Retake GMAT tips

Question

I gave the GMAT on 30 Jun and received the score today.
I got a 520 (Q44, V18) and was very shocked since it is around 80 points less what I got in my GMATPrep mocks .
I plan to retake GMAT within 5-6 days.
Any advice on the strategy to be taken for the retake so as to get the expected score of atleast a 650+.

Looking forward for a quick response on this.

Thanks,
Ritwik

Posted from my mobile device

egmat · Answer

Hey  ritwikk2

Thanks for reaching out on the forum, it feels good to see you coming out and asking for advice.

I would suggest you not to retake in 1 week. A score of 520 suggests that you have conceptual gaps which needs to be filled. It will take around 2 months of dedicated preparation to get to a score of 650.

Read our article on  Personalized Study Plans for 100+ score improvements  to know how to make one in detail.

Best

e-GMAT Strategy Expert

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  ritwikk2 , can you introspect and figure out what went so bad on the exam day, so as to result in a score of V18?

ritwikk2 · Answer

I think the questions were tough and probably I answered couple of wrong answers at the start of the paper which would have drastically dropped my score.

Probably in Verbal, I have some conceptual gap as well in CR , therefore I would be feeling the questions to be tough.

Regards,
RItwik

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ritwik,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

While you might be tempted to rush back in to retake the GMAT, that is likely NOT a good idea. There could be a number of different factors that impacted your performance on your CATs - and on Test Day - and until we define those issues (and potentially 'fix' them), you would run the risk of scoring at the same general level as you did on this Official GMAT.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi ritwikk2,

I’m sorry to hear how things went with your GMAT. Since you scored 520 with V18, you really will need more time than just 5 days to improve your GMAT score. Can you push back your GMAT and take it at a later date? Also, you may find it helpful to read the following article:

KaumudiT · Answer

Hi - I need some advise regarding whether or not to retake my GMAT. I gave my attempt today and got a 680 (Q43, V40), and I feel it's 20-30 points less than what I am capable of. My time was a bit mismanaged in Verbal, but I managed to score well there. But because of the time issue I lost my nerve during the Quant section and messed it up. My last few mocks were repeated attempts of the official GMAT tests, and I got these scores - 730 (Q49 V40); 710 (Q46; V42); 740 (Q49; V41); 680 (Q47, V35). I know these are inflated scores as the tests were 2nd attempts of the exam, but I feel even with the inflation in mind, I should be able to hit 700 in the real thing.

The schools I am targeting (ISB Hyderabad, IIMA, IIMB) look at average scores of 700, so I am slightly off the mark. Though I have a strong and slightly different profile (Indian female, non-engineering, non-commerce, have been an advertising, marketing and journalism student in graduation with 4 years exp in brand marketing), I don't want to be ignored by the AdComms because the score is not impressive enough. Is my thought process correct? Should I go for a retake? Is 680 really that off-mark? Or am I being too much of a stickler to the 700-mark? If yes, is it okay if I schedule my retake within next 3 weeks - I don't want to lose my momentum and have little time for the application period. Thanks!

KaumudiT · Answer

Hi - I need some advise regarding whether or not to retake my GMAT. I gave my attempt today and got a 680 (Q43, V40), and I feel it's 20-30 points less than what I am capable of. My time was a bit mismanaged in Verbal, but I managed to score well there. But because of the time issue I lost my nerve during the Quant section and messed it up. My last few mocks were repeated attempts of the official GMAT tests, and I got these scores - 730 (Q49 V40); 710 (Q46; V42); 740 (Q49; V41); 680 (Q47, V35). I know these are inflated scores as the tests were 2nd attempts of the exam, but I feel even with the inflation in mind, I should be able to hit 700 in the real thing.

The schools I am targeting (ISB Hyderabad, IIMA, IIMB) look at average scores of 700, so I am slightly off the mark. Though I have a strong and slightly different profile (Indian female, non-engineering, non-commerce, have been an advertising, marketing and journalism student in graduation with 4 years exp in brand marketing), I don't want to be ignored by the AdComms because the score is not impressive enough. Is my thought process correct? Should I go for a retake? Is 680 really that off-mark? Or am I being too much of a stickler to the 700-mark? If yes, is it okay if I schedule my retake within next 3 weeks - I don't want to lose my momentum and have little time for the application period. Thanks!

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