Went from a 710 to a 680 in my second attempt :( - Aiming for a 730

Question

Hi everyone,

I took my first attempt on the 15th of July and ended up with a 710 (Q47 V41). Knew I had underperformed in quant and booked again for the 19th of August. Thought I was doing really well before the score popped up. I had gotten a 680. I literally saw my dreams shatter. I missed questions on my first attempt and tried to rush this one. Where I was able to complete on time, I think it hurt my accuracy a lot.

Now, with all my dream schools closing in, hbs and wharton 3 days before my final attempt (9th september), I come to you guys for advice. It seems I messed up the first quarter for both Quant and Verbal this time. Please, I don't have much time left and would love some advice on how to best prepare myself amidst writing essays and work. I don't think I need insane prep. I just need to figure out which topics to grind. For example, for verbal, rc and cr killed me both time. For quant, I am inconsistent across topics but a good manageable two week plan would do wonders for me. I have the GMAT club tests subscription till the 11th of september and the wiley official set as well.

Have added both ESRs here. Would love any insights you can give me.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

A quick suggestion would be to see if you can get some time off work or your workload temporarily reduced. If you feel your fundamentals are solid, consider working on your solving approach. May boost your score a bit. Had student for example who went from a V41 to a V45 in about 10 days. Perhaps work with a study buddy who is strong in areas you're not. You could help them in areas they're weak but you're strong on in exchange. There's a study buddy thread on gmatclub you can check out/sign up to.

5 Verbal tips

huhh · Answer

Can't take time off

. But I'll try for the study buddy thing. I'm thinking of doing one gmat club test for quant per day with review and a custom OG Verbal test from wiley or the forum quiz. Posted from my mobile device

BrentTargetTestPrep · Answer

Unfortunately, your ESRs don't provide a lot of illuminating/consistent information. 
For example in the first test, your DS/PS percentiles were 38/71, and in the second test your DS/PS percentiles were 67/31.
Similarly, in your first test, geometry was your worst topic, and in the second test geometry was your best topic. 
Throughout both sections in both tests, your time management is fantastic.

The good thing is that your scores suggest you have a strong grasp of all the topics. 
So all you can do now is work on those topics you perceive to be your weakest.

Also, you might want to check out this article:  How to Score a 700+ on the GMAT — A Mini Guide for Success

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi huhh,

To improve your quant skills, you may find it helpful to engage in topical quant practice.

For example, let’s say that you want to practice Number Properties. You can do so by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc.

After each problem set, thoroughly analyze your incorrect questions. For example, if you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question?

By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to fix your weaknesses efficiently and, in turn, improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

Went from a 710 to a 680 in my second attempt :( - Aiming for a 730

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