Half way through-680

Question

Hi,
I finshed my test half an hour back. I was aiming for 700+ for managed to get 680 Q49 V33 (85 percentile). I am little disappointed since I am targeting HBS, Wharton, Insead. I am not sure whether my low verbal score will hamper chances of getting considered in Ivy league colleges.

I must tell you that Quant was of same level what I had practiced. In fact one of the questions was repeat from my practice set. I missed last 4 questions in Verbal.It may be the reason of low verbal score. I found SC relatively easy to tackle though it's not reflecting in my verbal score. I must have got atleast 20 SC questions in my test. I was facing atleast 2 SCs out of every four questions.

I found first RC tough and I think that I got all wrong since I didn;t understand head or tail of it.

Should I retake the gmat or go ahead with applications. Please advise.

kissthegmat · Answer

First of all congratz for the good score.

Retake if you have only time before applying and if you haven't used all the good resources. 
Otherwise, I think 680 is a good and competitive score.

akaydee · Answer

jitendra,

Nice score. You appeared nervous a couple days back, but you did quite well.

With 680 you might find it a little tough at HBS, and Wharton.

I am not sure about Insead, because I have heard that international experience does play a part in admissions. So, in case you have some sort of international experience, and some fluency in an international language you should give Insead a shot.

If you do decide to retake I think you should spend about 80% of your time on verbal. If you can bump your verbal score 5 points you should be in line for a 700 score.

BM · Answer

Very solid score! Congratulations.

The verbal score will make it more difficult for HBS and Wharton. Hopefully, you partially compensated for this in the AWA section. Before making your decision on a retake, relax for a few days and wait for your AWA score. During this time, read this: should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html But don't forget that other parts of the application process (essays, recommendation letters) can be equally as important and require a great deal of time and effort.

sushma0805 · Answer

what scores u were getting in diagnostic gmat tests few days before the test ?

BM · Answer

I only took two GMATPrep tests. I took the first two weeks prior to the actual test and scored a 740. Three or four days before the GMAT, I scored a 750 on the second practice test. I made sure to mimic test conditions as closely as possible. I even used a test simulation booklet.

Overall, I'm not a huge advocate of large amounts of CAT's for GMAT preparation. That time could be so much better spent on reviewing the concepts and practicing with reliable questions. I think that the GMATPrep and Manhattan tests are more than enough.

whiplash2411 · Answer

Your score is solid from a general perspective. But assuming you're from India (I don't know what your career background is), I'd probably retake if I were you. Verbal is a strong indicator and you might be putting yourself in a predicament with a <40 Verbal score as far as the ultra-elites are concerned. Prepare better and more efficiently and you can definitely break 40 in Verbal. I recommend MGMAT SC, Powerscore CR for practice and strategy. I've heard of a lot of people drastically improving their scores with these books.

lalithajob · Answer

Jitendra:
Congrats! 680 is a good score. Please post the breakdowns of all your practice tests.
Also was verbal tougher than GMAT Prep? or Manhattan GMAT? Please post more about complexity of RC, CR and SC.

piyushagarwal · Answer

hey congrats...I guess you can go for a retake with a gap of more than a month and apply in the 2nd round of applications.

resh · Answer

Hey Congrats !

680 is a good score.

suyashjhawar · Answer

Congrats

Dawgie · Answer

I would retake if you have sufficient time, but otherwise congrats!

shaselai · Answer

you need to improve your verbal to do well. quant you are pretty much set. if you are applying this year then you need to do some studying to get verbal up. How's your gpa? if it is pretty good then i wouldnt retake. but if it needs to be compensated then maybe retake gmat if you feel you can improve more....

dokiyoki · Answer

IMO - You seem to belong to a competivite pool of applicants. H/W may not find 680 very attractive unless you have stellar apps.

If you think you can improve your verbal score, I would suggest you to retake GMAT. There is still time for Round II.

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