720(Q48,V41) - Want to retake but unsure if I can improve

Question

Hello,

I took the GMAT today (and I stuck to default section order) - I had originally planned to take it in August but I had to move the date up because of some family commitments. While I was hoping for a 730+ (Aren't we all?!) I scored a 720 - not too upsetting, but nothing to write home about.
I am writing this post because I would really appreciate some feedback on my chances of getting into a top 10 US Business school. (I will not be applying until next year)
Perhaps, my background would be relevant in this evaluation:

Female
B.Eng from an average university in Canada: GPA: 3.0
Experience: Telecommunications Industry

I feel that my dismal Q48 is unlikely to be very appealing to ad-coms who will compare my application to candidates with similar backgrounds (lots of Q50s and Q51s, with 4.0 GPAs I imagine!).

I spent almost 3 months studying for the GMAT. In these 3 months, my primary focus was Quant (makes my Q48 even more of an embarrassment now!) and I did not spend more than 1/4th of the time on verbal. I did over a 1000 Quant problems (possibly even more, and not including the practice tests I took) and I always tried to spend time on understanding why I got a problem wrong and how to not repeat the same mistake. I feel like I left no stone unturned for Quant - I completed the e-GMAT online Quant course, went through the entire MGMAT Quant series books, completed the GMAT Question bank from GMAC and even purchased GMAT Focus few days before my exam (GMAT Focus, by the way, consistently predicted my score to be between Q48-Q51). I did take some GMAT Club tests (I could've taken more) and I regularly attempted problems posted on the Quant forum here.

I want to believe that I can improve my score if I can improve my performance in Quant (Verbal has been fairly consistent for me). But, I am unsure if I can even improve my Quant score at all. Most of the other 700+ score improvement posts that I have come across have involved drastic improvements in Verbal while Quant remained at a stellar percentile throughout. What else, if anything, can I try to improve my Quant score? I do realize that it may appear that I have plenty of time to prepare for and retake the GMAT since I plan to apply to schools next year, but apart from work, I am a mum to a 9-month old, so time is a precious commodity

So many of you have crossed the 700 mark with excellent Q scores and I would be really grateful if I could get advice/tips from you lot on how to achieve the same. And, also some input on what kind of GMAT score is considered great for top 10 US B-schools?

Thank you!

So many of you have crossed the 700 mark with excellent Q scores and I would be really grateful if I could get advice/tips from you lot on how to achieve the same. And, also some input on what kind of GMAT score is considered great for top 10 US B-schools? Thank you!

gmati3 · Answer

Hey, first of all congratulations on 720. Not everyone here is fortunate enough to score that high, me included.

As far as your dilemma is concerned i would definitely advice you to go for GMAT again. But you should not wait too long as right now you are in constant touch.

Things i would suggest for quant improvement: 
1. Use bunuel signature links to brush up your basics. If you scoring 48, i would say you are little lacking in basics
2. Subscribe to GMAT club quant tests. They are awesome. Difficulty level is little higher than the original GMAT but still pretty good for practice under timed conditions.
3. After taking the test look at ALL the answers not just the ones you did wrong. In quant there are multiple methods to solve a question. If you know one which might take like 90 secs but there is direct formula that can solve the question in under 20 secs. This will save time and will give you confidence. 
4. Apart from above see the attached flashcards and remember them by heart.

In the end Quant is all about figuring out the correct question type. If you know that the remaining steps are easy.

P.S : All the points above are my personal opinion and things that have helped me moving from 45 to 50-51

Keepushinalmosthere · Answer

You got a 720 and are wondering if you should retest??? Huh?

You did great! What percentile is that even? Is that 95%? You killed the test, relax and live life. You are a mom to a 9 month old too. An additional 20 points isn't going to get you into a top 10 US b-school over someone else. Its up to you, but I would not retest after a 720.

