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wvu
Joined: 30 Mar 2017
Last visit: 19 May 2023
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 9
Location: United States (NY)
Schools: Stanford '25 (D) Wharton '25 (A$) HBS '25 (D)
GMAT 1: 730 Q44 V45 (Online)
GPA: 3.9
Schools: Stanford '25 (D) Wharton '25 (A$) HBS '25 (D)
GMAT 1: 730 Q44 V45 (Online)
Posts: 17
Kudos:
11
18 May 2017, 11:55
Kudos
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Hi all,
Yesterday I took my first shot at the GMAT after spending the last 6 weeks studying (~130 hours or so). I've always struggled with math on standardized tests and so I knew that the GMAT would be no different. However, I hadn't spent much time studying for other exams in the past so I thought that by putting in the time for the GMAT I would be able to overcome this issue. Sadly, I was wrong and I ended up with a 650 (39Q, 41V, 8 IR) which was very disappointing. It isn't really too much outside my range of practice test scores but they also had a pretty wide range based on one far outlier. Here are the practice scores from the last 6 weeks:
GMATPrep Test1 - 680 (42Q, 41V, 8 IR) - April 17th
GMATPrep Test2 - 640 (36Q, 40V, 8 IR) - May 1
GMATPrep Test3 - 730 (48Q, 42V, 8 IR) - May 8
GMATPrep Test 4 - 640 (39Q, 40V, 7 IR) - May 15 --> this shook my confidence a bit and it was 2 days before my real exam
I need to definitely retake the exam, as I need a 730+ to be competitive for the MBA programs I am looking at. Luckily, I just graduated undergrad and so I have ~4-5 years before I would need to have the score, but I would prefer to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. As my test scores show, quant is really what is holding me back so I have a few questions going forward:
1) What would the best resource be to improve my quant ability? I am 100% dedicated to putting in the time and willing to spend the money to get a good score so what would be the best choice out there? My strategy for studying before was reading through each of the Manhattan Quant books once and then doing all of the OG Quant problems and about half of the OG Quant Review book problems. I think the problem with these is that there are too many easy questions so I wasn't getting enough practice on the medium/hard questions where I need to improve. I also kept a detailed error log - my accuracy rates for PS were 76% and for DS it was 68%. There isn't really one area in particular that is a problem, I am around that accuracy rate for each type of question, with geometry being a bit lower.
2) Should I cancel my score? I 100% know that I will not be able to use this score for anywhere I would consider going. I'd guess it would be best having this score not be on my report (might not look good to adcoms), but if there is any other rationale let me know. I've also considered getting the ESR instead of cancelling but I'm not sure how useful it would be.
3) How long should I wait to take the exam again? The nice part of the last 6 weeks is that I've had a gap between school and starting work so I had a lot of free time. I will be starting a job in mid-June so I could potentially try and grind out the next two weeks and retake the GMAT before then, but I'm not sure how much improvement I will see (and I'd rather not waste another $250 for another bad score). I was thinking possibly at the end of summer, but I will also not be able to study a ton as I adjust to my job
Any help from any of you great GMATClub members would be fantastic! GMATClub has been a great resource throughout this whole process. If there is any information I left out that could be helpful, let me know!
Yesterday I took my first shot at the GMAT after spending the last 6 weeks studying (~130 hours or so). I've always struggled with math on standardized tests and so I knew that the GMAT would be no different. However, I hadn't spent much time studying for other exams in the past so I thought that by putting in the time for the GMAT I would be able to overcome this issue. Sadly, I was wrong and I ended up with a 650 (39Q, 41V, 8 IR) which was very disappointing. It isn't really too much outside my range of practice test scores but they also had a pretty wide range based on one far outlier. Here are the practice scores from the last 6 weeks:
GMATPrep Test1 - 680 (42Q, 41V, 8 IR) - April 17th
GMATPrep Test2 - 640 (36Q, 40V, 8 IR) - May 1
GMATPrep Test3 - 730 (48Q, 42V, 8 IR) - May 8
GMATPrep Test 4 - 640 (39Q, 40V, 7 IR) - May 15 --> this shook my confidence a bit and it was 2 days before my real exam
I need to definitely retake the exam, as I need a 730+ to be competitive for the MBA programs I am looking at. Luckily, I just graduated undergrad and so I have ~4-5 years before I would need to have the score, but I would prefer to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. As my test scores show, quant is really what is holding me back so I have a few questions going forward:
1) What would the best resource be to improve my quant ability? I am 100% dedicated to putting in the time and willing to spend the money to get a good score so what would be the best choice out there? My strategy for studying before was reading through each of the Manhattan Quant books once and then doing all of the OG Quant problems and about half of the OG Quant Review book problems. I think the problem with these is that there are too many easy questions so I wasn't getting enough practice on the medium/hard questions where I need to improve. I also kept a detailed error log - my accuracy rates for PS were 76% and for DS it was 68%. There isn't really one area in particular that is a problem, I am around that accuracy rate for each type of question, with geometry being a bit lower.
