690 today. Debating retake. Knewton?

Question

Took my gmat today. Pretty relieved. Went reasonably smoothly. I have to say anyone thats about to take it relax. It won't be as bad as you think.

Came out with a 690 (44Q/40V). About what I was expecting.

I've been studying the MGMAT books for a few months now. Got a 650 on my first test and got a 710, 720 and 730 on later ones. With quant scores ranging from 44-48 and verbal scores ranging from 35-45. (Wish I had pulled a 48/45 today but c'est la vie).

I'm debating whether to retake and whether or not to use the Knewton On Demand course. I know they guarantee 50 points but wanted to know some thoughts on how useful it is to break into the mid 700s. I've read the reviews on the forum but wanted to know if anyone else had any input. I really don't think it'd be worth my time if I didn't break 730+ so I like that guarantee and I like the idea of having more structure than just going through the MGMAT books on my own.

bb · Answer

I have seen quite a few people pair the MGMAT books with the Knewton course.
I would recommend improving your quant and focusing on that as much as you can. There are a few posts on the forum (some within the last week) that are addressing the same question - improving quant: going-above-q45-need-help-from-the-big-boys-115764.html

As to a need to retake: should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html?fl=menu

With Quant 44, you may want to try to remove that flag off your profile if you are targeting the top 20. Nothing bad, but you will need to explain why you are at that level and not higher since MBA is very quant driven and admissions likes to see good quant score (not always though but that's the word on the street).

mohater · Answer

^^

What bb said. It's all about returns on time investment. A few more points points in quant will boost your score much more than a few more points in verbal.

dfol13 · Answer

Thanks for the replies guys. bb, nice site.

Basically, I've been thinking about going employer sponsored part-time for a while and a 690 is probably fine for that. But I'm at a point where if I score a bit better I could probably get into a top full time. Obviously have to figure that out for myself with my boss.

Its just a matter of deciding whether its worth it to try and chase another 50 points and whether Knewton is the means to that 50 points.

I don't have a great GPA so I'd probably need to get mid-7's and build an alt. transcript for a top 10-15. My job is highly quantitative (engineer in the energy field) but I think a Q44 and a lower than average GPA is two strikes against me.

AriBenCanaan · Answer

I couldn't agree with you more bb. I now know for a fact that most top b-school don't sort candidates by their GMAT scores as a whole, but by their Quant and Verbal scores individually. Also, your Quant score is the most important indicator of how you would perform academically in the program. Schools can determine your verbal abilities through many other avenues such as AWA, essays, interviews, etc....My low Quant was one of the reasons I got wait listed at the Johnson school last year and is also a reason for my GMAT re-take.

johnnyGMAT2k10 · Answer

Im in a similar position myself, im sitting at a 690 as well, although verbal seems to be my downfall Q49 V35, Im also an engineer with a less than desirable GPA. Currently 2 classes down with As for my alt transcript. Also looking into a top 10-15 fulltime, looking to career change into finance.

At for your retake, I got a 690 the first time after taking a manhattan course, and then took knewton afterwards. In my personal experience, i didnt get anything new from the math section in Knewton, although i did pick up some pointers in Verbal. my advice would be to go through the advanced section of the Manhattan Books as well as OG12 and Math Supplement, and retake the Manhattan tests youve done and that should help in getting your quant up into the high 40s if not 50.

dfol13 · Answer

Thanks for the insight Johnny. I really have to say that from day one my quant didn't go up at all. I was studying MGMAT quant in the beginning and it didn't go anywhere. At the same time my verbal was going up even though I hadn't been studying that. I've done pretty much all of the OG problems. I know DS is my biggest issue. A lot of times I'll be certain that one is suff. or not but then have to guess on the other.

Good luck to you. Hope you retake and apps go well. If you're having trouble in verbal I'd suggest the MGMAT SC book. For RC my roommate (got a 170 on his LSAT) taught me that all you have to do is convince yourself that you like the passage. All I do is read the first sentence or two and say "O vascular systems of tree frogs?! i love biology and frogs" (I have no interest in frogs nor biology) and it works. It sounds stupid but it made the difference for me. I went from getting like one problem wrong per passage to  maybe  one RC wrong per test.

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690 today. Debating retake. Knewton?

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