Looking for advice 730 (Q49 V40) - ESR attached

Question

Dear all,

I'm seeking advice on improving my score (I have attached my ESR). Any help would be deeply appreciated. I have to retake the exam in a month or so.

2nd GMAT score:  730 Q49 V40 (August 18) - ESR attached

In my last exam, I completely messed up the RC sections. I'm not sure how to improve this. My mock exam average for RC was in the 90th percentile, but on the actual exam, I scored 49%, which is way below my average. On the exam, I completely blacked out for the first 15 minutes or so and only regained focus by question 10 or so. For the ESR, it seems I got only 2 questions wrong in SC and CR combined - I don't know if I can repeat this performance.

My Quant hasn't improved since the last time, I'm not sure what to do to improve it.

I have already practiced all the official questions. But I haven't been consistent with taking mock exams.

I took 3 mock exams before the actual exam:
1. Manhattan - 700 Q48 V38
2. GMAT Prep 3 - 740 Q49 V42
3. GMAT Prep 4 - 760 Q50 V42

1st GMAT score:  710 Q49 V37 (May 24) - No ESR

I took 2 mock exams before the actual exam:
1. GMAT Prep 1 - 720 Q50 V38
2. GMAT Prep 2 - 750 Q49 V44

Please let me know what you think. Thank you.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

For RC, becoming familiar with how INFERENCE questions work could be helpful. If you feel your fundamentals are solid on Verbal, consider working on your solving approach. May help boost your score a bit. Had a student who went from a V41 to a V45 in about 10 days, for example. Perhaps work with a study buddy who is really strong on Verbal. If they need help with Quant, that could be a good fit.

3 RC tips

3 RC tips

Archit3110 · Answer

Congratulations for great score...
With this score you can apply to any school... 
Why you want to re attempt gmat at 730 ?

Posted from my mobile device

Mayank452 · Answer

Thank you for the suggestions. I will certainly work on the inference-type questions. The fundamentals seem solid on SC and CR. I will relook at the RC passages done so far to pick put these details. Will also try to find a study buddy on the forum.

Mayank452 · Answer

Thank you so much, Archit.

4 reasons for retake:
1. - I severely underperformed on this exam. I mismanaged the section order. 
2. A - Several experts and successful applicants that I have talked to have said the score seems to be right on the border and I do fall in the over-represented pool of applicants. 
2. B - The chances of better scholarships are reduced because of the score.
3. - Through preliminary assessments, although I've been told that I may have an above-average profile, it would have to do even more heavy lifting because of the score. 
4. - I have an AWA score of 4 - Members of this forum call it average. Some even said this might be low.

Lastly, and this may be the weakest reason - I have already booked the exam. No choice.

Please let me know what you think. Thank you again - for taking the time to reply.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi Mayank452,

For the verbal section:  You shouldn't overanalyse this ESR.

1.  You've made only a few (2+1+0+3 = 6) mistakes. Given that you got some SC/CR questions wrong, you almost certainly did not get too many RC questions wrong.

2.  The red (incorrect) difficulty line is consistently above the other two lines. I don't normally try to read too much into this, but your mistakes could very well have been due to difficulty level rather than a serious weakness in a fundamental skill like RC Inference.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Mayank452,

Here is some advice you can follow to improve your RC skills:

GMAT Reading Comprehension Tips: Top 8 DOs and DON’Ts

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

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Looking for advice 730 (Q49 V40) - ESR attached

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