Scored 620 - Retake?

Question

Dear Test Takers,

Should I retake?

Let me provide you with a little bit of background: I started to study precisely a month ago knowing that Quant was my main weakness.

How did I prepare for Quant? 
I went through the MGMAT Quant books (all five books). However, I have to admit that I never really made sure to know all the Quant theory by heart. When I went through the concepts, I always felt like I was comfortable with it. Besides, I practised a lot (reached 85% accuracy on easy, 70% accuracy on medium, 55% accuracy on hard questions - that's very low I reckon) using mainly Wiley and GMAT Prep.

How did I prepare for verbal? 
As I am not a native speaker, I just practised and made sure to be as efficient as possible in RC, which was a pain point at the beginning. SC is still quite natural for me (85% correct on average, regardless of the question level). CR ended up being my main weakness in Verbal.

After two weeks of studying, I took the first CAT on MGMAT. I scored a disgraceful 560 (Q36, V31). I knew this score was way too low and decided to try again a couple of days later, after working on my weaknesses: scored 650 (Q44 V35). Way better!!!! 
Took a couple of MGMAT CATs in the following weeks and scored 590 in each of them (Q40/V32, Q36/V34).

A bit discouraged, I decided to work upon my weaknesses anyway and took the official practice exams from GMATPrep. I scored  660 (Q41, V41) , and  680 (Q44, V40) . That was everything I needed.

I took the exam today. The night before, I barely slept because of anxiety and excitement (even though I am not especially stressed in general). On D-Day, I forgot to eat before sitting in the classroom (took the test at 11h30, planned to buy some stuff right before but ended up running late because of traffic). Therefore, I felt completely weak throughout the entire test. I began with Quant, somehow bombed it. Then, I lost focus during Verbal and completely failed. I had to read three times each prompt, was distracted by my hungry belly, and so on. Worst experience ever. I was barely surprised when a disappointing  620  appeared on the screen ( Q38, V37 ).

Now, the question is: should I retake it? I feel like I am capable of scoring above 680, but today I made a couple of mistakes and I think that it truly affected my global performance (even the dumbest test taker ever would have eaten before sitting the exam).

I am planning to apply to the EDHEC - MiM Financial Economics. Several friends of mine got admitted with 620-680, depending on their profiles.

I look forward to hearing from you guys!!!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi vikopter79,

A poor night's sleep - along with skipping breakfast on Test Day - likely did impact your performance a great deal. As such, retesting would make a certain amount of sense. It's important that you use this entire Test Day 'event' as a learning experience though - and better prepare for your next attempt.

1) What is the application deadline for this MiM Program? Are you planning to apply to any other Programs?

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

vikopter79 · Answer

Thanks for your answer, Rich!

The deadline is on the 30th of June. But the number of available slots is decreasing every day. In addition to EDHEC, I would like to apply to Mannheim University (mean 650), Frankfurt School (MSc in Finance - mean 640), and EM Lyon (mean 650).

In your opinion, based on my previous performance, should I emphasise my preparation on Quant (while making sure to keep up my current level in Verbal) or should I plan to leverage my verbal ability (I am afraid that I already reach an important ceiling)?

Many thanks in advance!!!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi vikopter79,

A June 30th deadline still gives you plenty of time to study, so while I understand that you would prefer to submit your application(s) sooner rather than later, there is NO benefit to 'rushing in' an application if that application might not be strong-enough to earn you an invitation to attend that School.

Many Schools view an Applicant's Quant Scaled Score as an indicator of how that Applicant might handle the 'academic side' of the Program - and a Q38 won't impress anyone. In addition, that Score might actually be a 'red flag' at certain Programs. A Q38 implies that you did okay on many of the "math" questions that you saw on Test Day, but you made a lot of little mistakes throughout the section and you missed out on LOTS of 'strategy-based' points. This is meant to say that beyond working on your general math skills and note-taking/organization, by focusing on Quant Tactics, you'll be better able to increase your GMAT Score AND better impress how Business School Admissions Officers will view your potential to handle the Program.

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

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

vikopter79 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Up to 5 hours, I would say. The thing is, I also have to write my Bachelor Thesis. It is not only dull but also time-consuming. I planned to work 4 hours on my thesis in the morning and to dedicate the entire afternoon to studying the GMAT (I will spend another 3 hours writing my thesis in the evening).

I have to admit that I never tried to master quant strategies because I usually don't know WHEN to use them. I will focus on this aspect over the next few weeks.

Besides, I am not quite sure how to organise my GMAT sessions. For Quant, for example, shall I dedicate 1 to 2 hours a day brushing up my knowledge of the underlying theory (topic by topic) and spend the rest of the afternoon practising/trying to apply strategies on this specific topic (or maybe more generally?)?

Many thanks for your feedback. Highly appreciated!!!!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi vikopter79,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. Given that you a) did not sleep much the night before your exam and b) did not eat before your exam, I’d like to think that even if you took the test tomorrow, on a full night's rest and having eaten properly before the GMAT, you would score higher than 620.

That said, there is a possibility that your score slightly dropped because some of your quant and verbal weaknesses were exposed on test day. Since you don’t have to apply until June, I think it would be wise to continue studying for the GMAT and take the exam once you are comfortably hitting 680+ on your practice exams.

If you do decide to retake the GMAT and would like some specific advice regarding your study plan, feel free to reach back out, and I’d be happy to help. Also, you may find it helpful to read the following article about  the phases of preparing for the GMAT .

Good luck!

KarishmaB · Answer

Yes, you should retake. More than the 620, what troubles me is Q38 which is about 40 percentile. It means you scored better than about 40% of the people. It doesn't really put you in the middle though just about. A Q45 is required and considering that you have time to make it happen, you should. Even though a good night's sleep and a light and happy breakfast would do wonders for you, a lot of us work on adrenaline in such situations since missing sleep because of anxiety and excitement are more common than one would think. Your performance in Verbal was way better though you took it later so we know that there are gaps in Quant. Besides, the adcom only sees the low score, not the reason behind it, unfortunately. So what next - Review an entire Quant curriculum to understand it properly. Note why we take the steps we do and what to do if the question changes a bit. Practice questions based on each topic thoroughly and go back to it if you do not understand it very well. Take help from the community when you need better solutions. Practicing questions is a time consuming activity - try to solve yourself, find out the answer, look for alternative solutions, understand why alternative solutions work, jot down some takeaways etc. Also, the Veritas Prep blog discusses lots of Quant concepts in detail. Check it out here: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/catego ... mat-quant/

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi vikopter79,

Since you scored Q41 and Q44 on those two practice CATs, you likely know most of the math 'rules' just fine - but the Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test' - it's a 'critical thinking test' that requires lots of little calculations as you work through it. As such, you don't necessarily need to spend too much time on 'theory' - and I don't think that you would need to spend 5 hours a day studying - but a commitment to focused, 'quality' study IS required. You could potentially retest in a month and score in the high-600s or even 700s (assuming that your Verbal skills remain at this consistently high level).

Based on everything that you've described, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Quant Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in under a month, so the time commitment wouldn't be too intense. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an account.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

gmat1393 · Answer

Hi  vikopter79

I would suggest you to take a retake.
V37 indicates that your Verbal score is above the average verbal score.Order your ESR and analyze and try to improve weak areas in Verbal.
Q38 indicates you lack basics and have a lot of scope in improving your quant score.
I would suggest you to go thru Manhattan Quant guides which will solidify your basics and strengthen your foundation for quant and couple that with GMAT club tests, so that you can target Q49 at least.

Hope this helps!
All the best!

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