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mcelroytutoring
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Tutor
Joined: 10 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Mar 2025
Posts: 1,201
Given Kudos: 282
Status:Expert GMAT, GRE, and LSAT Tutor / Coach
Affiliations: Harvard University, A.B. with honors in Government, 2002
Location: United States (CO)
Age: 45
GMAT 1: 770 Q47 V48
GMAT 2: 730 Q44 V47
GMAT 3: 750 Q50 V42
GMAT 4: 730 Q48 V42 (Online)
GRE 1: Q168 V169
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Expert reply
Updated on: 26 Nov 2021, 07:50
Originally posted by mcelroytutoring on 03 Dec 2017, 14:34.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 26 Nov 2021, 07:50, edited 33 times in total.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 26 Nov 2021, 07:50, edited 33 times in total.
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Also see: From V46 to V47 to V40 to V42: my GMAT Verbal Journey (with ESRs)
I am a Harvard grad and American GMAT tutor based inSan Diego Colorado Springs, and I take the real GMAT regularly to stay sharp and up-to-date. I have always been naturally talented at Verbal—I scored V48 (99%) on my first attempt, which helped propel me to a composite score of 770—but on Quant, I have had to struggle for my success. Like so many others, especially those of us coming from the American educational system, where overall mathematics skills are lacking relative to elsewhere in the world, I have found the fast-paced, adaptive format of the GMAT Quant section to be a challenging opponent—and yes, even I have had setbacks in my journey to reach an elite (80%+) Quant score.
On my last 5 test-center GMATs, I scored 47 (pre-ESR), 42, 44, 46 and finally 50/51 on Quant. Below is my journey, in pictures. I imagine that the ESRs will be helpful to many of you in formulating your pacing strategies.
I don't have an ESR from the 1st time I took the test in 2012 (Q47), but I imagine it would have looked something like the one above. Like this student, I performed very well at the beginning, but I ran out of time at the end.
On my 2nd attempt, I earned only an average Quant score, mostly due to my subpar performance in the critical 2nd and 3rd quarters. I was determined to go faster this time, and I did great at the end, but it was too late—my difficulty level had already fallen too low. I only got 9 (counted) questions wrong this time, but I performed 5 points worse than the previous test due to a significantly lowered difficulty level.
On my 3rd attempt, I turned in a mostly solid performance in the first three quarters of the test, but I fell apart at the end, running out of time and getting 6 out of the final 7 questions wrong. Q44 is certainly not bad for 12 of 28 counted questions wrong, though—the test rewarded me for earning harder questions at the end, even though I got most of them wrong.
Welcome news--progress rather than regress! On my 4th attempt, I turned in a solid performance during the first three quarters of the test, and survived the final quartile of the test due to improved pacing strategy, even though I still ran out of time at the very end. Interestingly, I got 9 questions wrong this time—the exact same number incorrect as the time I scored a Q42—but I scored 4 points higher.
Finally, the coveted Q50, on my 5th try! I took my time during the critical first two quarters of questions (up to three minutes per question) and managed to perform very well (12 out of 14 correct). Toward the end of the section, I made sure to speed myself up and be more aggressive with my answers, giving myself enough time to finish. For the first time, I was able to complete every question, and I finished strong—only 6 questions wrong total—despite the high difficulty level of the questions I was being served.
Here are some estimates based on the hundreds of student ESRs from actual GMAT Quant sections (not the GMATPrep software, which has a much different scoring algorithm) that I've seen thus far.
(28 counted questions per test)
0-2 wrong: 51 (96%)
1-6 wrong: 50 (86%)
4-10 wrong: 49 (75%)
5-11 wrong: 48 (69%)
6-12 wrong: 47 (63%)
6-13 wrong: 46 (60%)
7-14 wrong: 45 (57%)
7-15 wrong: 44 (52%)
etc.
Sources: here and here and here and here
-Brian
My next goal: getting only 0-2 wrong and earning a perfect 51/51.
Happy studies,
-Brian
I am a Harvard grad and American GMAT tutor based in
On my last 5 test-center GMATs, I scored 47 (pre-ESR), 42, 44, 46 and finally 50/51 on Quant. Below is my journey, in pictures. I imagine that the ESRs will be helpful to many of you in formulating your pacing strategies.
