Direct retake

Question

Dear forum,

as I struggled on test-day with anxiety and nervousness resulting from the unknown environment, I only scored a 680 (47,37). In my 4 prep tests, my weakest score was 710, (2x 730, 1x 720). 
Therefore, I asked myself whether to retake the test immediately (in two days) since I feel like I do not need to prepare any further. I do not have much time after that since the exams of my university are coming closer.
Do you think it's useless to retake it so quickly?

Thanks in advance.

bb · Answer

I assume you have taken the online test and you were thinking of retaking the one of the test center? Or the other way around?

If you’re taking both tests at the test center, you will have to wait for 16 days.

Posted from my mobile device

IIIIIIIIIIIII · Answer

I took in the test center today and would retake it online. Thanks for the fast reply bb

bb · Answer

You can do it.

On one hand I’m really curious to see how this turns out and do you have this experiment. I think there is a lot that goes into concentration and being able to focus and not being frazzled.

On the other hand, everyone who walks out of the test center or a bar fight, thinks they would do better next time. That is because they think the opponent will behave the same way next time but that’s rarely the case.

It’s really some thing you should judge on your own. I really hope you do better and prove the old cautious farts like me wrong. There is a reason they say there are no old bold pilots ?

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi IIIIIIIIIIIII,

First off, a 6680/Q47 is a strong Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

While it's possible that taking the GMAT at a Test Center (relative to where you took your practice CATs/mocks) may have impacted your performance, you have to be careful about assuming that that was the only factor. Before you rush back in to retest (with the At-home GMAT), there are a couple of immediate things to consider:

First, the 'format' of the At-home Test is fixed (Quant, then Verbal - with no break in-between, then an optional 5-minute break, then IR). Having to take Quant and Verbal in one sitting is challenging for most Test Takers (especially if you've been taking your CATs with an 8-minute break between sections).

Second, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically shouldn't take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. Since you just took the Official GMAT, you might not be at your 'best' for another Exam until at least another few days have passed.

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi IIIIIIIIIIIII

What did you decide to do?

RetaketheGMAT · Answer

If you don't think there is any additional work to do, then why wait? You've identified the environment as the key problem. The online test is in the comfort of your own home or office. It seems like you can directly address the key issue with the online test.

IIIIIIIIIIIII · Answer

I did go for the retake, and it felt quite good. Since I knew that it could only get better, I was a lot more relaxed (Anxiety has always been an issue for me). I'll inform you when I receive my score!

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