GMAT First Attempt 650 (Q 49, V 30, IR 6), Should I retake ?

Question

Hello All,

I am writing this post in order to seek some guidance and help.

I gave the GMAT Exam today and ended up with a score of 650 (Q 49, V 30, IR 6). 
I studied for approximately 20 days and I referenced OG 2019, and Manhattan 6th Edition Books.

My GMAT Prep Score were :- 
GMAT Prep 1 - 560 (Q 46, V 23, IR 4) - 05th Oct, 2018
GMAT Prep 2 - 620 (Q 49, V 26, IR 3) - 06th Oct, 2018

Actual GMAT - 650 (Q 49, V 30, IR 6) - 09th Oct, 2018

I know this is a below average score, and I also know my weak areas, But don't know how to pull off a retake with a good score i.e 720+.
The area that I bombed in verbal was SC, I knew this from the start that SC is my weakest point with getting almost 20% accuracy initially I was only able to improve it upto ~ 50%.
CR and RC had been my strongest sections, even in the GMAT Prep I got 11 questions right in RC out of 13 and 7 in CR out of 9 (2 were wrong because I was running out of time).

I don't know how to plan this retake and accomplish the score that I want to get into the schools I plan. 
And If I have to retake than I need to plan this in close to a month, as otherwise I won't be able to target Round 2 deadlines for the schools.

I know there are no shortcuts but I am looking for any help at this point. 
Why I am adamant in giving GMAT right now is because I have close to 8 years of experience, primarily in software technology and working in startups and kind of a critical stage of my career.

Thanks,
Aditya

MBACon · Answer

IT is a very competitive field. You will have to be above 700 to stand a chance at a Tier 1 business school. Gmat is all about strategy and practice. With just 20 days of prep, 650 is a great score. Take sometime and work towards 720 plus. There are experts on this forum who can help you with the strategy. Get help and you will make it.

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Posted from my mobile device

nkin · Answer

Hey Aditya,

Here are two gmatclub threads that might be useful. From what I have gathered, you definitely will have to put in some more time and effort with more focus on weak areas.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html

https://gmatclub.com/forum/retake-statistics-172545.html

The second link shows how scores vary with GMAT retakes. The discussion that follows the stats might give you some insight before you decide what to do.

Good luck and Cheers!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aditya,

First off, a 650/Q49 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall, so it is clearly NOT "below average") and it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary.

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've studied for just 20 days, then you're a fairly strong critical thinker - and you could potentially score significantly higher if you put in the necessary time and practiced the proper Tactics.

1) What Schools are you planning to apply to?
2) What are the exact application deadlines for each of those Programs?

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

egmat · Answer

Hi  iamaditya1988 ,

I am sorry to know that your scores were not in line with your expectations. Your decision for retake should be based on the median scores of the programs that you are targeting. If the median score is higher than 650, then you must retake the test. In case you are looking for Scholarships, then you must aim for a score higher than the median score to have a decent chance at getting the scholarship.
In case you decide to go for a retake I would suggest that you first go through this article on   Retake Strategy   to create a personalized strategy to reach your target score. Since SC is your major concern, I am sharing a couple of files from our Free Trial, you can access that and more on signing up for a   Free Trial  . You also get access to 350+ practice questions.
 1.   Verb-ed Phrases - Verbs or Modifiers  
2.   Roles of Verb-ing Words

Hope this helps! Please feel free to write to us in case of any further queries.

Regards,
Aditee

iamaditya1988 · Answer

Hi  EMPOWERgmatRichC ,

I am planning to apply to the Judge, HEC, ISB and LBS.

The deadlines are around mid December for most of these programs.

Thanks,
Aditya

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aditya,

Since you've named some highly-competitive Schools, beyond having a strong GMAT Score and overall profile, you have to make sure that you properly 'market yourself' to each individual Program that you apply to. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and application plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

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

Beyond that, 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 (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you. Raising a 650 to a 720+ will likely require at least another 1-2 months of consistent, guided study - so while you do have time before the application deadlines you described, you will have to be efficient with your studies going forward. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi Aditya, the schools you have in mind, are all quite competitive and your current score of 650 may unfortunately fall short of a competitive application.

In hindsight, you should have started your prep  earlier ; 20 days of prep is really insufficient to tame this beast. Most people require upwards of 2 months of good preparation, to do justice.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi iamaditya1988,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. Let’s start with some good news: You studied for only 20 days and scored 30 points higher than you did on your most recent practice exams, so that's great! Also, a Q49 is a fantastic quant score.

Now for the less-desirable news: Your verbal score has ranged from 23 to 30, and as you stated, you need some major help in Sentence Correction. Also, as you correctly stated, there are “no shortcuts” to improving your GMAT score. Right now, it’s clear that you lack fundamental Sentence Correction skills needed for a high verbal score. So, the only move is go back and start with the foundations of Sentence Correction, and work your way to more advanced topics. I see that you want to take the test within a month. What deadlines are you aiming for?

