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15 Apr 2017, 23:55
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Hello there! Fellow GMAT takers and experts.
My score of the first attempt (mid-Feb 2017) of GMAT was 710 (Q50, V36, IR5), while the second attempt (mid-March 2017) was shockingly 690 (Q49, V34, IR7). I would like to apply to top ~10 MBAs in the US this fall, so I plan to retake GMAT in the next 1-3 months. My target is to score a minimum of 730 but better 750+ for my application.
A brief background
Non native English speaker. Social science major in college.
Preparation for the first attempt
I finished OG and OV and flipped through the MGMAT SC guide. It took me roughly 2 months (~9 hrs/day, 2 days a week) to go through the materials. It may be worth noting that I didn't time myself when I did the practices. On the weekend before the first attempt, I took GMAT prep 1 (700, Q49 V36 IR4) and prep 2 (720, Q50 V38 IR8). I wasn't entirely satisfied with the prep scores, but I anticipated some "magical moments" might happen on d-day.
Result of the first attempt
The test went more smoothly than I expected: I finished 10 mins earlier for Q, and 5 mins earlier for V. Yet it turned out that the GMAT prep score was quite predictive of the score of my first attempt (710, Q50 V36). Apparently I f* up with my SC - according to ESR, percentile rankings of sub-sections were CR 98th, RC 85th, and SC 46th. See verbal ESR as below:
first.png [ 269.44 KiB | Viewed 2975 times ]
Preparation for the second attempt
After the first attempt, I thought the strategy to improve was obvious: improve my SC. With that in mind, I revisited the MGMAT SC guide, but this time more thoroughly. I also reviewed the SC questions in OG and OV, and made less error compared to my first time of practice.
Additionally, I bought MGMAT CAT tests and took all 6 of them:
1 (640, Q42 V36)
2 (670, Q46 V35)
3 (640, Q39 V38)
4 (660, Q44 V36)
5 (680, Q44 V38)
6 (680, Q45 V37)
It took me 1 month (~8 hrs/day, 2 days a week) for the preparation. Just before the test, I retook GMAT prep 1 and scored 740 (Q49 V41).
Result of the second attempt
I was completely shocked at the test center when I saw my score: 690 (Q49 V34). I did feel a bit rushed for both Q and V sections, since I concluded from my first attempt that I wrote the test slightly too fast and may have erred some questions because of that. Surprisingly, this time I f* up my CR - CR 39th, RC 80th, and SC 77th. Apparently I allocated more time on SC and less time on CR this time. My hypothesis is that given the enough time (like avg. 2 mins/question) on each question, I might be able to answer more verbal questions correctly. Verbal ESR as below:
second.png [ 265.35 KiB | Viewed 2979 times ]
Questions
So, given the situation here, what do you think my problems/weaknesses are? How would you suggest me to prepare for my next (and hopefully the last) attempt targeting a 750+? What are the areas I should work on, and how I should approach it? Any recommended materials apart from the ones I have gone through?
Any suggestions are highly appreciated!
My score of the first attempt (mid-Feb 2017) of GMAT was 710 (Q50, V36, IR5), while the second attempt (mid-March 2017) was shockingly 690 (Q49, V34, IR7). I would like to apply to top ~10 MBAs in the US this fall, so I plan to retake GMAT in the next 1-3 months. My target is to score a minimum of 730 but better 750+ for my application.
A brief background
Non native English speaker. Social science major in college.
Preparation for the first attempt
I finished OG and OV and flipped through the MGMAT SC guide. It took me roughly 2 months (~9 hrs/day, 2 days a week) to go through the materials. It may be worth noting that I didn't time myself when I did the practices. On the weekend before the first attempt, I took GMAT prep 1 (700, Q49 V36 IR4) and prep 2 (720, Q50 V38 IR8). I wasn't entirely satisfied with the prep scores, but I anticipated some "magical moments" might happen on d-day.