2) Should I cancel my score? I 100% know that I will not be able to use this score for anywhere I would consider going. I'd guess it would be best having this score not be on my report (might not look good to adcoms), but if there is any other rationale let me know. I've also considered getting the ESR instead of cancelling but I'm not sure how useful it would be.
3) How long should I wait to take the exam again? The nice part of the last 6 weeks is that I've had a gap between school and starting work so I had a lot of free time. I will be starting a job in mid-June so I could potentially try and grind out the next two weeks and retake the GMAT before then, but I'm not sure how much improvement I will see (and I'd rather not waste another $250 for another bad score). I was thinking possibly at the end of summer, but I will also not be able to study a ton as I adjust to my job
Any help from any of you great GMATClub members would be fantastic! GMATClub has been a great resource throughout this whole process. If there is any information I left out that could be helpful, let me know!
18 May 2017, 12:34
Kudos
Bookmarks
Welcome to GMAT Club. I am sure (hoping) you are familiar with Bunuel - following his topics, explanations, and posts is super helpful. Make sure you follow some of his question collection links in his signature.
Also, there has been a great topic on your exact question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-impro ... 41670.html
Also, there has been a great topic on your exact question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-impro ... 41670.html
18 May 2017, 22:49
Kudos
Bookmarks
wvu
Hi all,
Yesterday I took my first shot at the GMAT after spending the last 6 weeks studying (~130 hours or so). I've always struggled with math on standardized tests and so I knew that the GMAT would be no different. However, I hadn't spent much time studying for other exams in the past so I thought that by putting in the time for the GMAT I would be able to overcome this issue. Sadly, I was wrong and I ended up with a 650 (39Q, 41V, 8 IR) which was very disappointing. It isn't really too much outside my range of practice test scores but they also had a pretty wide range based on one far outlier. Here are the practice scores from the last 6 weeks:
GMATPrep Test1 - 680 (42Q, 41V, 8 IR) - April 17th
GMATPrep Test2 - 640 (36Q, 40V, 8 IR) - May 1
GMATPrep Test3 - 730 (48Q, 42V, 8 IR) - May 8
GMATPrep Test 4 - 640 (39Q, 40V, 7 IR) - May 15 --> this shook my confidence a bit and it was 2 days before my real exam
I need to definitely retake the exam, as I need a 730+ to be competitive for the MBA programs I am looking at. Luckily, I just graduated undergrad and so I have ~4-5 years before I would need to have the score, but I would prefer to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. As my test scores show, quant is really what is holding me back so I have a few questions going forward:
1) What would the best resource be to improve my quant ability? I am 100% dedicated to putting in the time and willing to spend the money to get a good score so what would be the best choice out there? My strategy for studying before was reading through each of the Manhattan Quant books once and then doing all of the OG Quant problems and about half of the OG Quant Review book problems. I think the problem with these is that there are too many easy questions so I wasn't getting enough practice on the medium/hard questions where I need to improve. I also kept a detailed error log - my accuracy rates for PS were 76% and for DS it was 68%. There isn't really one area in particular that is a problem, I am around that accuracy rate for each type of question, with geometry being a bit lower.
2) Should I cancel my score? I 100% know that I will not be able to use this score for anywhere I would consider going. I'd guess it would be best having this score not be on my report (might not look good to adcoms), but if there is any other rationale let me know. I've also considered getting the ESR instead of cancelling but I'm not sure how useful it would be.
