Is 660 a bad score?

Hi pallavisrip,

To start, raising a 400 to a 660 is a significant accomplishment, so you should take some pride in that. Are you certain about the percentile "requirement" from Oxford? I only ask because the 80th percentile in Quant is technically above a Q49 - and that would take some serious time and effort for you to reach (it also happens to be a score that 80% of Test Takers can never reach).

A V38 shows a really strong Verbal ability - if you could do enough work to maintain those skills, then you could shift your focus over to a Quant-heavy study plan. With a Q44, you would have done really well on the "math questions" that you faced, but you would have made some little mistakes throughout the section and you would have missed out on lots of 'strategy-based' points. If you do choose to retest, and you have the available study time, then you could conceivably be ready in about a month.

1) Have any Admissions Experts offered any advice on your application plans?

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

Rich,

Your reply makes me feel so much better about my score. Also, I was mistaken about the 80% Quant Percentile for Oxford. I re-checked their "Requirements" page and there is nothing said specifically about Quant scores. Now that's settled, I guess I could work both on Quant and on Verbal so that I can get above 700. I have around 45 days of time.

!) No, I haven't been working with any admission experts on my application, I have a lot of friends and Seniors from Work who are graduating/ already Graduated from each of my target schools . They help me with my applications and my GMAT Math.

Thank you again for your kind words

Hi pallavisrip,

While I still believe that you could apply with your given GMAT score, the Q44 won't impress anyone, so it would be understandable that you might want to retest (with the goal of increasing your Quant Scaled Score). Based on everything that you've described, 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

Let me answer specific points you raised:

1) Should you retake the GMAT?

Yes. It of course depends on your profile and other factors but if you are from India then my suggestion would be that you gun for a 700+. There are approximately 3000+ students scoring 700+ every year in India. Many of them end up not applying to the very top Harvard/ Wharton / Stanford because of a common psychological behaviour called "self-selection bias". This means *most* of them end up applying to the good (but not the very top) schools such as HEC Paris and Said Oxford.

2) How to go from 660->700+

Here is the good news - you have done a great job in moving from a 400 to a 600+ score. Not many people in my experience can do that. This is a testimony to your grit and perseverance. However, students typically think - let me take a crack at it by starting from scratch. Wrong! You should sit down and realistically list what stops you from scoring 700+ (Q49 V36). I disagree with Rich - I feel you have a higher probability of improving your Quant scores than you do your Verbal scores. But I could be wrong - you are best judge. Once you have the list of the top 3 things in Q and in V - get cracking!

3) What material to refer as I have exhausted all?

You have completed the MGMAT series - that is great but now you need to stick to official material as much as possible. As part of CrackVerbal, we provide our students a compilation of 2000+ retired official questions not found in the OG. Of course you can search for it on GMATClub as well - you might find some collections. Also for areas that are not working for you - say Reading Comprehension - you need to relook at the strategy you are using. For this you may wish to join a course this time around - just because you will understand things a lot better than when you started (and were at a 400-level).

4) What tests do I take as a re-taker?

Take only the official tests now - the GMATPrep, Exampack1 and Exampack2 - in all 6 tests that can be taken multiple times. This is all the fuel you need to get your test taking strategies in place. I would recommend that you also focus on making sure you understand WHY you are making mistakes - rather than just looking at WHAT the mistakes are. A lot of learning will come from asking yourself the right questions.

Hope this helps,

Arun