Hi guys !!
First of all I would like to apologize for another cliche topic among a gazillion others
. But I didn't find crystal clear answers in those threads pertaining to me.
A little background :-
I am from India with a BCA (Bachelor in computer applications) degree with a 60% score. I also have a 5 years work experience in my family business. The schools that I am currently aiming for are Booth, Cornell, Duke, Darden, McDonough and others in similar league.
GMAT:-
I took my first attempt at GMAT today. I scored a mere 680 (Q-48, V-35). My mock test scores are as follows :-
GMAT Prep 1 - Sep 4 - 640 (Q-47, V-30)
GMAT Prep 2 - Sep 22 - 660 (Q-49, V-31)
GMAT Prep 3 - Sep 25 - 690 (Q-48, V-36)
GMAT Prep 4 - Sep 27 - 710 (Q-49, V- 38)
MGMAT 1,2,3,4 were 660, 560, 610, 610 respectively.
In the GMAT today i felt that the questions were quite easy as compared to gmatprep or manhattan, and yet i managed to get only 680. I think part culprit was nervousness and caffeine overdose ( 1 redbull in each break along with a morning dose of ritalin for my ADHD)
Now I ask you expert test takers, do you think I can improve this score? I am a very bad judge of myself and I certainly can't decide if I'll be able to score better in a retest. Clearly I'll be more relaxed and comfortable which shall appreciate my scores in the second attempt.
Being an indian from Computer background puts me at a disadvantage of competing against thousands of applicants with similar profiles, thus, raising the median GMAT scores by 20-30 if not more. Keeping this in mind I need a score of 740 to apply to my target schools.
So, I have 31 more days before I can retake the test. I have taken a complete leave from my business until my second attempt and I can devote upto 8 hours a day to GMAT for the next 1 month. What should be my routine next? What questions should I solve? I have already been through
OG questions twice and carefully reviewed the answers too. That said, I did not review my mock tests which was a huge mistake and I shall do it. Apart from that what should be my strategy? How should I approach and strategize?
I have also exhausted all 4 gmatprep tests, and 4 manhattan tests, so which tests shall i take next that will be a correct measure of my performance?
Thanks a lot!!
Edit: I completely forgot that I had bought the
Magoosh package which has mostly all the questions and practice tests left to be done. Should I do those? Are they good?