Should I Attempt GMAT Focus Instead of Retaking the Old GMAT?

Hi Nikhilayug,

To start, a 660/Q50 is a solid Official GMAT Score - so it might be enough to get you into your first choice School. There's certainly no harm in retesting - and you're actually closer to a 700+ Score than you probably realize. 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) On what date did you take your prior Official GMAT? Did you take it just once or were there multiple attempts?
2) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
3) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
4) On what dates (or approximate 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)?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

If you took your Official GMAT at a Test Center, then 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.

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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com
www.empowergmat.com

Hello,
Thank you for your response. Please find the answers attached.
1) On what date did you take your prior Official GMAT? Did you take it just once or were there multiple attempts?
Aug 29, 2023. I took only 1 attempt.
2) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
Studied for close to a month with mocks every 3-4 days.
3) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
Took Experts Global 2-month subscription and their 15 Mocks.
4) On what dates (or approximate 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)?
I can't specifically mention the dates but was scored 700(50Q, 35V) on average in Expert's global mocks, and 640(48Q, 28V) in gmatprep mock 1, 710 (50Q, 36V) in gmatprep mock 2.
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to
ISB is my first priority and also considering a few schools in the US top 10 - top 15 range.

Hi Nikhilayug,

Since you are interested in applying to some highly-competitive Schools, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement (and the more time that you have to act on that advice, the better). There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you studied for just one month, then it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort to score higher yet. In addition, a CAT/mock is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. The process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically should not take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. Going forward, you really should not take more than 1 FULL CAT per week. You took took many CATs for the timeframe that you studied - and may have inadvertently 'burned out' a bit before your Exam. If you were also "cramming" your studies (re: more then 30 hours a week of study), then that would have also likely increased your chances of burning out.

With a V31, you likely lost significant points in at least 2 of the 3 major Verbal categories (RC, SC and CR) - so you likely would need to work on more than just your SC skills during this next phase of your studies. The data in your ESR would likely help to define any additional issues in terms of how you approached the Exam.

1) What specific application deadline(s) are you facing?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com
www.empowergmat.com

Hi Nikhilayug,

Considering you studied for only a month, I'd stick with the current version of the GMAT, and really spend some time learning SC. With that in mind, here is a great article you can check out:

GMAT Sentence Correction: 15 Essential Tips

Hello Nikhil,

If you've made significant improvements in the CR section and are still facing challenges in SC, it might be best to consider the new focus edition. Your previous GMAT score indicates that your quant skills are strong, but your verbal score needs improvement. If your verbal score was negatively affected by a low accuracy rate in SC (which can be verified through the ESR), then opting for the focus edition would be the wise choice. The limited amount of time available suggests that your score could potentially reach the 90th percentile in the focus edition, assuming that SC is the primary concern, and you are applying to schools that accept this version in the current application cycle.

I have coached candidates who were struggling with SC and had lost confidence, but they are now feeling more positive about preparing for the focus edition, especially since it doesn't include SC. As Ajitesh also mentioned, for some candidates, SC is the easiest section to tackle in verbal, and you can make quick progress in this area. However, for others, it can be the most challenging. I hope this information helps.

All the best!

Take the test you can the best on…. That’s a better practice score.

With GMAT focus you can leverage quant for more question and a bigger portion of the score since DI is still heavily quant-based. Verbal is only 1/3 of the score and if you can plug your CR hole and do OK on the RC, a 700+ (whatever the heck that is in the new numbers) should be in your grasp.

So I would take the new one….




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