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23 Oct 2015, 05:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hello,
I am in an intense dilemma to retake the GMAT immediately or wait for another 2-4 weeks to address any gap [which I am not able to figure out yet!]
Some brief background below:
I have taken the test thrice till now:
1st - 26 Dec'2012 | 680 (Q 49, V 34)
2nd - 20 Oct'2014 | 650 (Q 47, V 32)
3rd - 14 Oct'2015 | 610 (Q 50, V 23)
I believe my first GMAT score [680] was a fair score considering it was my first attempt for the exam after more than 5yr from formal university education [not to add the test was rescheduled thrice in the day because of some technical failure at the center].
My second attempt [650, after almost 2yr and many developments in personal and professional life] was a bit disappointing because I scored 680 and 670 in the last two GMATPrep tests [without retake] and consistently scored 700-730 in the Kaplan tests. In the official GMAT attempt, Q 47 was more disappointing to me than V 32 - usually my score in verbal had been in the range 30-35 during that time. I wanted to retake the test again but given the time constraints for B-school applications I focused on my applications rather - I got an admit from one of the top schools in Asia.
Some more information -
I have more than 8 years of full time experience now, primarily working for 2 bulge bracket investments banks in valuation and risk functions in India [with few months of international experience], and doing fairly well in my current job. I also hold a CFA charter. I am very focused in terms of my MBA goals and the schools I will be applying to - LBS and INSEAD. Given the high competition for these top schools, I understand how critical a 700+ score is for my admission.
Back to GMAT -
I decided to improve my score to 700+ range and started preparing around 5-6 weeks before finally taking a test date. My only source of preparation was:
1. OG 2016
2. Manhattan verbal guides [all SC, RC and CR]
3. GMATPrep Question Pack [494 official questions]
I always knew scoring 49+ in quant was just a matter of more focus for me and my preparation was primarily focused on verbal guides of Manhattan to learn techniques and address gaps before rushing into question solving spree for verbal. After 2 weeks of Manhattan verbal guides review I wrote first GMATPrep test [all sections, following string timelines, but a retake after more than a year] and got an encouraging 690 [Q 50, V 34]. I was happy with my 50 target in quant and was ok with 34 in verbal - I knew as long as I keep my quant score to 50, a verbal score of 35+ will let me cross the 700 mark. Following were the test scores later in the prep [All tests under strict timelines, start time same as scheduled test and with all the sections]:
I was highly encouraged by my ~700 scores and consistent improvement in the verbal section. I took rest for a day before the final GMAT date [14-Oct] and solved few questions to keep my mind engaged. On the test day I was confident, was not feeling any much nerve - somehow I was excited to get the same score I have been getting on the GMATPrep tests. I felt a bit shaky on both AWA and IR, but had a good feeling on quant as I started seeing some challenging problems in the end. I was a bit distracted though by the large computer screen and its placement compared to my laptop. Surprisingly, verbal section didn't seem any different either - I was experiencing almost the same brain engagement as in the practice tests and had a feeling I should be seeing a 700+/-20 score. To my surprise, I got a 610 - Q 50, as expected, V 23! - I had never seen this verbal score in any of the tests I had written in last 3 years! [official GMAT, GMATPrep, Kaplan, Manhattan] - I am just not able to digest this score!
Back to Advice -
At this point, a part of me says to write the test immediately - I am still in zone of quant; and in verbal I am sure I definitely dont belong to a sub-30 score. On another part though I am thinking to sink in this score - take another 2-3 weeks to relax and practice further on verbal and take the test.
I will be grateful if one of you experts could advice me on:
Appreciate to read the long topic and advice.
Thanks.
I am in an intense dilemma to retake the GMAT immediately or wait for another 2-4 weeks to address any gap [which I am not able to figure out yet!]
Some brief background below:
I have taken the test thrice till now:
1st - 26 Dec'2012 | 680 (Q 49, V 34)
2nd - 20 Oct'2014 | 650 (Q 47, V 32)
3rd - 14 Oct'2015 | 610 (Q 50, V 23)
I believe my first GMAT score [680] was a fair score considering it was my first attempt for the exam after more than 5yr from formal university education [not to add the test was rescheduled thrice in the day because of some technical failure at the center].
