Retaking GMAT in 2 weeks: How To Use My Time?

Question

Hey all,

A little bit of background on me (maybe someone has/had a similar situation):

I'm 23 and graduated in May of 2016 with a Biology B.S. and a 3.83 GPA. My plans at that point were to enter Medical school but soon after getting some experience in the field, medicine lost its appeal to me and I wanted to move forward in my personal life and working in a different environment. I found a job part time in outside sales and soon after transitioned to full-time job in inside sales. I've been working there for just under 9 months and went from the Account Development Rep (others might call it Sales Development Rep) to the ADR Team Lead. It's been quite the transition for me and I'm just getting back into the flow of things.

I took the GMAT earlier today and scored only a 640 (Q44, V34) which, given my work experience and resume, probably wouldn't at all make me an outstanding applicant. I was shooting for more 680/690, as it's more in line with the standards of the program I want to get into, and to offset some of the weaker aspects of my application. Given that I'm applying for UIUC's MBA program and want to make the deadline for the first round of applications (3rd week of November) I figured it might be good to take another test soon and so scheduled another GMAT on November 7th.

To be honest, I feel wholly unprepared. At the moment I have VeritasPrep's online On Demand video courses with a couple of their mock exams and the GMAT OG for both Verbal and Quant. Admittedly I haven't done too much with either of the books and have been spending most of my time working my way through the VP curriculum, but it hasn't seem to done me a great deal. So since I'm more or less back to square one, I'm in desperate need for the best pointers anyone can offer given my current situation.

My experience on the test was pretty jarring; I'd thought that having taken mock tests before and having scored higher I wouldn't struggle so much, but on test day, I did more than struggle. I could work through the questions well enough to keep time and had about a minute or two at the end of each section to spare, but the questions themselves were tricky. It felt like there was no room to apply any of the strategies I'd picked up from VeritasPrep, especially in the Quant section. There were no tricks or strategies I could use to push through questions efficiently. As I recall when I took the official GMAT today there were exactly two "ah-ha" moments when I could definitively say, "I  know  I got that question right." Yet, when I was practicing, I was confident in at least half of the practice problems. The Verbal section was a little weird for me, too. I'd been practicing with all the techniques and methods of answering questions while taking the mock exams and they seemed to click with me. On test day though, this definitely did not feel like the case.

I have roughly two weeks before my next exam and two resources I want to get through but feel lost for where I should start. I'm thinking maybe having gone through VeritasPrep's program and had some exposure to the question, the OG might be the best way for me to start doing more practice problems. How should I best utilize the OG? Just read through it and take notes and create a log?

I do realize that hard work works, but I'm really at a time crunch and so I want to be able to utilize my efforts most efficiently. Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all so much in advance.

Taz1307 · Answer

Hi,

Few Questions i would like to knwo is how much are you scoring in your mocks and which mocks are you practicing. One suggestion anyone will give is that hope you are through with OG . OG provides the most standard questions and then only any other prep material moves in. It will be great if you can share your study part i will be able to help you in much better manner.

Best Wishes

David H · Answer

My recent scores have been around 670 and 680. I did the VeritasPrep CAD exams, as well as the mock exams provided by the official GMAT, "GMAT Prep."

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi David H,

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) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for each)?
3) If you couldn't hit 680+ by November 7th, would you still apply now or would you keep studying and apply later (potentially with a higher score)?

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

David H · Answer

Hey Rich!

Thanks for getting back to me!

1. I've been studying (though it's been somewhat on and off because of work) since around April. My first few scores on the GMAT Prep exams (the free ones provided on MBA.com) were roughly 580s/590s. I don't remember the actual scaled scores for either though.

2. I took a few CATs through VeritasPrep my more recent scores were 650 (Q40 V37) and then 660 (Q45 V33). One of the other tests bugged out on me and I got a few of the same questions multiple times. The score was a 680 but it was in all likelihood inflated.

3. That one's a tough one. I don't know if my application as a whole would stand out at all, especially given that I wouldn't have more than 24 months of experience by the time I entered school, let alone by application date. There are still two rounds after November but by then I feel it would get even more competitive. I'm hoping that the sooner I can get my score higher, the better.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi David H,

You're close-enough to your score goal right now that - based on what you describe - you could potentially hit that score on November 7th. However, it sounds like your studies have been a bit inconsistent and you haven't consistently hit your score goal during your studies. Two weeks might not be enough time for you to make the fundamental changes to how you handle the Exam that would be necessary to 'lock in' that type of score. This is why I asked whether you would retest or not if you didn't hit that score. If you're not going to apply unless you've scored 680+, then you should consider pushing back your Test Date (you don't actually have to make that choice today - but you could potentially save some time and aggravation if you rescheduled). It's also possible that having a lot more extra time would help you to put together a much stronger application for Round 2 (as you've provided no evidence that Round 1 would actually be 'better' for you).

