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HELP: Scored 650,need expert advice on retake plan

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Bosdel
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Intern
Joined: 20 Oct 2015
Posts: 3
Own Kudos [?]: 5 [0]
Given Kudos: 25
Location: Indonesia
Concentration: General Management, Strategy
Schools: INSEAD Jan'18 LBS '19
GMAT 1: 650 Q44 V36
GMAT 2: 710 Q48 V39
WE:Consulting (Consulting)
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HELP: Scored 650,need expert advice on retake plan [#permalink] New post   18 Apr 2016, 06:44
Hi Everyone,

I have been silently following this forum and I would like to first thank you for all your valuable insights.
After 8 weeks of intense studying, I took my 1st GMAT exam and got a disappointing 650 (Q44/V36/IR5).
My dream is to achieve 700 with at least above 75th percentile in Quant, Verbal, and IR.
I would greatly appreciate your thoughts/inputs on my plan to retake the exam in ~2mths.
Sorry in advance for the length of this post.

REASONS FOR RETAKING
Top 3 Target Schools have 80% GMAT Range of 680-760.
Target schools:
1. Kellogg
2. Columbia
3. Booth
4. LBS (650-750)
5. Insead (610-740)

Weak profile.
1. Indonesian/Male/27 (non-Chinese/Indian descendant - not sure if over/under-represented)
2. 5+ years w.e. by admission year (2017)
3. Currently working in Indonesia for a Singapore-based PE firm, some exposure to international counterparts
4. Bachelor in Commerce and Master of Applied Finance, both from Australia, GPA 2.8 and 3.0 respectively
5. Social work non-existent (will start doing once I'm done with GMAT)
6. Passed CFA-level 1 (for what it's worth)

Test-day experience was below optimal.
Only slept for 3 hours[/u] the night before (anxious) and I had slight migraine during the exam because of it.
In Quant, I noticed too late that I clicked the wrong answer button for 2 quant questions.
In Verbal, I took too long in verbal and had to guess 4 last questions.

PREPARATION TO DATE
1. Done all Medium and Hard PS/DS questions in OG2016, GMATPrep, and Official Quant Review 2015
2. Skimmed through topics review from MGMAT books
3. GMATPrep Practice Exams (all 1st try)
a.) 18Mar'16: 680(Q47/V37)
b.) 26Mar'16: 640(Q42/V37)
c.) 03Apr'16: 680(Q46/V38)
d.) 10Apr'16: 640(Q46/V32/IR3)
4. Completed ~60%-70% E-GMAT CR courses
5. Watched ~50% of E-GMAT SC videos
TEST DAY: 650 (Q44/V36/IR5)

RETAKE PLAN
1. Sign up for online courses with score guarantee emphasizing on Quant
2. Dedicate 3 weeks to master 3 weakest quant areas (inequalities, coordinate geometry, and combinatorics)
3. Distribute the remaining 5 weeks to practice mixed Quant from online courses and SC questions
4. Light practices on IR
5. Take sleeping pill on the night before the exam.

Please let me know if my plan is suitable given my target.
Also if you happen to know other ways that can help me to bring my Quant to 80th percentile, please let me know!!

Cheers,
Bosdel
User avatar
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
GMAT Club Legend
GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Status:GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat
Posts: 21846
Own Kudos [?]: 11669 [0]
Given Kudos: 450
Location: United States (CA)
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
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Re: HELP: Scored 650,need expert advice on retake plan [#permalink] New post   18 Apr 2016, 11:16
Expert Reply
Hi Bosdel,

First off, a 650 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. You've named some Schools that are remarkably competitive though, so it's understandable that you would want to retest though.

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +-30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how practice CATs function, your Official Score is right in line with your practice scores. You're actually closer to a 700+ score than you probably realize, but since you weren't able to score at that level during your practice, you're going to have to make some fundamental changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the GMAT.

With a Q44, you likely did pretty well on the 'math' questions that you faced, but you missed out on LOTS of 'strategy-based' points and you would have made some little mistakes throughout the Quant section on Test Day. To significantly raise your Quant Scaled Score, you're going to have to focus on learning/practicing the proper Tactics. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. 3 weeks will probably NOT be enough time to 'master' any of those concepts though.

You mentioned thinking about taking a sleeping pill the night before your Exam. That's a relatively extreme choice, so you shouldn't wait until Test Day to experiment with the various options. You might want to try working with the various options now, so that you can see how they effect you.

1) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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KarishmaB
Tutor
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Posts: 14831
Own Kudos [?]: 64940 [0]
Given Kudos: 427
Location: Pune, India
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Re: HELP: Scored 650,need expert advice on retake plan [#permalink] New post   18 Apr 2016, 21:13
Expert Reply
Bosdel wrote:
Hi Everyone,

I have been silently following this forum and I would like to first thank you for all your valuable insights.
After 8 weeks of intense studying, I took my 1st GMAT exam and got a disappointing 650 (Q44/V36/IR5).
My dream is to achieve 700 with at least above 75th percentile in Quant, Verbal, and IR.
I would greatly appreciate your thoughts/inputs on my plan to retake the exam in ~2mths.
Sorry in advance for the length of this post.

REASONS FOR RETAKING
Top 3 Target Schools have 80% GMAT Range of 680-760.
Target schools:
1. Kellogg
2. Columbia
3. Booth
4. LBS (650-750)
5. Insead (610-740)

Weak profile.
1. Indonesian/Male/27 (non-Chinese/Indian descendant - not sure if over/under-represented)
2. 5+ years w.e. by admission year (2017)
3. Currently working in Indonesia for a Singapore-based PE firm, some exposure to international counterparts
4. Bachelor in Commerce and Master of Applied Finance, both from Australia, GPA 2.8 and 3.0 respectively
5. Social work non-existent (will start doing once I'm done with GMAT)
6. Passed CFA-level 1 (for what it's worth)

Test-day experience was below optimal.
Only slept for 3 hours[/u] the night before (anxious) and I had slight migraine during the exam because of it.
In Quant, I noticed too late that I clicked the wrong answer button for 2 quant questions.
In Verbal, I took too long in verbal and had to guess 4 last questions.

