Disappointed with my GMAT result.

Hi Joshua,

With your strong Verbal scores, a Quant score in the high 40s (or 50s) would put you well into 750+ territory.

You clearly understand most (if not all) of the math content, but the 'swings' in your Quant Scaled Scores (during your studying and on Test Day) hint at some "mechanical" issues that might exist in your work. In the Quant section, how often do you just "do math", as opposed to TESTing VALUES, TESTing THE ANSWERS, using Number Properties, etc.?

How long did you study?
What materials did you use?

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

Hi Rich,

I've always considered Quant as my strength and Verbal as a (relative) weakness. I have never scored below 44 in Quant in any of my practice tests and a 49 in my last GMATprep test. I don't know what went wrong in my actual exam. Maybe the lack of sleep :S. I have studied the Manhattan guides thoroughly and I think they are one of the best. Throughout my self study for GMAT I have always told myself to test numbers especially in D.S questions but I always end up doing "straight" math as that's what me and all of us have been doing since school.

I have studied for almost 3-4 months but never intensely. A few hours here and there. What other material do you suggest? I really want to improve my Quant to a 50-51 while maintaining my verbal or even improving it to a 44-45.

Thanks,
Joshua

Hi Joshua,

You've described two issues that could have very heavily influenced your performance on Test Day:

1) A poor night's sleep can absolutely impact anyone's performance over the Course of a 4-hour exam.

2) You mentioned how you weren't studying that intensely, which makes me think that you were not too rigorous with how you took your practice CATs. Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections) each time? Did you take the CATs at the same time of day as your Official GMAT? Did you do ANYTHING that would be considered unrealistic and not test-like (taking the CATs at home, skipping sections, pausing the CAT, retaking a CAT, etc.)?

The more you deviate from the reality of Test Day, the more likely your CAT scores are to be "off" (and usually, that means "inflated"). The good news is that both the Quant and Verbal sections are standardized and predictable, so you CAN train to score higher in the Quant section (and even pick up some points in the Verbal). However, you CANNOT continue to afford to study "your way" - you'll have to make some adjustments and likely invest in some new materials.

Given your current scores, you could be ready to retest in a month, so the investment of time, money and energy wouldn't necessarily be too great. Given the specific need for Quant resources, I would suggest the EMPOWERgmat Quant Score Booster - most of our Clients complete that Study Plan in under a month, but you will need to set aside the necessary time to get through all of the materials. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com) that you can use to "test out" the Course.

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

Hi Rich,

By studying not intensely I definitely didn't mean studying lazily. I worked hard. I studied regularly for at least 2-3 hours a day. But then I feel I could have studied more intensely and had better results. I took all the CATs in strict "real time" conditions. I never paused any test, I took all the tests at the same time of the day when I had to take the actual test (2 P.M to 6 P.M).

If I plan to take the GMAT again, how much time do you think will make me capable enough to score a 750+? Also, I saw some study plans at your website. Will one month be sufficient for a 690 scorer to hit a 750+ score... And I saw the most attractive thing (from a customer's point of view ) : the money back guarantee. It says Empower GMAT guarantees to improve my official score. So are there some terms and conditions? Like some minimum number of points improvement? Or is it that even if I score a 700, that's an improvement nevertheless!...

Looking forward to get a 750+ with the help of Empower GMAT assassins.

Lot of questions

Thanks!

Hi Joshua,

If you are as naturally 'strong' in Verbal as your score implies, then a short-term 'focus' on the Quant section could conceivably prepare you to score 750+ in a month. At your current scoring level though, the GMAT becomes really "sensitive" to silly/little mistakes - the more of those mistakes you make, the more difficult it becomes to score at the 750+ level. So the issue isn't just about intelligence or question-answering ability - it's about precision, discipline, organization, doing the work that helps you to PROVE that the answer you're choosing is the correct one. Most Test Takers are never able to truly hone those skills, which is why the 700+ score is the 90th percentile and why the 750+ score is the 99th percentile.

There are just a few conditions for the Money-back guarantee, which you've probably already read. There is no minimum score guarantee - if your score does NOT increase, then you get a month's fee refunded + $50.

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