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How to improve from 660 to 730

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Sherry2101
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How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   04 Jan 2021, 06:44
Dear Experts,
I appeared for my first GMAT experience yesterday. My score 660 (44 quant, 38 Verbal)
I need to improve my score from 660 to 730 ideally in 1 months time as my target school Deadline is 2 months from now.

My study plan before appearing for my 1st GMAT.

I've cleared CAT (Indian MBA exam) with 92%ile 5 years back).
I've a demanding 10+hrs job so I studied for approx 1.5 hrs on weekdays & 2-3 hrs on weekends over the last 3 months.

Books/resources
E-GMAT free course for verbal & quant
GMAT OG
MGMAT Quant books (no 1 to 5)
Veritas for CR & RC Concepts
MGMAT SC book (didn't study advanced concepts)

I was confident of Quant section as i was able to get 95% of the quant Qs in OG right, even for the rest 5% i knew the concept just made some silly errors.
For verbal, I was not confident. I used to clear OG with 70% accuracy. SC & CR were areas where i needed to improved & RC i was relatively confident about.
Towards my last 10 days of prep I was extremely bored of the prep since I was able to get most of the Qs right & just wanted to get over with GMAT.

Prep tests:

GMAT Official prep tests only
17th oct Test 1 680 36V,47Q
23rd Nov Test 2 670 35v, 46Q
14th dec Test 3 720 37V, 50Q
20th dec Test 4 690 34V, 49Q
27th dec Test 5 700 38V, 48Q


Test Day

Sequence of exam Verbal Quant IR AWA

I was appearing for a competitive exam after 5 years so i got extremely panicky in the exam & started sweating profusely.
It took me about 10-15 minutes into verbal section to stabilize myself.
After that i was a bit confident in the section & performed fine as per my preparation.
Towards the end I had about 10 minutes for 10 Qs so i had to rush it a bit.
I attempted the whole verbal section with last 2-3 Qs being pure guesswork.

Quant:

I was a little skeptic of my verbal score so i thought I may have to take gmat again since my target score is 720+ & with my verbal performance I knew my score may go down below 700.

Anyway I gave Quant my best shot, I started confident, was able to work through all Qs, knew all concepts, was careful not to make any stupid mistakes etc.
In the first 20 mins i followed a good pace & had completed about 10 Qs.

The next time i checked the clock i only had 10 minutes to do 10 Qs. So i obviously panicked.
I was not able to concentrate a lot here onwards & my attempt must have been a mix of guesswork.
I completed the section but I'm sure the last 10 Qs would have been a grave mistake.



Dilemma:
The deadline for my target school application is in 2 months so I need to retake GMAT & get 720+ in the next 1 month.
Do you think I need to work on my concepts again & hence this will require a lot more time or could my bad performance be a case of bad day/exam anxiety.

How do you suggest I move forward? What areas to address & how to address them?

Should i wait & apply for the next round of applications or keep the apps out of the equation for now
Attaching my ESR for analysis & expert comments.
Attachments

ESR.pdf [513.21 KiB]
Downloaded 43 times

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GmatKnightTutor
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Re: How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   04 Jan 2021, 17:21
It would seem nerves and less than idea time-management played a part this time round (based off your post).

"I was appearing for a competitive exam after 5 years so i got extremely panicky in the exam & started sweating profusely."
"Towards the end I had about 10 minutes for 10 Qs so i had to rush it a bit."
"I was not able to concentrate a lot here onwards & my attempt must have been a mix of guesswork."
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Sherry2101
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Re: How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   04 Jan 2021, 21:05
Hi online tutor knight,

My ESR attached also hints at the same.
While most of the data points are exam averages so it’s not really possible to comment on strengths.
But when I checked the quarterwise split, my accuracy was high (75,100 in verbal & 86,86 in quant)& it seriously tanked in section 3,4.

So my prob is with time a management. This
is ofcourse my analysis & I want to wait & hear from the experts.

