Hi All,
I would like to query the GMATClub community and its experts about whether I should retake the GMAT. I have attached my enhanced score reports from each test and provided a brief summary of my prep below, with each segment representing the time before each test. Thank you in advance for your time and opinions.
GMAT 1 (Cancelled) - 5/2/17 - 640 ( 47 Q / 31 V )Background:-This was the first time I took the GMAT
-I studied for 5 months before taking the test.
Prep:-I took Manhattan's in-person class, which started in January 2017. The class was useful, but I felt it wasn't enough to propel me over 700.
-I also signed up for
Magoosh's online software and had completed most of the video lessons and questions prior to test day.
Pre-Test Performance:-I took a lot of practice exams and my scores ranged from low- to high-600s on the various platforms, such as Manhattan and GMATPrep.
-My quant and verbal splits were low-40s and high-30s, on average.
-Timing was a big issue for me prior to this test, especially on verbal.
Test Day:-My anxiety was through the roof.
-Choosing order was not an option at this point in time.
-I panicked and crashed during the last half of the verbal section, and had to guess on 3-4 questions at the end and left the last question blank.
-I was surprised with my quant score, but disappointed with my verbal score, which was 7-8 points below where I had been testing.
GMAT 2 (Cancelled) - 9/11/17 - 620 ( 36 Q / 38 V )Background:-This was the second time I took the GMAT exam.
-I took a month off after my first exam, and studied for 2-3 months for exam #2
Prep:-I was determined to improve my verbal performance and spent much of my prep time doing so.
-Most of my prep was from
OG problems and from Manhattan.
Pre-Test Performance:-I did not make many gains on my overall score during this period of time.
-Quant was hovering around the same mark, but verbal was more consistent, scoring in the high-30s.
-Timing was still an issue for me, especially on verbal.
Test Day:-Order: Quant / Verbal / IR / AWA
-My test was scheduled to begin at 8AM- big mistake- and I was not awake and in test-mode before I started quant.
-Holy $h*t quant! I started slow, my average time per question for the first quant set was nearly 3 minutes. I finished the section, but most likely had to guess on a couple at the end.
-This was a demoralizing experience.
GMAT 3 (Submitted) - 11/14/17 - 710 ( 47 Q / 41 V )Background:-My goal at the beginning of this process was to score over 700. My goal score started to drift upward as I got closer to my test date.
Prep:-I shifted most of my time to GMATClub and will say that this forum was by far the best resource I came across to date- so thank you all
-I also was able to improve SC accuracy by taking a step back and focusing most of my time on the original sentence, and meaning, as opposed to furiously deciphering splits, which usually ended up confusing me.
-I took 17 GMATClub Quant tests and scored between 33-49, with an average score of 41.
-I started keeping an
error log, which really helped me to identify my weaknesses on the quant side.
-I did not spend enough time on critical reasoning, which is my glaring weakness.
Pre-Test Performance:-By this time I had taken a plethora of GMAT tests and was now in Exam Pack 2 of GMATPrep.
-I was consistently scoring between 710-750 on my GMATPrep tests
-Quant was consistently between 48-50 and verbal was in the low 40s.
Test Day:-I arrived late to the test center- TRAFFIC!- and was not in the best state of mind when I started the test; however, I felt relatively relaxed given the circumstances.
-Quant timing was good, I was almost ahead at one point, but had to rush on the last two questions.
-I'm surprised with my performance on the last section of quant. I'm not sure if it was the difficulty level or if I had to rush a little because I fell behind.
-Verbal was tough, way tougher than before. I heard that verbal was more difficult now, but this could be because I was seeing more complex questions.
-Verbal timing was poor. I was running about 5 minutes behind until the 3rd set of questions. This is a problem I have always had with verbal. I always fall behind. I think my SC timing, which is around 1:45 on average, really slows me down.
-I skipped 2-3 questions, two of which were CR.
So, I'm interested in a couple of things:-Do you think I should retake the test? I have mixed feelings with my last exam score. I think I could get to a 49 on quant, if I played my cards right. CR is my main weakness on verbal, I'm not sure how easily it would be to improve here, but I'd like to think I could if I paid closer attention to it. I'm also slightly burnt out from this whole thing and would like to apply to round 2 this year, so early January deadlines.
-Do you think I should re-instate my scores from exam 1, exam 2, or both? I have heard that programs like to see score progression.
-If you recommend that I retake the exam, do you have any recommendations on how to improve CR (e.g., GMAT programs beyond Manhattan and
Magoosh, a debrief of what worked for you / what you did to finally make it click)
Thanks again for your time and best of luck to you all!
R
A retake is not required. 710 with the split you have is quite respectable. But if you are targeting the top 5, a 30-40 point improvement could do some good (in Quant, another 2 points are desirable). No point reinstating the old scores.