Result of the first attempt
The test went more smoothly than I expected: I finished 10 mins earlier for Q, and 5 mins earlier for V. Yet it turned out that the GMAT prep score was quite predictive of the score of my first attempt (710, Q50 V36). Apparently I f* up with my SC - according to ESR, percentile rankings of sub-sections were CR 98th, RC 85th, and SC 46th. See verbal ESR as below:
Attachment:
first.png [ 269.44 KiB | Viewed 2975 times ]
Preparation for the second attempt
After the first attempt, I thought the strategy to improve was obvious: improve my SC. With that in mind, I revisited the MGMAT SC guide, but this time more thoroughly. I also reviewed the SC questions in OG and OV, and made less error compared to my first time of practice.
Additionally, I bought MGMAT CAT tests and took all 6 of them:
1 (640, Q42 V36)
2 (670, Q46 V35)
3 (640, Q39 V38)
4 (660, Q44 V36)
5 (680, Q44 V38)
6 (680, Q45 V37)
It took me 1 month (~8 hrs/day, 2 days a week) for the preparation. Just before the test, I retook GMAT prep 1 and scored 740 (Q49 V41).
Result of the second attempt
I was completely shocked at the test center when I saw my score: 690 (Q49 V34). I did feel a bit rushed for both Q and V sections, since I concluded from my first attempt that I wrote the test slightly too fast and may have erred some questions because of that. Surprisingly, this time I f* up my CR - CR 39th, RC 80th, and SC 77th. Apparently I allocated more time on SC and less time on CR this time. My hypothesis is that given the enough time (like avg. 2 mins/question) on each question, I might be able to answer more verbal questions correctly. Verbal ESR as below:
Attachment:
second.png [ 265.35 KiB | Viewed 2979 times ]
Questions
So, given the situation here, what do you think my problems/weaknesses are? How would you suggest me to prepare for my next (and hopefully the last) attempt targeting a 750+? What are the areas I should work on, and how I should approach it? Any recommended materials apart from the ones I have gone through?
Any suggestions are highly appreciated!
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16 Apr 2017, 08:27
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tropicalpore
Hello there! Fellow GMAT takers and experts.
My score of the first attempt (mid-Feb 2017) of GMAT was 710 (Q50, V36, IR5), while the second attempt (mid-March 2017) was shockingly 690 (Q49, V34, IR7). I would like to apply to top ~10 MBAs in the US this fall, so I plan to retake GMAT in the next 1-3 months. My target is to score a minimum of 730 but better 750+ for my application.
A brief background
Non native English speaker. Social science major in college.
Preparation for the first attempt
I finished OG and OV and flipped through the MGMAT SC guide. It took me roughly 2 months (~9 hrs/day, 2 days a week) to go through the materials. It may be worth noting that I didn't time myself when I did the practices. On the weekend before the first attempt, I took GMAT prep 1 (700, Q49 V36 IR4) and prep 2 (720, Q50 V38 IR8). I wasn't entirely satisfied with the prep scores, but I anticipated some "magical moments" might happen on d-day.
Result of the first attempt
The test went more smoothly than I expected: I finished 10 mins earlier for Q, and 5 mins earlier for V. Yet it turned out that the GMAT prep score was quite predictive of the score of my first attempt (710, Q50 V36). Apparently I f* up with my SC - according to ESR, percentile rankings of sub-sections were CR 98th, RC 85th, and SC 46th. See verbal ESR as below:
Preparation for the second attempt
After the first attempt, I thought the strategy to improve was obvious: improve my SC. With that in mind, I revisited the MGMAT SC guide, but this time more thoroughly. I also reviewed the SC questions in OG and OV, and made less error compared to my first time of practice.
Additionally, I bought MGMAT CAT tests and took all 6 of them:
1 (640, Q42 V36)
2 (670, Q46 V35)
3 (640, Q39 V38)
4 (660, Q44 V36)
5 (680, Q44 V38)
6 (680, Q45 V37)
It took me 1 month (~8 hrs/day, 2 days a week) for the preparation. Just before the test, I retook GMAT prep 1 and scored 740 (Q49 V41).
Result of the second attempt
I was completely shocked at the test center when I saw my score: 690 (Q49 V34). I did feel a bit rushed for both Q and V sections, since I concluded from my first attempt that I wrote the test slightly too fast and may have erred some questions because of that. Surprisingly, this time I f* up my CR - CR 39th, RC 80th, and SC 77th. Apparently I allocated more time on SC and less time on CR this time. My hypothesis is that given the enough time (like avg. 2 mins/question) on each question, I might be able to answer more verbal questions correctly. Verbal ESR as below:
Questions
So, given the situation here, what do you think my problems/weaknesses are? How would you suggest me to prepare for my next (and hopefully the last) attempt targeting a 750+? What are the areas I should work on, and how I should approach it? Any recommended materials apart from the ones I have gone through?