My second attempt [650, after almost 2yr and many developments in personal and professional life] was a bit disappointing because I scored 680 and 670 in the last two GMATPrep tests [without retake] and consistently scored 700-730 in the Kaplan tests. In the official GMAT attempt, Q 47 was more disappointing to me than V 32 - usually my score in verbal had been in the range 30-35 during that time. I wanted to retake the test again but given the time constraints for B-school applications I focused on my applications rather - I got an admit from one of the top schools in Asia.
Some more information -
I have more than 8 years of full time experience now, primarily working for 2 bulge bracket investments banks in valuation and risk functions in India [with few months of international experience], and doing fairly well in my current job. I also hold a CFA charter. I am very focused in terms of my MBA goals and the schools I will be applying to - LBS and INSEAD. Given the high competition for these top schools, I understand how critical a 700+ score is for my admission.
Back to GMAT -
I decided to improve my score to 700+ range and started preparing around 5-6 weeks before finally taking a test date. My only source of preparation was:
1. OG 2016
2. Manhattan verbal guides [all SC, RC and CR]
3. GMATPrep Question Pack [494 official questions]
I always knew scoring 49+ in quant was just a matter of more focus for me and my preparation was primarily focused on verbal guides of Manhattan to learn techniques and address gaps before rushing into question solving spree for verbal. After 2 weeks of Manhattan verbal guides review I wrote first GMATPrep test [all sections, following string timelines, but a retake after more than a year] and got an encouraging 690 [Q 50, V 34]. I was happy with my 50 target in quant and was ok with 34 in verbal - I knew as long as I keep my quant score to 50, a verbal score of 35+ will let me cross the 700 mark. Following were the test scores later in the prep [All tests under strict timelines, start time same as scheduled test and with all the sections]:
- 1. 27-Sep-2015, GMATPrep 1, 690 - Q 50, V 34
2. 03-Oct-2015, GMATPrep 2, 690 - Q 50, V 34
3. 11-Oct-2015, GMATPrep 3 [Exam Pack] - 710 - Q 49, V 37
4. 12-Oct-2015, GMATPrep 4 [Exam Pack] - 710 - Q 49, V 38
I was highly encouraged by my ~700 scores and consistent improvement in the verbal section. I took rest for a day before the final GMAT date [14-Oct] and solved few questions to keep my mind engaged. On the test day I was confident, was not feeling any much nerve - somehow I was excited to get the same score I have been getting on the GMATPrep tests. I felt a bit shaky on both AWA and IR, but had a good feeling on quant as I started seeing some challenging problems in the end. I was a bit distracted though by the large computer screen and its placement compared to my laptop. Surprisingly, verbal section didn't seem any different either - I was experiencing almost the same brain engagement as in the practice tests and had a feeling I should be seeing a 700+/-20 score. To my surprise, I got a 610 - Q 50, as expected, V 23! - I had never seen this verbal score in any of the tests I had written in last 3 years! [official GMAT, GMATPrep, Kaplan, Manhattan] - I am just not able to digest this score!
Back to Advice -
At this point, a part of me says to write the test immediately - I am still in zone of quant; and in verbal I am sure I definitely dont belong to a sub-30 score. On another part though I am thinking to sink in this score - take another 2-3 weeks to relax and practice further on verbal and take the test.
I will be grateful if one of you experts could advice me on:
- a. What is best strategy to take the test now?
b. What could be the possible cause of steep drop in Verbal score
Appreciate to read the long topic and advice.
Thanks.
23 Oct 2015, 11:51
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi mkgmat14,
I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day.
If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:
To start, when you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day.
If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:
To start, when you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
23 Oct 2015, 12:09
Kudos
Bookmarks
EMPOWERgmatRichC
Thanks Rich.
Please find my responses below:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
Yes
2) Did you take them at home?
Yes
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
Yes
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
No
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?
No - in my attempt this year, I have written all the CATs only once.
However, I had attempted these tests a year back for my second attempt.
I hope I suffice the information.
Thanks Again.