Since you are looking for all the help you can get, I’m happy to provide some more detailed advice on how to improve your Sentence Correction skills. There are three aspects to getting correct answers to GMAT Sentence Correction questions: what you know, such as grammar rules, what you see, such as violations of grammar rules and the logic of sentence structure, and what you do, such as carefully considering each answer choice in the context of the non-underlined portion of the sentence. To drive up your Sentence Correction score, you likely will have to work on all three of those aspects. Furthermore, the likely reason that your Sentence Correction performance has not improved is that you have not been working on all three of those aspects. 
 
Regarding what you know, first and foremost, you MUST know your grammar rules. Let's be clear, though: GMAT Sentence Correction is not really a test of knowledge of grammar rules. The reason for learning the grammar rules is so that you can determine what sentences convey and whether sentences are well-constructed. In fact, in many cases, incorrect answers to Sentence Correction questions are grammatically flawless. Thus, often your task is to use your knowledge of grammar rules to determine which answer choice creates the most logical sentence meaning and structure.
 
This determination of whether sentences are well-constructed and logical is the second aspect of finding correct answers to Sentence Correction questions, what you see. You have to develop your skill in seeing what is going on in the various versions of the sentence that can be created with the answer choices. To develop this skill, you probably have to slow way down. You won't develop this skill by spending under two minutes per question. For a while, anyway, you have to spend time with each question, maybe even ten or fifteen minutes on one question sometimes, analyzing every answer choice until you see the details that you have to see in order to choose the correct answer. As you go through the answer choices, consider the meaning conveyed by each version of the sentence. Does the meaning make sense? Even if you can tell what the version is SUPPOSED to convey, does the version really convey that meaning? Is there a verb to go with the subject? Do all pronouns clearly refer to nouns? By slowing way down and looking for these details, you learn to see what you have to see in order to clearly understand which answer to a Sentence Correction question is correct.
 
There is only one correct answer to any Sentence Correction question, there are clear reasons why that choice is correct and the others are not, and those reasons are not that the correct version simply "sounds right." In fact, the correct version often sounds a little off at first. That correct answers may sound a little off is not surprising. If the correct answer were always the one that sounded right, then most people most of the time would get Sentence Correction questions correct, without really knowing why the wrong answers were wrong and the correct answers were correct. So, you have to go beyond choosing what "sounds right" and learn to clearly see the logical reasons why one choice is better than all of the others.
 
As for the third aspect of getting Sentence Correction questions correct, what you do, the main thing you have to do is be very careful. You have to make sure that you are truly considering the structures of sentences and the meanings conveyed rather than allowing yourself to be tricked into choosing trap answers that sound right but don't convey meanings that make sense. You also have to make sure that you put some real energy into finding the correct answers. Finding the correct answer to a Sentence Correction question may take bouncing from choice to choice repeatedly until you start to see the differences between the choices that make all choices wrong except for one. Often, when you first look at the choices, only one or two seem obviously incorrect. Getting the right answers takes a certain work ethic. You have to be determined to see the differences and to figure out the precise reasons that one choice is correct.
 
To improve what you do when you answer Sentence Correction questions, seek to become aware of how you are going about answering them. Are you being careful and looking for logic and details, or are you quickly eliminating choices that sound a little off, and then choosing the best of the rest? If you choose an incorrect answer, consider what you did that resulted in your arriving at that answer and what you could do differently in order to arrive at correct answers more consistently. Furthermore, see how many questions you can get correct in a row as you practice. If you break your streak by missing one, consider what you could have done differently to extend your streak.

You also may find my article with more information regarding
 how to score a 700+ on the GMAT  helpful.

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Good luck!

iamaditya1988 · Answer

Hi  EMPOWERgmatRichC ,

I have emailed you my ESR.

Also, I am planning to study 3 hours daily on weekdays and 8 hours on weekends.

Also, I have decided that I will again take this, put in more effort and crack this.

Thanks for the help

Thanks,
Aditya

iamaditya1988 · Answer

Hello All,

Thank you all, for your valuable inputs. I gave the GMAT again today and scored 690 (Q 47, V 38, IR 6 ). Although this score is still not that a great score and also because of the possibility I could have scored even better, considering my last Quantitative score of 49 which came down to 47 in this attempt, I am planning to apply with this score only.

Again thank you all for the valuable inputs and help that improved my overall performance in GMAT.

Thanks,
Aditya

Kaczet · Answer

iamditya,
if you don't mind paying next $250 for another GMAT exam and you CAN wait 16 more days with your application, I would definitely go for a retest. LBS is highly competitive and your GMAT score may be considered low there.
Provided that you studied properly, you must have improved your Quant abilities.

From my own experience: I had scored Q50 on GMATprep and I ended up with Q41 just 2 days later. GMAT threw some insane questions on me. I immediately scheduled a retest. 3 weeks later I'm here with Q50 on the real thing.

Good luck.

iamaditya1988 · Answer

Thank you for your response.

Your are right, in suggesting that I should take the GMAT again. But currently, I am doing a full time job, as an Engineering Manager in Technology for a high end startup in India, and I would not be able to take that much time out and believe that I should focus on improving my other aspects: essays, LORs etc.

I have finalised my colleges to apply for - HEC, IESE, Judge, ESADE and SDA - in the order of preference and would be applying to these only.

Thank you.

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GMAT First Attempt 650 (Q 49, V 30, IR 6), Should I retake ?

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