I don't have an ESR from the 1st time I took the test in 2012 (Q47), but I imagine it would have looked something like the one above. Like this student, I performed very well at the beginning, but I ran out of time at the end.
On my 2nd attempt, I earned only an average Quant score, mostly due to my subpar performance in the critical 2nd and 3rd quarters. I was determined to go faster this time, and I did great at the end, but it was too late—my difficulty level had already fallen too low. I only got 9 (counted) questions wrong this time, but I performed 5 points worse than the previous test due to a significantly lowered difficulty level.
On my 3rd attempt, I turned in a mostly solid performance in the first three quarters of the test, but I fell apart at the end, running out of time and getting 6 out of the final 7 questions wrong. Q44 is certainly not bad for 12 of 28 counted questions wrong, though—the test rewarded me for earning harder questions at the end, even though I got most of them wrong.
Welcome news--progress rather than regress! On my 4th attempt, I turned in a solid performance during the first three quarters of the test, and survived the final quartile of the test due to improved pacing strategy, even though I still ran out of time at the very end. Interestingly, I got 9 questions wrong this time—the exact same number incorrect as the time I scored a Q42—but I scored 4 points higher.
Finally, the coveted Q50, on my 5th try! I took my time during the critical first two quarters of questions (up to three minutes per question) and managed to perform very well (12 out of 14 correct). Toward the end of the section, I made sure to speed myself up and be more aggressive with my answers, giving myself enough time to finish. For the first time, I was able to complete every question, and I finished strong—only 6 questions wrong total—despite the high difficulty level of the questions I was being served.
Here are some estimates based on the hundreds of student ESRs from actual GMAT Quant sections (not the GMATPrep software, which has a much different scoring algorithm) that I've seen thus far.
(28 counted questions per test)
0-2 wrong: 51 (96%)
1-6 wrong: 50 (86%)
4-10 wrong: 49 (75%)
5-11 wrong: 48 (69%)
6-12 wrong: 47 (63%)
6-13 wrong: 46 (60%)
7-14 wrong: 45 (57%)
7-15 wrong: 44 (52%)
etc.
Sources: here and here and here and here
-Brian
My next goal: getting only 0-2 wrong and earning a perfect 51/51.
Happy studies,
-Brian
09 Dec 2017, 17:03
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Bookmarks
mcelroytutoring
Also see: From V46 to V47 to V40 to V42: my GMAT Verbal Journey (with ESRs)
I am a Harvard grad and American GMAT tutor, and I take the GMAT at least every few years to stay sharp and up-to-date. I have always been naturally talented at Verbal--I scored V48 (99%) on my first attempt, which helped propel me to a composite score of 770--but for Quant, I have had to struggle for my success. Like so many others, especially those of us coming from the American educational system, where overall mathematics skills are lacking relative to elsewhere in the world, I have found the fast-paced, adaptive format of the GMAT Quant section to be a challenging opponent, and yes, even I have had setbacks in my journey to reach an elite (80%+) Quant score.
On my last 5 GMATs, I scored 47 (pre-ESR), 44, 42, 46 and finally 50/51 on Quant. Below is my journey, in pictures. I imagine that the ESRs will be helpful to many of you in formulating your pacing strategies.
Here, I turned in a mostly solid performance in the first three quarters of the test, but I fell apart at the end, running out of time and getting 6 out of the final 7 questions wrong. Q44 is certainly not bad for 12 of 28 counted questions wrong, though--the test rewarded me for earning harder questions at the end, even though I got most of them wrong.
Here, I backslid, mostly due to my subpar performance in the critical 2nd and 3rd quarters. I did great at the end, but it was too late--my difficulty level had already fallen too low. I only got 9 (counted) questions wrong this time, but I performed 2 points worse than the previous test due to a lowered difficulty level.
Welcome news--progress rather than regress! I turned in a solid performance during the first three quarters of the test, and survived the final quartile of the test due to improved pacing strategy, even though I still ran out of time at the very end. Interestingly, I got 9 questions wrong this time--the exact same number incorrect as the last time--but performed a full 4 points better on my overall score.
