seni wrote:
Hi!
I am a 26 years old spanish engineer and I would like to apply to an MBA in the top business schools in the US.
I took the GMAT last week and I got a 690, I am not sure if I should repeat it or not, I am doubting a lot. I got a Q47 and V37. I am happy with my quantitative and I think that, to improve my score, I need to improve my verbal, but I do not find this easy at all.
SC is a nightmare for me, even if I can speak english without difficulty (TOEFL 113/120), is difficult to find the traps in the paragraphs. With CR and RC I am ok, I usually answer right to those.
My question is: Do you think I should repeat it? and, most important, any non-native english speaker can explain his/her experience? I am sure the verbal section is more difficult for non-native, what score did you got, what methodology did you follow?
Do you think that schools take into account if you are a foreigner and, therefore, your score in the verbal section is lower? I don't think so, but just to be sure...
Thanks!!
I'm an international as well and Spanish is my first language. I scored V42 Q46 = 710. I took a local course and it helped (my pre-course preps were around 650 and my pre-exam were 720 - 730, which is consistent with my score). Apart from the course, I think that reading regularly in English also helped my vocabulary and reading speed for RC. For the rest, take a course or learn here.
On your second question, I know from sharing experiences with others that the typical Spanish speaking test taker will show a greater Q bias than my own. scores. Your 47Q 37V is consistent with the data I have on distributions of relatively high scores for Latin Americans.As long as your TOEFL is OK, I would not worry. I know people who have gotten into all Ultra - elites and some Elites with high 30s scores in Verbal, mostly with 7XX scores, but some with 660s+. However, if you wish to raise your score that's your call. In my experience, V is much more difficult to improve than Q after a certain point. Q is all about practice while for V, once you reach your ceiling, you need to work on the fundamentals (grammar, etc.) and improving takes much more effort. For eg., you may improve your V to maybe 38 - 40 (maybe some more) by practicing, but after that, you'll need to invest some serious time working on your English skills, unless you think your test date performance was truly below your reasonable expectations.
Disclaimer: some programs put more emphasis on English skills (HBS to name one) and for those programs you will need to raise your V score, apart from having an adequate TOEFL.
Hope it helps. L.