Interpreting GMAT scores

Question

Hello,

I took the official GMAT in August and scored a 680 (45Q/38V).

I re-took the exam last month and scored a 660 (43Q/38V).

Since my verbal was much lower than quant both times, does this mean I need to focus more on verbal?

Thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi nima9023,

You're comparing your Verbal Scaled Score to your Quant Scaled Score; if you compare the Verbal PERCENTILE to the Quant PERCENTILE, then you actually performed at a much higher level (relatively-speaking) in the Verbal section than you did in the Quant section.

A 680 is a great GMAT score (it's a bit shy of the 90th percentile overall), so it could very well be a strong enough score to get you into your first-choice Business School, so a retest might not be necessary.

1) What is your overall score goal?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

AjiteshArun · Answer

Your verbal score is very good.

Q45=62% and Q43=55%
V38=85%

GMATPill · Answer

Your verbal is not bad -- you've got to focus on quant. From a global perspective, a lot of people do really well on the quant part -- and a few mistakes here and there is all it takes to bump you down in the percentiles. So make sure you're super fast answering the easy questions -- and that you allow yourself enough time to tackle the more difficult ones. We recommend that you practice with the PS questions on the Practice Pill Platform: www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gma ... -questions

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

I have to disagree with the other posters. You should definitely work on verbal!

As you said, your scaled score is much lower in verbal. Yes, that yields a very nice percentile, but you still have much more room to improve in verbal, and any improvement will boost your overall score. The idea of a "balanced" score--say, 80% in both sections--is unnecessary and very difficult to achieve. You want to pick up points wherever you can. If that means Q 74% V 95%, so be it.

Naturally, it will be helpful to work on quant, too. I generally recommend equal time for both until you get to 95%+ on one section (and even then you want to keep practicing).

I'm curious what your process was like between tests, if quant went down and verbal stayed flat. How much time was there between tests? What were you working on? How were you studying?

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