EMPOWERgmatRichC
Studies:
1) On what dates did you take your 2 Official GMATs?
2) How long have you studied in total? How many hours did you typically study each week?
3) What study materials have you used over the course of ALL of your studies?
4) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)? Did you take all of your CATs in the At-home GMAT "format"?
Goals:
5) What is your overall goal score?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Thanks a bunch for the response Rich, I'll outline why I'd like to retake the GMAT.
I've got 4 and a half years of work experience in the IT sector, and am currently juggling roles as a team lead and a software developer at a startup in India. This puts me smack dab in the middle of the severely overcrowded "Indian male from the IT sector" demographic. I've been told that most others in the same space would have a largely similar profile and one of the distinctive factors in this case, would be an exceptional GMAT score.
I have been consulting with an admissions counsellor who, after going through my profile, recommended that I retake the test. This has also been the advice provided by other folks from a similar background whom I've spoken to. The counsellor mentioned that my academics, work experience and extra curricular activities are in line with my ambitions, it's just the GMAT that needs to be bumped up. To be specific, I'm targeting the top 25 schools.
On to your queries about my prep and goals.
Studies:
1) Took the first one on the 29th of September 2020 and the second on 24th October 2020, roughly a month apart.
2)I started my prep sometime around mid June. Things were slow starting off and it was only towards the end of July that my studies were executed with purpose. September onwards I was dedicating about 10-12 hours of study per week.
3)I used just
Magoosh initially, and moved exclusively to GMAT Club after exhausting the question set on
Magoosh. About 90% of my prep is done via GMAT Club. I have not had a tutor, nor have I attended classes provided by any prep institute.
4)Starting September, I was taking a mock every weekend. I got a couple 710s, a couples 720s and one 760. My quant score has been either a 48 or a 49 on all attempts. On verbal I got a couple 38s, to a couple 40s and one 45. I took them all in the at home GMAT format. Quant first, verbal next and then IR.
Goals:
5)The 760 I received on my mock CAT is what I'm targeting, and factoring in other variables that come up on test day, I'm aiming for something in the 740-760 range.
6)I plan on applying for the upcoming fall cycle of 2021. I'm looking at the top 25 schools. I'll apply to about 5 or 6 based on my final GMAT score. I realise I've missed out on round 1, but I'm confident that I'll have a better profile built by round 2.