Hi, I took my first diagnostic GMAT yesterday and scored a 740. This score was very surprising to me since I found the quant portion pretty difficult. Moreover, I only got 22/31 correct on Quant and 26/36 correct on Verbal. Can I trust this first diagnostic score? My goal is to score 760+ but definitely expected my baseline to be lower, around the ~650 range from the numbers I've seen people able to improve. Thanks for any input.

Hi dlj272727,

A 740 is an exceptional initial CAT score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years). There are a variety of different factors that can impact your score on a practice CAT/mock, including the 'brand' of CAT, the time of day that you begin the Exam, how well-rested you are, whether you have seen any of the questions before or not, how strict you were about following Test-Day parameters, etc. At face value, that type of result implies that you are a strong overall critical-thinker, but one result is not enough data to say for sure if that is your actual 'ability level' (as you may have gotten a bit 'lucky' or 'unlucky' while taking this Practice Test).

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied so far? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) What were the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for this CAT/mock?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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dlj272727 - A score of 740 on a diagnostic practice test is outstanding. That said, I would like to know what test did you take? Was it an official practice test by GMAT Prep or a practice test offered by other test prep companies. Please understand that GMAT is a test of ability and not accuracy; therefore, you can get a Q50-51 even with several incorrect answers. What were the sectional raw scores?
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Thanks so much for the input, really appreciate it. To answer your questions, it was my first test and I haven't studied for it yet. Breakdown was Q49, V41. I felt pretty comfortable on verbal. Though the score wasn't amazing, I feel like some studying on the sentence correction part will help a lot and am confident I can improve here. For quant, I found many of the questions difficult and definitely expect that I need to do a good amount of studying here. I did not expect to receive such a high score and imagine that a decent amount of the questions I got right I was not 100% certain on.

Re: goals, my goal is 760+ and I will not be applying to business schools for another 2 years at the minimum, but want to take it within 3 months.

Hey dlj272727,

As long as you are sure that you have solved the questions using the right methods and didn't get lucky on a few, you don't have to worry about it. If you are still not sure, you can go ahead and take another mock to see if the score is consistent or not.
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Hi dlj272727,

Studying for the GMAT now - far in advance of when you will actually "need" your Score - is a smart choice. Since you are not facing any immediate deadline (in terms of taking the Exam or applying to School), you can feel free to approach your studies however you like. If you're looking for a structured study plan and materials, then I have some suggestions. You might also consider studying however you choose for 1-2 weeks, then taking a NEW practice CAT/mock. That result will help to define whether you got a bit 'lucky' or not on your first CAT and will help to define how well 'your way' of approaching GMAT questions during that 1-2 weeks of study is helping you to improve. All things considered, if you are as strong a critical-thinker as your initial CAT Score implies, then you might just need to adjust how you 'see' (and respond to) the GMAT in a few ways - and you could potentially take the Official GMAT in 1-2 months and hit your Score Goal.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Hi dlj272727,

740 is a great start! I do think you can trust that score, so you should be pretty happy about it. Since you have plenty of time before you have to take the GMAT, do you want any advice regarding your study plan?
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You haven't said what test you took and how much (if any) preparation you have done for the GMAT. Also, how you have prepared, esp. what materials you have used

For instance (hypothetical case), suppose you have taken lessons from a tutor who has made you do many questions from the free GMATPREP tests
And you have then taken one of the free GMATPREP tests as a first diagnostic
Then the 740 wouldn't predict anything, would it?

But suppose this was your first dealing with anything GMAT-related : in that case the 740 really is exceptional! You could book an appointment and take the test tomorrow

Posted from my mobile device
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