3) How long should I wait to take the exam again? The nice part of the last 6 weeks is that I've had a gap between school and starting work so I had a lot of free time. I will be starting a job in mid-June so I could potentially try and grind out the next two weeks and retake the GMAT before then, but I'm not sure how much improvement I will see (and I'd rather not waste another $250 for another bad score). I was thinking possibly at the end of summer, but I will also not be able to study a ton as I adjust to my job
Any help from any of you great GMATClub members would be fantastic! GMATClub has been a great resource throughout this whole process. If there is any information I left out that could be helpful, let me know!
Yesterday I took my first shot at the GMAT after spending the last 6 weeks studying (~130 hours or so). I've always struggled with math on standardized tests and so I knew that the GMAT would be no different. However, I hadn't spent much time studying for other exams in the past so I thought that by putting in the time for the GMAT I would be able to overcome this issue. Sadly, I was wrong and I ended up with a 650 (39Q, 41V, 8 IR) which was very disappointing. It isn't really too much outside my range of practice test scores but they also had a pretty wide range based on one far outlier. Here are the practice scores from the last 6 weeks:
GMATPrep Test1 - 680 (42Q, 41V, 8 IR) - April 17th
GMATPrep Test2 - 640 (36Q, 40V, 8 IR) - May 1
GMATPrep Test3 - 730 (48Q, 42V, 8 IR) - May 8
GMATPrep Test 4 - 640 (39Q, 40V, 7 IR) - May 15 --> this shook my confidence a bit and it was 2 days before my real exam
I need to definitely retake the exam, as I need a 730+ to be competitive for the MBA programs I am looking at. Luckily, I just graduated undergrad and so I have ~4-5 years before I would need to have the score, but I would prefer to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. As my test scores show, quant is really what is holding me back so I have a few questions going forward:
1) What would the best resource be to improve my quant ability? I am 100% dedicated to putting in the time and willing to spend the money to get a good score so what would be the best choice out there? My strategy for studying before was reading through each of the Manhattan Quant books once and then doing all of the OG Quant problems and about half of the OG Quant Review book problems. I think the problem with these is that there are too many easy questions so I wasn't getting enough practice on the medium/hard questions where I need to improve. I also kept a detailed error log - my accuracy rates for PS were 76% and for DS it was 68%. There isn't really one area in particular that is a problem, I am around that accuracy rate for each type of question, with geometry being a bit lower.
2) Should I cancel my score? I 100% know that I will not be able to use this score for anywhere I would consider going. I'd guess it would be best having this score not be on my report (might not look good to adcoms), but if there is any other rationale let me know. I've also considered getting the ESR instead of cancelling but I'm not sure how useful it would be.
3) How long should I wait to take the exam again? The nice part of the last 6 weeks is that I've had a gap between school and starting work so I had a lot of free time. I will be starting a job in mid-June so I could potentially try and grind out the next two weeks and retake the GMAT before then, but I'm not sure how much improvement I will see (and I'd rather not waste another $250 for another bad score). I was thinking possibly at the end of summer, but I will also not be able to study a ton as I adjust to my job
Any help from any of you great GMATClub members would be fantastic! GMATClub has been a great resource throughout this whole process. If there is any information I left out that could be helpful, let me know!
First of all, think about retaking in about 2-3 months. With the new job, you can hopefully take out a couple of hours every day and probably a few extra on Saturday or Sunday. To push up the Quant score with the constraints you have, following would be my suggestion:
1. Make a study plan - Say, every Sunday you take out two slots of 2 hrs each and go through the complete theory of one Quant topic from the curriculum of a prep company. Ensure that you understand everything in that.
2. Then every weekday, practice questions from that topic. Kick off with simple ones and go on to harder and harder. There will be takeaways in the 700+ level questions. Ensure that you jot them down in a notebook.
3. Do not ignore verbal but all you need in that is some regular practice. So identify sources of good verbal questions and work on 5 of each type every day. You can switch it with IR once in a while.
4. Next Sunday, pick another topic and repeat the same process.
5. After 3-4 weeks, revise all the topics covered till then.
6. Once all topics are done, take one practice test every week and fine tune your understanding of the concepts. Again, don't forget to write down the takeaways.
Here is a link to some of our free resources: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/
and here is the link to our blog: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/category/gmat/