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

David H · Answer

Hey Rich,

I'd agree with what you said. I'm not quite too sure whether two weeks would be enough.

At the moment, I'd say roughly 4 hours on weeknights and 8- 10 hours on Sat/Sun. The only reason I'd be considering taking the GMAT again so soon is because I'm under the impression that applying later greatly reduces one's chances of getting in. If this were not the case, or if it were not quite so severe, I would be willing to push my GMAT test again out a few more weeks to score closer to 700 and submit a more thorough application then. That, and the fact I don't want to have to keep taking multiple GMATs.

bvivek · Answer

Hi David,

Usually a Q49,V35 or Q45,V38 would amount to a score of 690. Your Q and V figures are in the ball park. Since you have just a couple weeks with you, if I were you, I would -
1) figure out where my strength lies, Q or V. 
2) target to score 5 more points in my area of strength simply by identifying the common mistakes/ knowledge gap and fixing those and thus honing my skills a bit.

Keep at least 4 hours study time each day. That's 56 hours average in two weeks. This time should be utilised to work on the area of strength to fetch those 5 extra points. Give extra time to take one more CAT.

All the best,
Vivek

Sent from my Moto G (4) using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

David H · Answer

Hey Vivek,

It's certainly encouraging to hear that. As for determining weaknesses and mistakes, what would you suggest is the best way to start determining what areas are in most need of improvement and then after, how to begin supplementing those areas of weaknesses?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi David H,

Business Schools often receive so many applications that they likely won't offer any Round 1 invites to applicants who are just "okay", especially since there could be amazing applicants who show up in Round 2 and Round 3. Thus, that group of 'just okay' applicants would almost certainly be 'wait-listed.' Mathematically-speaking, you are correct that there will be few available spots after Round 1, but you only get one shot at a first impression - and if your application isn't amazing, then the Admissions Committees will figure that out. This is all meant to say that given a choice between a decent Round 1 application or a much strong Round 2 application, then you should plan for the latter.

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

bvivek · Answer

Hey David,

In my first attempt at GMAT, I got 680(Q48, V34). I, like most Indians, was comfortable with quant than with verbal skills. But in an attempt to score better, I put my focus on improving verbal skills alone, and the next GMAT ended with a 670. Pathetic.

What I realised was that I took to much advise from too many people whose skills, strengths, approach and probably everything else was different than mine. Such suggestions would have worked for them, but certainly didn't for me. What I'm trying to get at is the fact that you are your best judge. Yet, here is my suggestion -

By now you would have given few mock tests and given a real test as well. I assume, given your dedication, that you might have made a log of errors that you can revisit. If you do not have one, don't worry. Reopen your mock test reports, and revisit the incorrectly answered questions. Identify what mistake you made, and internalize how to fix it. Put that in a log. Revisit your error logs. And once you do that, revisit your error logs again. Revisit all such questions that you might have gotten wrong, and internalize the fixes. Remember you just need 5-6 points more. Whether it is in quant or verbal, you identify.

When I review my performance after each mock test, there are so many "Aarrggh! How could I miss that" moments that I realised that I need to relax and be composed first. Secondly, I needed to read the SC sentences a little slower to identify the mistakes in the sentences and find which option corrected those mistakes. These were my problems. There are other smaller ones too. By revisiting your mistakes, you would be able to pin point what is it that's missing.

Given the short time you have kept for yourself, and the goal, rather than going into strategic planning, I would stick to tactical ones and focus on increasing my points by 5-6, in either quant or verbal. But remember, I may be wrong   , because I'm not you, and I'm certainly no expert. Think over your options again and decide wisely.

May you get what you desire and more   .

Best wishes,
Vivek

Sent from my Moto G (4) using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Taz1307 · Answer

Also keep your focus on first part of your exam really heavy i.e first 20 questions in both sections , unlike other exams GMAT if one starts committing errors does',t give chance to recover so easily in exam

minhnhat3009 · Answer

I think you should spend mOre time, at least 1 month intensively. But first just learn from all your mistakes you did with your CATs before focusing on quant, which is easier to get higher score. For Verbal, even 1 month would not help much with RC, you should pay attention to SC and CR instead. Hope that helps!

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