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09 Mar 2020, 20:51
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I took the GMAT for the 4th time today and scored a 680 (Q43/V40) after scoring a 690 (Q48/V36) three weeks ago. I am extremely frustrated as combined scores from the V and Q subsections would have brought me to at least a 720. I think there are definitely some things I could work on, like subscribing to E-GMAT to solidify my verbal score. Quant is the lowest I've ever seen it at 43 (got 47,48, and 45 on previous tests). Would you suggest taking the test a 5th time? I am hoping to apply to M7 schools.
How much time would be needed to get 710+ from where I currently am? I think that these tests show that I am capable of scoring high in verbal and quant, but this would be my last take of the year so I need to solidify a strategy.
Any help or advice would be great.
How much time would be needed to get 710+ from where I currently am? I think that these tests show that I am capable of scoring high in verbal and quant, but this would be my last take of the year so I need to solidify a strategy.
Any help or advice would be great.
Updated on: 12 Mar 2020, 11:55
Originally posted by ScottTargetTestPrep on 10 Mar 2020, 08:56.
Last edited by ScottTargetTestPrep on 12 Mar 2020, 11:55, edited 2 times in total.
Last edited by ScottTargetTestPrep on 12 Mar 2020, 11:55, edited 2 times in total.
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Hi hopeful15,
Since you are looking to apply to M7 schools, yes, I think it’s a good idea to retake the GMAT. The good news is that you’ve scored Q48 and V40, on separate exams, so you’ve shown that you have what it takes to achieve a great GMAT score. Regarding, how to improve your GMAT score, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.
Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.
You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.
So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.
In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses. You also may find it helpful to read the following article about How to Score a 700+ on the GMAT.
Feel free to reach out with any further questions. Good luck!
Good luck!
Since you are looking to apply to M7 schools, yes, I think it’s a good idea to retake the GMAT. The good news is that you’ve scored Q48 and V40, on separate exams, so you’ve shown that you have what it takes to achieve a great GMAT score. Regarding, how to improve your GMAT score, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.
Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.
You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.
So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.
In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses. You also may find it helpful to read the following article about How to Score a 700+ on the GMAT.
Feel free to reach out with any further questions. Good luck!
Good luck!
10 Mar 2020, 13:10
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Hi hopeful15,
Your prior 690/Q48 is a fantastic Score, so that might be enough to get you into your first choice School. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/
Beyond that, GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Your 4 Official Scores show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 660 +/- a few Scaled Score points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. It's possible that you have developed some 'bad habits' during your studies that are keeping you from scoring higher, but the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.
Before we discuss how you might best continue on with your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:
1) On what dates did you take EACH of your Official GMATs and how did you score on EACH?
2) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) What study materials have you used over the course of ALL of your studies?
You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report for this most recent attempt. 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 on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Your prior 690/Q48 is a fantastic Score, so that might be enough to get you into your first choice School. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/
Beyond that, GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Your 4 Official Scores show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 660 +/- a few Scaled Score points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. It's possible that you have developed some 'bad habits' during your studies that are keeping you from scoring higher, but the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.
Before we discuss how you might best continue on with your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:
1) On what dates did you take EACH of your Official GMATs and how did you score on EACH?
2) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) What study materials have you used over the course of ALL of your studies?
You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report for this most recent attempt. 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 on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
