710 again (2nd attempt). Retake?

Question

Hello GMAT Club members,

Thank you for allowing me to share with you my GMAT experience - after 3 months of GMAT preparation:

13 June:
Q50, V37 (710)

today (3 weeks later):
Q49, V38 (710)

My goal was a minimum of 720.

Some background: I'm a mathematician (M.Sc.), almost always get a Q50. Non native-english speaker, doing great in CR, okay in SC and dangling in RC. According to GMATPrep my verbal ranges from 34 to 37. With manhattan/recycled GMAT Prep can sometimes break the early 40's on verbal score.

Completely exhausted all 6 GMAT Prep exams (on the first 4 received 740-770 on second attempts) and all 6 Manhattan exams.

Currently have several unsolved questions:

1. Should I positively consider a retake if I aim to the top 5 BS (application within at least one year time), hopefully with a chance for a scholarship?
2. If I retake and "fail" (let's say 690), will I then be able to reinstate my first GMAT attempt within 5 years time?
3. If heading for a retake, when do you think would be the best time: in 3 weeks, 3-6 months or 1 year, considering the exhaustion of all my quality prep material (and some emotional baggage as well

)?

Would appreciate any additional thoughts you'd like to share,

Thanks a million!

)? Would appreciate any additional thoughts you'd like to share, Thanks a million!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi adam612,

First off, a 710/Q49-Q50 is an outstanding score either way (it's right around the 90th percentile overall), so you can apply to any Business Schools that interest you. As such, a retest is likely not necessary (and wasn't really necessary the first time either). You're ultimately asking Admissions questions though, so you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

You probably do not need to retake the GMAT; however if you are seriously considering retaking the test, I have a few questions for you.

1) Can you purchase your Enhanced Score Report?
 
2) Do you plan to apply to business school this fall?
 
4) What was the exact score breakdowns of your MBA.com practice exams? 
 
5) What did you do to prep for your GMAT? 
 
Please let me know and I would be happy to provide some more tailored advice. Thanks!

HiLine · Answer

Do you have an enhanced score report handy? If not, I suggest that you get one from your attempt; it is the most powerful performance assessment tool there is.

And if you post your report here, I and others will be able to give you more specific advice.

adam612 · Answer

Thank you for your replies Rich, Scott and HiLine.

Here is my ESR for the verbal section:

https://s31.postimg.org/5dj4mypc7/image.jpg

https://s31.postimg.org/l0ae0c347/image.jpg

HanoiGMATtutor · Answer

Adam612, you spent a lot more time per question on average in the 2rd quarter than in the others. Do you remember what happened there?

adam612 · Answer

I believe that my first RC passage arrived relatively late, somewhere around the 9-10th question. Perhaps another RC passage around the 18th question is responsible for this difference.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Adam612,

As I mentioned above, a 710 is a great score. I'm not completely sure you need to retake the GMAT. However, based on what I am seeing, you're certainly capable of earning a higher score.

The good news is that there is no real risk of retaking the GMAT; if you don't like your new score - for whatever reason - you can cancel it, and no one will know.

Here's an article I wrote on new GMAC policies , but in short, as of the July 2015 rule change, a student can take the GMAT, view his or her unofficial score on the test center computer screen, and then decide to cancel the score. When a student canceled his or her score under the old policy, a “C” was entered on the GMAT score report that was sent to schools. Under the new rules, this C is no longer part of the student’s score report. Now only the student knows whether a GMAT score was canceled. This change has made the GMAT more student-friendly, because it empowers students to strive for the highest possible GMAT score without having to worry about schools seeing poor past scores. In addition to the option of canceling your score at the test center for free, students can now cancel their scores online, within 72 hours of their exam, for a $25 fee.

Also, I noticed a few interesting things from your ESR. First, look at your quarterly verbal performance. On average, it declined over time (88%, 71%, 57%, 62%). I wonder whether you were fatigued? Were you feeling tired? If so, perhaps you need to improve your stamina and your ability to focus for 3.5+ hours. The way to do this is to continue taking practice tests. Second, your Critical Reasoning score lagged your Sentence Correction and Reading Comprehension Scores. Thus, CR represents an area of opportunity for you. If you do retake, you should consider strengthening this question type. In doing so, you may find that your Reading Comp improves as well.

One final thing: In one of your earlier posts, you said you "Completely exhausted all 6 GMAT Prep exams (on the first 4 received 740-770 on second attempts) and all 6 Manhattan exams." I'm not completely sure what you mean by this, but if you scored 740 to 770 on four MBA.com tests (and then scored a 710 on the real test), you may have just had a bad day when you sat for the real test. You may consider retaking the GMAT right away. You may find that your score rises to one closer to your practice test score.

Please let me know if I can help further.

Scott

HiLine · Answer

Looking at the Verbal section on your Enhanced Score Report, I do not detect any inherent weakness. In order to improve your Verbal score, you'll need to get better at everything. Given the consistency between your two attempts and your practice test records, I'd say your score is right at your current level. You have hit a plateau in your preparation, and the most efficient to break out of the plateau is to hire a tutor to help you identify potential areas for improvement. At your level, investing in new study materials is not likely to result in any improvement. You should realize that at this point, the marginal returns are small; in order to get into the mid-700's range, you'll need to put in a significant investment of time or money or both. Since your score is within 10 points of your target, I'd say you're done with the GMAT. If you are pushing for a top-5 school, however, a 710 is below average. A 720 would not be significantly better; you should attempt the GMAT again only if you think you can score at least a 740 next time, and like I said, you'll need to make a serious investment to make this happen.

Now, a prestigious MBA degree can open a lot of doors for the next 30 years of your career. Maybe making an investment now is worth it, and maybe not. If I myself thought that a 740 GMAT score would be the only reason I wouldn't be able to crack the top 5, I would spare time and money on myself because in the long run, I would come out way ahead. Ultimately, this is an admission question. Think about it carefully and make a wise decision. The future is in your hand.

P/S: why don't you post the Quant section of your ESR as well? There may be some insight to gain from it. :wink:

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710 again (2nd attempt). Retake?

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