Any suggestions are highly appreciated!
My score of the first attempt (mid-Feb 2017) of GMAT was 710 (Q50, V36, IR5), while the second attempt (mid-March 2017) was shockingly 690 (Q49, V34, IR7). I would like to apply to top ~10 MBAs in the US this fall, so I plan to retake GMAT in the next 1-3 months. My target is to score a minimum of 730 but better 750+ for my application.
A brief background
Non native English speaker. Social science major in college.
Preparation for the first attempt
I finished OG and OV and flipped through the MGMAT SC guide. It took me roughly 2 months (~9 hrs/day, 2 days a week) to go through the materials. It may be worth noting that I didn't time myself when I did the practices. On the weekend before the first attempt, I took GMAT prep 1 (700, Q49 V36 IR4) and prep 2 (720, Q50 V38 IR8). I wasn't entirely satisfied with the prep scores, but I anticipated some "magical moments" might happen on d-day.
Result of the first attempt
The test went more smoothly than I expected: I finished 10 mins earlier for Q, and 5 mins earlier for V. Yet it turned out that the GMAT prep score was quite predictive of the score of my first attempt (710, Q50 V36). Apparently I f* up with my SC - according to ESR, percentile rankings of sub-sections were CR 98th, RC 85th, and SC 46th. See verbal ESR as below:
Attachment:
first.png
Preparation for the second attempt
After the first attempt, I thought the strategy to improve was obvious: improve my SC. With that in mind, I revisited the MGMAT SC guide, but this time more thoroughly. I also reviewed the SC questions in OG and OV, and made less error compared to my first time of practice.
Additionally, I bought MGMAT CAT tests and took all 6 of them:
1 (640, Q42 V36)
2 (670, Q46 V35)
3 (640, Q39 V38)
4 (660, Q44 V36)
5 (680, Q44 V38)
6 (680, Q45 V37)
It took me 1 month (~8 hrs/day, 2 days a week) for the preparation. Just before the test, I retook GMAT prep 1 and scored 740 (Q49 V41).
Result of the second attempt
I was completely shocked at the test center when I saw my score: 690 (Q49 V34). I did feel a bit rushed for both Q and V sections, since I concluded from my first attempt that I wrote the test slightly too fast and may have erred some questions because of that. Surprisingly, this time I f* up my CR - CR 39th, RC 80th, and SC 77th. Apparently I allocated more time on SC and less time on CR this time. My hypothesis is that given the enough time (like avg. 2 mins/question) on each question, I might be able to answer more verbal questions correctly. Verbal ESR as below:
Attachment:
second.png
Questions
So, given the situation here, what do you think my problems/weaknesses are? How would you suggest me to prepare for my next (and hopefully the last) attempt targeting a 750+? What are the areas I should work on, and how I should approach it? Any recommended materials apart from the ones I have gone through?
Any suggestions are highly appreciated!
What topics have you been missing on the MGMAT SC? Have you tightened those up? How has your SC trended over time on the MGMAT tests?
16 Apr 2017, 19:59
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Hey okay, please find my MGMAT CAT SC performance as below...
Overall stats
Average
Avg. % Right: 63%
Avg. time right/wrong answers: 1:21/1:38
Avg. difficulty right/wrong answers: 710/730
Trend
Avg. % Right: 47% > 53% > 80% > 73% > 73% > 80%
By topic performance
Below/ Equal to avg. % of Right Topics
Idioms: 40%
Modifiers: 50%
Subject-verb agreement: 60%
Comparisons: 63%
Overall stats
Average
Avg. % Right: 63%
Avg. time right/wrong answers: 1:21/1:38
Avg. difficulty right/wrong answers: 710/730
Trend
Avg. % Right: 47% > 53% > 80% > 73% > 73% > 80%
By topic performance
Below/ Equal to avg. % of Right Topics
Idioms: 40%
Modifiers: 50%
Subject-verb agreement: 60%
Comparisons: 63%