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Re: How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   04 Jan 2021, 22:31
Expert Reply
Hi Sherry2101,

First off, a 660/Q44 is a solid Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

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

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 your CATs function, your various CAT score results - along with your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 690 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also leave yourself open to making certain types of mistakes.

Before we get to the data in your ESR, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on your timeline and your goals:

1) For your next attempt, are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
2) What Schools are you planning to apply to and what specific application deadlines are you facing?
3) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Sherry2101
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Re: How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   05 Jan 2021, 01:49
Hi rich,
Thanks for your response.
To specifically answer your Qs:
1. I’m planning to take the next GMAT at a test facility
2. My target school is INSEAD. My goal is to get a scholarship along with the admit hence I’m determined to improve my score to 720+ The R1 deadline is on 5th March so I’ve limited time. I’m confident of my essay writing skills but 1 month for applications may be too limited a time.

3. I can conveniently put in 20-25 hrs a week.

I agree with your analysis on consistent performance. During my first attempt I was aiming at 700plus so I was
In a comfortable position to attempt GMAT with my practice scores.



However I’m inclined to improve to 730 this time for sure, as I think any score below this will not work well for my post MBA goal which is MBB consultancy.

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How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   05 Jan 2021, 18:11
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Hi Sherry2101,

What is interesting about your score breakdown is that your verbal score was right in line with how you were scoring on your practice exams while it was your quant that took a major hit. Based on how you were scoring on your practice exams, I do think that you likely suffered from anxiety on the GMAT and that could have been the cause for the dip in your quant score. With all this said, even if you were to bring up your quant score, you still need to improve beyond V38 in order to hit your 730 score goal. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out. Also, here are some helpful articles:

How to Score a 700+ on the GMAT — A Mini Guide for Success

Why Was My GMAT Score Lower Than My Practice Test Scores?
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Re: How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   05 Jan 2021, 21:26
Expert Reply
Hi Sherry2101,

I've sent you a PM with an analysis of your ESR and some additional questions.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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Re: How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   06 Jan 2021, 05:06
Expert Reply
Hello Sherry2101,

A score of 660 in the GMAT tells the entire story about how well prepared you are for the GMAT official test and how to change the gear now to meet the target score of 730.

With my GMAT tutoring, guidance, and counseling experience, we have to accept a fact with a pinch of salt that diagnostic/ mock test scores are above then what one should expect in real test. There is often dropping in the score. Some students have even experienced a drop of 100 pointers. It is one of the realities, and your preparation should not sideline this fact.

You can schedule a Free counseling session for 20 mins with one of our experts:https://calendly.com/mathrevolution/1-on-1-session for detailed advice on your current study plans

A couple of things that can be a noticeable barrier to your scores would be some or all of the below.

• Inefficiency by using time-consuming Conventional method to tackle DS and PS questions still
• No expert support (maybe) who can tutor, analyze, and guide you during your learning especially on hard level questions while stably hitting middle-level questions.
• Not well aligned with time to solve questions.

Since we are a math expert, we will recommend you go through our post on the GMAT club: Breakdown of GMAT math questions and types: https://gmatclub.com/forum/overview-of- ... l#p1641411

We recommend that you must learn the Variable Approach for solving DS questions and the IVY approach for solving PS questions in order to improve your accuracy and save time while solving the question types.

Register with MathRevolution https://www.mathrevolution.com/member/signup to get access to our 7-day full on-demand course (27 topics, 490 subtopics, and 1,500 questions) for free trial lessons.

700+ level questions https://www.mathrevolution.com/gmat/questionbank are separately available, too. Start with the learning of the concepts. Make a habit of taking notes during the initial learning of the concepts.

Since you are close to your target score, 1-on -1 tutoring can also be helpful to you(https://www.mathrevolution.com/gmat/online_02tutoring).

We appreciate your time and patience in reading this reply.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@mathrevolution.com

Success is within your reach.
Good luck!

Punit Joshi
Math Revolution Team
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Re: How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink] How to improve from 660 to 730   07 Jan 2021, 01:01
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Sherry2101 wrote:
Dear Experts,
I appeared for my first GMAT experience yesterday. My score 660 (44 quant, 38 Verbal)
I need to improve my score from 660 to 730 ideally in 1 months time as my target school Deadline is 2 months from now.

