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pratyush442
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Retaking GMAT Exam 07 Jan 2018, 22:16
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Hello Everyone,

Would really appreciate if the kind people of this group would give me some advice regading retaking my GMAT exam. On my mocks i was scoring somewhere between 650-690 but somehow ended up with a horrendous score of 550 yesterday. I had planned to apply in the second list for most of the B-Schools in the Asia pacific region but i guess will miss out on a few deadlines. i just need your advice regarding the 2 below mentioned questions and any other word of advice will be really helpfull:

Q1- How much time should i put in to retake my exam and what resources should i use?

Q2- Does it make sense to apply to B-Schools in the third list?

Thankyou everyone in advance.Really counting on everyone on this amazing group. :hurt:
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AjiteshArun
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GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
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Retaking GMAT Exam 07 Jan 2018, 23:20
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pratyush442
Hello Everyone,

Would really appreciate if the kind people of this group would give me some advice regading retaking my GMAT exam. On my mocks i was scoring somewhere between 650-690 but somehow ended up with a horrendous score of 550 yesterday. I had planned to apply in the second list for most of the B-Schools in the Asia pacific region but i guess will miss out on a few deadlines. i just need your advice regarding the 2 below mentioned questions and any other word of advice will be really helpfull:

Q1- How much time should i put in to retake my exam and what resources should i use?

Q2- Does it make sense to apply to B-Schools in the third list?

Thankyou everyone in advance.Really counting on everyone on this amazing group. :hurt:
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1. It depends. If you just underperformed on test day, you could take the GMAT again quite soon. Try to evaluate your practice tests before taking a decision on how much more time to spend on the GMAT. If you were taking good tests (like the GMATPreps) and all the questions were "new", then the 650-690 scores you received are most likely reliable.

2. Again, it depends. How competitive are the programs you are thinking about and what kind of shape is the rest of your application in?
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Retaking GMAT Exam 08 Jan 2018, 13:05
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Hi pratyush442,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as hoped. Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
4) What is your goal score?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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pratyush442
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Retaking GMAT Exam 09 Jan 2018, 03:24
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Hi EMPOWERgmat Instructor,

1. I studied for almost 2 months on and off.
2. Offical Guide and Verital Prep material.
3. It was mostly between 650 to 690.
4. my goal score is 700.

I plan to retake the exam in a months time now so working on my plan of action.Any kind of input will be really appreciated.

Thanks.
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DAVEexamPAL
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Retaking GMAT Exam 09 Jan 2018, 09:32
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pratyush442
Hi EMPOWERgmat Instructor,

1. I studied for almost 2 months on and off.
2. Offical Guide and Verital Prep material.
3. It was mostly between 650 to 690.
4. my goal score is 700.

I plan to retake the exam in a months time now so working on my plan of action.Any kind of input will be really appreciated.

Thanks.
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Since you are already at an advanced stage of study, and already know o all of the material, what is crucial at this stage is that you RESEARCH YOUR MISTAKES.
Go over your last 2-3 practice tests and investigate - ask yourself for each mistake: Why did I make it?
- Did I forget some part of the material? If so, review it!
- Did I do something "silly", the kind of thing which makes you think "I really should have gotten this"? Think what could have prevented it! Sometimes, simple techniques (such as writing down answers and crossing them out so as to prevent confusion) can go a long way
- Did I just go at it the wrong way, and maybe waste a lot of time? Evaluate what made you choose to solve the question the way you did, and if there was a more efficient way- how you'll recognize it next time
In all of these, the most important thing is to look for patterns - you could have a specific recurring mistake reason which, when addressed, could solve a lot.

Here is blog post by me on the topic of improvement.

Good luck!
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Retaking GMAT Exam 09 Jan 2018, 16:52
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Hi pratyush442,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've only studied (off and on) for 2 months, then that might help to explain why you have not scored higher yet.

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't 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. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: in an online forum or in a practice set)?

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