After 1.5 month of studying for GMAT, I think I should change to GRE

Question

Today I took an official prep test and I scored 570 (Q 48, V 22), a lot lower than my goal which was +700. Obviously, verbal is my problem but I wasn't expecting 22 on that. RC was the key factor to my low performance since questions 2 to 8 were RC (two passages one short one long) and I had 4 wrong out of 7 questions. And for the other two passages, I almost didn't read them and answered them almost by luck because I felt short on time. In the end out of 14 RC questions I had only 4 correct. In SC which I spent more times compared to other parts of the exam, I had only 5 correct out of 13 questions (not surprising for me since I knew I was weak in that) and in CR I had all of them right (9 questions)

GMAT doesn't hold in my country (Iran) unlike GRE that it does, so to take GMAT I should go to another country. But the reason I preferred GMAT over GRE was my ability in math and the fact that for GRE I should study a lot more than for GMAT (mostly hard vocabulary for GRE)

Now I'm in a dilemma. I like GMAT more than GRE, but with this test result today, I think it's a huge risk for me since I can't take the exam twice because of the cost of going to another country. I can almost dedicate 3 months full time to study and knowing my weaknesses (RC and SC) I can work to improve them but now I'm thinking about GRE. I really don't know which one to take.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

...knowing my weaknesses (RC and SC)...

May provide some helpful insight for either exam you choose:  How to do well on GMAT Reading Comprehension. Read to absorb.

All the best with your choice.

desertEagle · Answer

If you want to do MBA .. go for GMAT. GRE people have to show GMAT scorecard to potential employers. So, you will have to take GMAT in college if you plan to get job in Management field.

Best of luck

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Hamdakreza.

I'm not in a position to know which test would be better for you, but I can at least provide my two cents, which is the following.

While it's true that you won't have to deal with SC on the GRE, you'll still have to deal with RC, and you'll have to learn a lot of vocabulary for TC and SE GRE questions. So, you may not find GRE verbal much easier than GMAT verbal.

bb · Answer

I know know that you will have to take the GMAT and if you should prefer it for strong reasons - I have seen people with both GMAT and GRE admitted to top MBA programs. 
We do have a panel with AdCom, Tutors, and Admissions Consultants who will be asking and wondering the exact same question on June 14t: which test to take?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Au8ngbSSNI

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Hamdakreza,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you have studied for just 1.5 months, then it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort to score higher yet. In addition, many GMATers face pacing issues in the Quant section, the Verbal section or both – so you are not alone. However, it's important to remember that pacing problems do NOT exist on their own - they're the results of OTHER problems. You might naturally improve in all of these areas over time - but you clearly have to work on a number of different Verbal skills before you will be able to consistently score 700+.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies (whether you ultimately switch to the GRE or stay with the GMAT), it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) Have you taken just this one CAT/mock? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used? On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
4) 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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

vv65 · Answer

Difficult decision

You will have to work on RC whichever exam you choose. GRE verbal is 50% RC, and it tends to be less straightforward than GMAT RC.

Posted from my mobile device

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  Hamdakreza ,

Was this your first official practice test? Many test takers struggle with timing initially, but time management is a skill, and most test takers do get better at it with practice.

Also, you could take an official GRE practice test. That could help you choose between the two tests.

Hamdakreza · Answer

Hi 
Thank you for your answer
Actually I have a question
Two days before I took this official prep, I did the TTP diagnostic test for the range of 700 - 730. And I was happy about the result especially RC that I had only one wrong answer out of 14 questions. Is those RC in TTP diagnostic too easy?
If yes, considering that I'm OK with easy passages, should I start from scratch for RC or just practice on time in hard passages?
Thanks

Hamdakreza · Answer

Hi
Thank you for your answer
I studied 140 hours in 1.5 month for gmat mostly doing OG (12th edition to keep OG 22 for the end of my study) watching youtube videos mostly GMATNinja 
I did two other mocks (manhattan and expertsglobal) my quant score was lower in them but my verbal score was a little bit better (27 and 28) 
I was hoping to get that 28 to 36 but I ended up with 22.
And I'm MBA student now I want to go for PHD I didn't decide which schools yet, I think it depends on my score in gmat or gre.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Hamdakreza, I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions. GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made, Rich Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

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After 1.5 month of studying for GMAT, I think I should change to GRE

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