My study plan before appearing for my 1st GMAT.

I've cleared CAT (Indian MBA exam) with 92%ile 5 years back).
I've a demanding 10+hrs job so I studied for approx 1.5 hrs on weekdays & 2-3 hrs on weekends over the last 3 months.

Books/resources
E-GMAT free course for verbal & quant
GMAT OG
MGMAT Quant books (no 1 to 5)
Veritas for CR & RC Concepts
MGMAT SC book (didn't study advanced concepts)

I was confident of Quant section as i was able to get 95% of the quant Qs in OG right, even for the rest 5% i knew the concept just made some silly errors.
For verbal, I was not confident. I used to clear OG with 70% accuracy. SC & CR were areas where i needed to improved & RC i was relatively confident about.
Towards my last 10 days of prep I was extremely bored of the prep since I was able to get most of the Qs right & just wanted to get over with GMAT.

Prep tests:

GMAT Official prep tests only
17th oct Test 1 680 36V,47Q
23rd Nov Test 2 670 35v, 46Q
14th dec Test 3 720 37V, 50Q
20th dec Test 4 690 34V, 49Q
27th dec Test 5 700 38V, 48Q


Test Day

Sequence of exam Verbal Quant IR AWA

I was appearing for a competitive exam after 5 years so i got extremely panicky in the exam & started sweating profusely.
It took me about 10-15 minutes into verbal section to stabilize myself.
After that i was a bit confident in the section & performed fine as per my preparation.
Towards the end I had about 10 minutes for 10 Qs so i had to rush it a bit.
I attempted the whole verbal section with last 2-3 Qs being pure guesswork.

Quant:

I was a little skeptic of my verbal score so i thought I may have to take gmat again since my target score is 720+ & with my verbal performance I knew my score may go down below 700.

Anyway I gave Quant my best shot, I started confident, was able to work through all Qs, knew all concepts, was careful not to make any stupid mistakes etc.
In the first 20 mins i followed a good pace & had completed about 10 Qs.

The next time i checked the clock i only had 10 minutes to do 10 Qs. So i obviously panicked.
I was not able to concentrate a lot here onwards & my attempt must have been a mix of guesswork.
I completed the section but I'm sure the last 10 Qs would have been a grave mistake.



Dilemma:
The deadline for my target school application is in 2 months so I need to retake GMAT & get 720+ in the next 1 month.
Do you think I need to work on my concepts again & hence this will require a lot more time or could my bad performance be a case of bad day/exam anxiety.

How do you suggest I move forward? What areas to address & how to address them?

Should i wait & apply for the next round of applications or keep the apps out of the equation for now
Attaching my ESR for analysis & expert comments.



Hi Sherry2101,

Seems like a lot happened on the test day and it reflected on your overall performance. But not to worry, as the deadline is two months away, you can definitely work on improving your score. Let me help you here.

The right section order:


Make sure to follow the same section order you followed during the mocks. Because, that's how your mind has adapted to the test and a sudden change will not be that effective.

Test-day panic:


To reduce this, I would suggest you to take more timed quizzes. Take a quiz of 18 questions with a time limit of 36 questions. Then gradually increase the number of questions and the time. This way you can get used to the time constraint and make yourself more comfortable for the test.

The path ahead:


So, the idea of taking timed quizzes right away works only if you are 100% confident about your concepts and methods. if you are struggling with any of these two, then I would suggest you to work on them and then dive into practicing questions. If you feel you need to work on your weak areas in quant or any module in verbal, I suggest you to do that and then give a mock.

And I see that you need an advice regarding your weak areas. I can definitely help you in the analysis of your ESR. But I suggest you that we get in touch over a zoom conference call and analyze it together as it would be more interactive that way. You can get in touch with me using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call
GMAT Club Bot
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Re: How to improve from 660 to 730 [#permalink]
07 Jan 2021, 01:01