Finally, the coveted Q50! I took my time during the critical first two quarters of questions (up to three minutes per question) and managed to perform very well (12 out of 14 correct) . Toward the end of the section, I made sure to speed myself up and be more aggressive with my answers, giving myself enough time to finish. For the first time, I was able to complete every question, and I finished strong--only 6 questions wrong total--despite the high difficulty level of the questions I was being served.
My next goal: getting only 0-2 wrong and earning a perfect 51/51.
Happy studies,
-Brian
I am a Harvard grad and American GMAT tutor, and I take the GMAT at least every few years to stay sharp and up-to-date. I have always been naturally talented at Verbal--I scored V48 (99%) on my first attempt, which helped propel me to a composite score of 770--but for Quant, I have had to struggle for my success. Like so many others, especially those of us coming from the American educational system, where overall mathematics skills are lacking relative to elsewhere in the world, I have found the fast-paced, adaptive format of the GMAT Quant section to be a challenging opponent, and yes, even I have had setbacks in my journey to reach an elite (80%+) Quant score.
On my last 5 GMATs, I scored 47 (pre-ESR), 44, 42, 46 and finally 50/51 on Quant. Below is my journey, in pictures. I imagine that the ESRs will be helpful to many of you in formulating your pacing strategies.
Here, I turned in a mostly solid performance in the first three quarters of the test, but I fell apart at the end, running out of time and getting 6 out of the final 7 questions wrong. Q44 is certainly not bad for 12 of 28 counted questions wrong, though--the test rewarded me for earning harder questions at the end, even though I got most of them wrong.
Here, I backslid, mostly due to my subpar performance in the critical 2nd and 3rd quarters. I did great at the end, but it was too late--my difficulty level had already fallen too low. I only got 9 (counted) questions wrong this time, but I performed 2 points worse than the previous test due to a lowered difficulty level.
Welcome news--progress rather than regress! I turned in a solid performance during the first three quarters of the test, and survived the final quartile of the test due to improved pacing strategy, even though I still ran out of time at the very end. Interestingly, I got 9 questions wrong this time--the exact same number incorrect as the last time--but performed a full 4 points better on my overall score.
Finally, the coveted Q50! I took my time during the critical first two quarters of questions (up to three minutes per question) and managed to perform very well (12 out of 14 correct) . Toward the end of the section, I made sure to speed myself up and be more aggressive with my answers, giving myself enough time to finish. For the first time, I was able to complete every question, and I finished strong--only 6 questions wrong total--despite the high difficulty level of the questions I was being served.
My next goal: getting only 0-2 wrong and earning a perfect 51/51.
Happy studies,
-Brian
Brian, great improvement and thanks for the insights. Thanks as well for your feedback on my situation. To what do attribute your range of scores? Better day-of performance or just gradually getting better in core skills? How much of this is odds game? Ie. just the luck of the CAT draw? Are 5 point swings possible from random takes?
Thx!
mcelroytutoring
Expert
Tutor
Joined: 10 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Mar 2025
Posts: 1,201
Given Kudos: 282
Status:Expert GMAT, GRE, and LSAT Tutor / Coach
Affiliations: Harvard University, A.B. with honors in Government, 2002
Location: United States (CO)
Age: 45
GMAT 1: 770 Q47 V48
GMAT 2: 730 Q44 V47
GMAT 3: 750 Q50 V42
GMAT 4: 730 Q48 V42 (Online)
GRE 1: Q168 V169
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Expert reply
Updated on: 26 Sep 2019, 15:51
Originally posted by mcelroytutoring on 09 Dec 2017, 17:26.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 26 Sep 2019, 15:51, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by mcelroytutoring on 26 Sep 2019, 15:51, edited 1 time in total.
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Thanks datatrader! Happy to help, and great question. I would say that the difference is about 60% improved skills, and about 40% luck, especially on Verbal, where even just 1 question wrong can drop 3 points from your section score. There is always a strong element of luck on the GMAT, so yes, 5-point swings (in either direction) are definitely possible--you can see that from my own GMAT scores on the lower left.
) that the GMAC will only allow me 3 more official attempts, and I plan to space them out over the next 20-25 years or so, provided I live that long. Fingers crossed! 