IanStewart · Answer

Your scores are much better than they might seem, if you're looking only at the percentiles. Quant percentiles are dramatically depressed these days for reasons you can read about elsewhere. For North American applicants, which is the group you're likely to be compared to, percentiles have remained quite stable for years. GMAC used to make publicly available a demographic comparison tool, but they took that offline a few years ago, but according to that tool, a Q48 was in the 96th percentile in North America a few years back (https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/ ... ntile-tool), and it should still be around that level today.

So I'd think your score will be perfectly fine even for top programs, though an admissions expert would be more qualified to answer that question about specific schools. That said, if you did consider taking the test again, it does sound like you could improve the Quant score. If you consistently scored Q48-Q51 on GMATFocus, it's much more likely that your true level right now is a Q49 or Q50 than a Q48. I don't know if you took any official GMATPrep tests (they're free and are the most useful resource available!), but if you did, you'd have even more reliable information about your current level. On a single test, some variance will influence your score, because sometimes your guesses will work out well, and sometimes unusually badly, so it wouldn't be too uncommon for a Q50-level test taker to get a Q48 score on a single test. That's even more true on a first attempt, where other factors might influence a score - if the stress or unfamiliarity of real test conditions led to even one careless error, that could produce a lower score than expected.

If it's the case that your diagnostic test scores consistently indicate that your current level is a Q49-51, then you could take the test tomorrow and it would be very likely you'd improve on your Q48. If instead your scores are more in the Q47-Q49 range, you might need to make some genuine improvement to be confident about improving your score. There are some good suggestions above (though you wouldn't be scoring a Q48 at all without a mastery of the 'basics', so I don't think you need to focus there), and Bunuel's questions in particular are very good. I've also developed a lot of material for higher level test takers aiming for Q50 or Q51 scores, and if you'd find any of that helpful, just send me an email.

Good luck!

abstruze · Answer

gmati3 Thank you for your suggestions - very helpful! I admit that I did not utilize the GC Quant tests fully. Keepushinalmosthere Thanks! It's 94th percentile. I admit that it is a decent score, but I am primarily concerned about my low Quant score. IanStewart Thanks for all the info! GMAT Focus did predict my Q range to be between Q48-Q51 for all 3 attempts. My GMAT Prep scores were as follows: GMAT Prep Exam 1: 740 (Q49, V42) GMAT Prep Exam 2: 670 (Q44, V38) (Was very sleepy :-)

) GMAT Prep EP 1 Exam 1: 720 (Q48, V41) GMAT Prep EP 1 Exam 2: 720 (Q48, V41) It is entirely possible that my current level in Quant is at a Q48. But, I feel that I can improve. I have always been very nervous during the Quant part and I feel that impacts my performance in Quant. But, then again, I cannot help feeling nervous unless I see a better Quant score continuously in a couple of practice exams. Ha! Anyway, after much consideration, I have decided to re-take (but not for sometime). I hope I can improve my Q score!

airo · Answer

If you put in another month or two, you could probably go up to a Q49 or Q50. Have you ever gotten 49+ on any of the official practice exams that you've taken so far?

But to reiterate some of the previous posts above, your score is fine for the NA demographic.

push12345 · Answer

It is good zcore.
I think you should now focus on application related part.

Congo for good score.i see you scored 740 this time

Posted from my mobile device

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

First of all, a 720 is a great start! Second of all, of course you can improve your GMAT quant score!

A Q48 is a pretty awesome quant score, so with some more dedicated prep, you probably can improve to a Q49+. Now, to increase your quant score to an advanced level, you need to study each topic "with a fine-toothed comb" to determine your exact weaknesses.
 
For example, if you are reviewing Number Properties, be sure that you practice 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. 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 properly analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to more efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant knowledge. 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 quant score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see and types that you would rather not see, and questions 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 turn 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.

Accomplishing this end could take doing dozens of questions of one type, then dozens of the next, and so on. When you do dozens of the same type of question one after the other, you learn just what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to at least around 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better.

So, work on accuracy and generally getting to 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 it 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 materials. Thus, take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant courses .

Please reach out with any further questions!

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720(Q48,V41) - Want to retake but unsure if I can improve

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