PREPARATION TO DATE
1. Done all Medium and Hard PS/DS questions in OG2016, GMATPrep, and Official Quant Review 2015
2. Skimmed through topics review from MGMAT books
3. GMATPrep Practice Exams (all 1st try)
a.) 18Mar'16: 680(Q47/V37)
b.) 26Mar'16: 640(Q42/V37)
c.) 03Apr'16: 680(Q46/V38)
d.) 10Apr'16: 640(Q46/V32/IR3)
4. Completed ~60%-70% E-GMAT CR courses
5. Watched ~50% of E-GMAT SC videos
TEST DAY: 650 (Q44/V36/IR5)

RETAKE PLAN
1. Sign up for online courses with score guarantee emphasizing on Quant
2. Dedicate 3 weeks to master 3 weakest quant areas (inequalities, coordinate geometry, and combinatorics)
3. Distribute the remaining 5 weeks to practice mixed Quant from online courses and SC questions
4. Light practices on IR
5. Take sleeping pill on the night before the exam.

Please let me know if my plan is suitable given my target.
Also if you happen to know other ways that can help me to bring my Quant to 80th percentile, please let me know!!

Cheers,
Bosdel


Not feeling your best on test day could have had a major impact on your score but you cannot depend on just that for the retake. Taking any kind of untried and unusual medicine the night before the test is not a good idea. So reconsider that plan.

You need to hit about a 750 in official practice tests to be fairly confident of 700+ in the actual test.

For Quant, you should focus on advanced applications. Your basics seem to be in order. I have plenty of posts on co-ordinate, inequalities and combinatorics on my blog. You should check them out here: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/categor ... er-wisdom/
In fact, last week's post was on co-ordinate geometry and you might find it quite relevant.

If you are facing some troubles in DS, download our DS book from here: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/
On the same link, you will also find the SC video. SC is not just about grammar. In fact, with time, it is less and less about grammar and more and more about logic. The video will give you clarity on how to handle SC questions.

With about 2 months in hand, consistent effort should help you improve your score to 700+.
avatar
B
Bosdel
Intern
Intern
Joined: 20 Oct 2015
Posts: 3
Own Kudos [?]: 5 [0]
Given Kudos: 25
Location: Indonesia
Concentration: General Management, Strategy
Schools: INSEAD Jan'18 LBS '19
GMAT 1: 650 Q44 V36
GMAT 2: 710 Q48 V39
WE:Consulting (Consulting)
Send PM
Re: HELP: Scored 650,need expert advice on retake plan [#permalink] New post   19 Apr 2016, 06:36
EMPOWERgmatRichC wrote:
Hi Bosdel,

First off, a 650 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. You've named some Schools that are remarkably competitive though, so it's understandable that you would want to retest though.

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +-30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how practice CATs function, your Official Score is right in line with your practice scores. You're actually closer to a 700+ score than you probably realize, but since you weren't able to score at that level during your practice, you're going to have to make some fundamental changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the GMAT.

With a Q44, you likely did pretty well on the 'math' questions that you faced, but you missed out on LOTS of 'strategy-based' points and you would have made some little mistakes throughout the Quant section on Test Day. To significantly raise your Quant Scaled Score, you're going to have to focus on learning/practicing the proper Tactics. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. 3 weeks will probably NOT be enough time to 'master' any of those concepts though.

You mentioned thinking about taking a sleeping pill the night before your Exam. That's a relatively extreme choice, so you shouldn't wait until Test Day to experiment with the various options. You might want to try working with the various options now, so that you can see how they effect you.

1) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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


Hi Rich,

I am applying to BSchool next year, (Insead's application deadline is March 2017(R1) and May 2017(R2)), but I want to complete my GMAT before end of June this year since work tends to be very busy during the 2nd half of the year.

I think I know what you meant by "missing LOTS of strategy-based points". I remember looking at some questions that i am familiar with, in terms of concept, but I just couldn't solve them effectively. Half of the time i would find the answer after doing the calculation twice, but some other time I would end up guessing. I know there must be some Tactics to solve these questions, but I couldn't figure them out during the exam.

Any advise on how to train figuring out these tactics and the amount of training time needed will be much appreciated.
Also, since I've done most of the questions in OGs, do you recommend practicing with these questions again?

Thanks in advance!
Bosdel
User avatar
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
GMAT Club Legend
GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Status:GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat
Posts: 21846
Own Kudos [?]: 11669 [0]
Given Kudos: 450
Location: United States (CA)
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Send PM
Re: HELP: Scored 650,need expert advice on retake plan [#permalink] New post   19 Apr 2016, 10:46
Expert Reply
Hi Bosdel,

Review is an important part of the study process, so re-doing OG questions is a good idea (as long as you actually re-do them, and not just look at them and remember the answer). In addition, since GMAT questions can typically be solved in more than one way, it's beneficial to re-attempt questions using different approaches/Tactics. In that way, you can build-up more than one skill.

Based on what you've described (and the missing Quant points you're looking to pick up), I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Quant Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in under a month, so the time commitment wouldn't be too intense. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an account.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
GMAT Club Bot
gmatclubot
Re: HELP: Scored 650,need expert advice on retake plan [#permalink]
19 Apr 2016, 10:46

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