Ask for advice: 1st attempt 640, aiming at 700+

Question

Hi All,

I am considering for a MBA program next year or the year after. I understand GMAT is one of the very important parts. Thus, I am trying to get a higher mark - 700+.

I had my first attempt on 10th Dec, and got below marks:
IR 8, Q 47, V 31, Total 640

This obviously is not enough. So, I welcome any advice on improving the marks in short term - try to get a better mark before Feb 2016

Background to be taken into consideration:
Full time working (not super busy, but definitely not a easy/relax job) , with 2 young kids. Really do not have too much time.
For the first attempt, I did some of the OG questions and that was all for the preparation. I understand this is really important, so I will finish the OG and probably buy OG16 to finish as well before the second try.

But, any other materials I should consider?

Many thanks in advance.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mishisenlin,

First off, a 640/Q47 is a solid score (it's just shy of the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary.

1) What Business Schools are you planning to apply to?
2) When are you planning to apply?

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

mishisenlin · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your posting. I am aiming at S16, but would also consider schools ranked 20-30. Well, given the time is mid Dec now and I haven't started my essay and other stuffs, I am thinking applying next year for 2017 admission. But I am an old age applicant (turning 30 in Feb 2016). So I don't want to delay to much.

Any advice is welcome.

Cheers

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi krtibdewal,

It would help if you could name the specific Schools/Programs that you're interested in. With Schools in the Top 20-30 range, your 640 would be competitive (it wouldn't necessarily be at the high end of every School's 'range' of acceptable scores, but you wouldn't be rejected because of it). Since this is turning into more an Admissions discussion, 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/

If you plan to push back your applications until next Fall/Winter, then you'll have a far greater opportunity to score at a higher level on the GMAT and put together some strong OVERALL applications.

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

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hi mishisenlin, Although OG is a must for your GMAT preparation, but it does not teach you anything about the fundamentals. You need to understand the concepts/fundamentals first before jumping on to solving problems. I would recommend you to opt for a preparatory course. Most of the companies including ours offer a free trial period. Also, our On Demand course comes with a 50 point score guarantee. You can opt for the trial and see if the course suits your needs You can find the details here: https://optimus-prep.com/shop/gmat/gmat- ... nd-course/ Apart from this, I would recommend you to solve full length mock CATs to improve your test taking. You can download 2 free tests and can buy 2 additional tests from mba.com Also, make sure that you complete the official Guide and make an error log for this round of preparation. Since, you are planning to apply next season, take 2 months for your preparation.

Gau0809 · Answer

Hi

I have given my GMAT and going for the II attempt.
But I have used up 2+2 official GMAC prep tests.
So, any idea how can I get 4 fresh tests?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gauriranjekar,

If you've already used all 4 of those GMAC CATs, then there is no way to get 'new' versions. You can retake those CATs, but you'll almost certainly see some 'repeat' questions - which will make the overall experience unrealistic and likely lead to an 'inflated' score result (that will NOT be accurate).

There are a number of other CATs that are 'close enough' to the Official GMAT that they will provide reasonably accurate results though (as long as YOU use them correctly).

1) What CATs have you used so far?
2) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

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

Gau0809 · Answer

Thanks Rich

Well, I have tried Manhattan GMAT tests, but I find them way difficult than the actual GMAT tests.
I am planning to apply in the III round, so, I am targeting somewhere in the month of Feb (1st week or II week max)

Also, if I login through different mail id on GMAC and purchase 4 new tests, will they be same old tests?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gauriranjekar,

Setting up a "new" account with GMAC will NOT get you a new set or resources (you'll end up with the same CATs as before - with the same 'pool' of questions). If you retake those CATs, you'll certainly see some new questions, but you'll almost certainly see some repeat questions too.

Since the GMAC algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. However, the CATs offered by MGMAT, Veritas and Kaplan are 'close enough' that they will provide reasonable assessments of your abilities (as long as you use the CATs correctly).

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

JDtoMBA · Answer

For what it's worth, I used Manhattan Prep for Quant + Sentence Correction and OG13 for practice problems in general and GMAT Prep + Manhattan Prep for practice tests and scored 760 on first try. From what I researched before to my own studying, Manhattan Prep was highly recommended for Quant + Sentence Correction and, after following said advice, I would recommend the same.

Gau0809 · Answer

Thank you very much for the information and advice...!!

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Once you have taken the tests, you cannot expect to get all the fresh questions. There is a limited database of questions and while retaking, you will see some repeat questions. This will certainly inflate your score.

Our On Demand course comes with 9 practice test. You can take the trial period and see if the course suits your needs.

dLo · Answer

Gau,

You're me 1 year ago. I studied with the MGMAT books, and the online lecture videos, for abour 3 months. I took the GMAT in Dec '14, and I got a 640. I turned 30 in March '15. I felt this was the last cycle to realistically apply to full-time. I was targeting Top 15, so 640 was not close to enough.

I had previously scored 690-700 on diagnostics, but when I sat for the first test, it was 8am early morning, I was hopped up on caffeine, and I am a night owl. All those worked against me.

After, I rescheduled for Feb 26th '15, and sat down with my MGMAT books and reviewed all of my CAT exam questions, statistics and areas of weakness. I took more MGMAT CATs and finally the GMAT CAT and scored a 740 on the diagnostic. For the exam, I scheduled it for a Thursday evening at 4:30 PM; I went to work that day, had my morning coffee, and went to the test after work (no more coffee ahead of time). I was in my element at that point of the day, and I ended up scoring 710.

Lesson is, work harder to understand your weaknesses, take it at your optimal time / conditions, and don't feel discouraged. I got into my goal school (Anderson) and another, and will be heading to LA next fall!

GMATPILLBILL · Answer

Hey mishisenlin,

For results before Feb 2016, we're looking at about a month of preparation.

Here is a customized one month study plan that can help boost your score: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... study-plan

Use this as a guideline. You don’t have to follow it exactly but the structure of the study plan should be the same structure that you take in your approach. This helps to optimize your retention and learning.

As you study, we recommend that you focus on one particular subsection for multiple consecutive days before moving onto the next. You can see this in our study plan where we recommend 5 days on nothing but SC -- before moving onto CR and then RC.

Here is a sample SC video to help you start your journey: https://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrect ... ythons.mp4

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Ask for advice: 1st attempt 640, aiming at 700+

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