 'new' order was probably not a good idea (since you had not trained for that order).

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 realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your practice scores can become. Now that you've experienced the Official GMAT, you have to make sure that you take your CATs in a realistic fashion that matches up with what you'll face on Test Day (so take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections in the same order, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you think you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.).

Since there was so much anxiety on Test Day, it's likely that this score result was not your best work - and that you could score higher under better circumstances. As such, you could potentially continue to study as is and hit your score goal. Considering your lack of a formal study plan the first time, and the potential to pick up points in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections, you might want to consider investing in a GMAT Course for this next attempt (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led).

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

trangle1611 · Answer

Hello,
Thank you, that's also what I think but I am struggling to find a daily study plan that works, and for now I still believe that self studying is possible and really don't want to pay for a GMAT course, but if you have any recommendation/suggestion it would be great also.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi trangle1611,

When it comes to studying for the GMAT, there are a variety of different options. Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at our website (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

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