Retake strategy after 660 - target 720+

Question

Hi guys,

Took the GMAT after around 5 months of preparation and scored a 660 (Q44, V37, IR7). My diagnostic score 5 months ago was 570 (q34,v34), a Princeton Review test.

Resources used included, but not limited to:

GMATNinja

I find verbal manageable, no specific difficulty in any of the 3 sections. Quant, on the other hand, is my biggest weakness.

I have exactly a month before work starts, post which finding time to study will be very difficult. Would like some advice on whether I should retake my exam during this period, and how best to go about it. Bringing my quant up to this basic level took quite a bit of effort, so I'm afraid I'll lose even this if I delay too long. My target score is 720+.

Please let me know if I should provide any further information, and thank you in advance!

Regards

P.S No application deadlines to keep up with, I will only be applying in a couple of years.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi bigman00,

First off, a 660 is a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. That having been said, there's no harm in retesting and you have a great opportunity to pick up points in the Quant section (and you could potentially pick up some points in the Verbal as well). Regardless of how you might study over the next month, it's worth noting that 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. To score at a much higher level in this section, you need to become more of a 'strategist' and less of a 'mathematician.'

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 you should work on to score higher. If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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 have you scored on EACH of your CATs/mocks (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
2) Do you have a specific Test Date scheduled yet (and if so, then what is it?)?
3) While you're not planning to apply to Business School for a couple of years, do you have an idea of which Schools you want to apply to?
4) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

bigman00 · Answer

Thanks for the quick reply, Rich!

1) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs/mocks (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
 
 29/5/18 - Princeton 570 (q34, v34)  
21/6/18- Princeton 550 (q39, v26) 
30/6/18 - Princeton 570 (q43, v25)
10/7/18 - Princeton 540 (q34, v30)
26/8/18 - Princeton 680 (q46, v38)

21/9/18 - MGMAT 610 (q40, v34)

7/10/18 - GMATprep 1 - 640 (q46, v34)

28/10/18 - Princeton 660 (q43, v39)

11/11/18- GMAT club 630 (q36, v40)

04/11/18 - Princeton 650 (q42, v39)

11/11/18 - GMATprep 2 - 640 (q46, v32)

18/11/18 - GMATPrep 1 reset - 680 (q46, v38)

2) Do you have a specific Test Date scheduled yet (and if so, then what is it?)?
 
I have not scheduled a test date yet.

3) While you're not planning to apply to Business School for a couple of years, do you have an idea of which Schools you want to apply to?
 
Well, my target school is HBS. Other potential schools include Rotman, London Business School and Cornell.

4) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
 
This month, I will be able to put in at least 20 hours a week. Subsequently, a max of 2-3 hours a week.

P.S I will also require a scholarship or financial aid.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi bigman00,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, most of your CAT score results - along with your Official GMAT Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 650 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. It's possible that you've gotten 'stuck' at this particular score level; if you have developed any 'bad habits' during your prior studies, then it will take time to fix them (and replace them with new 'good habits'). Raising this 660 to the point that you could consistently score a 720+ will likely require at least another 1-2 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

Regardless of how you choose to continue your studies, you will need a new set of practice CATs. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC (the 2 free CATs, and each of the 2 that come with Exam Pack 1 and Exam Pack 2), but retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills. Seeing even a few 'repeat' questions can 'throw off' the Score Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. Thankfully, the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you use the CAT correctly).

If you want to retest relatively soon, then you will have to be really 'efficient' with the time that you have. Based on everything that you’ve described, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Total Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in 1-2 months, but even if you didn't complete the entire Study Plan, you could potentially learn enough to pick up all of the missing points that you're looking for. 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

bigman00 · Answer

Thank you for the prompt response!

I shall check out empowerGMAT, and try to figure out what my consistent 'bad habits' are so that I can work on them!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi bigman00,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. First off, you’ve made some nice improvement in the last 5 months of studying, so nice work! That being said, it’s going to take some further time and effort to improve from 660 to 720 (especially with a healthy increase in your quant score). Since you do not have any pending deadlines, I recommend that you take the time you need to improve your quant skills, and take the GMAT when you are ready. If you are concerned about forgetting concepts as you move forward, just be sure to do ample review of past topics.

Regarding HOW to prep moving forward, to improve your quant skills, go through GMAT quant carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see and types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.

So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.

In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant courses .

You also may find it helpful to read this article about 
 how to score a 700+ on the GMAT .

Please reach out with any further questions.

Let’s do this!!

egmat · Answer

Hi bigman00 , Congratulations on the 90 points improvement. It sets a very good foundation for your prep. I understand Quant can be very daunting but it is not impossible to improve your Quant score quickly if you follow a structured approach. Here is one such example of a student: • Learn how Leonardo (from Brazil) improved his Quant score for a Q46 to Q49 and went on to score an amazing 750. He "identified and practiced specific sections" in Quant. Click here to watch his video debrief. He recently secured an admit from Wharton, Booth and Tepper. Since you have a month to prepare, this One Month Study Plan will be useful for you. We are conducting a free Quant Workshop this weekend which will help you identify your weaknesses in Quant and give you an action plan to improve on it by specifically targeting the weak topics just like Leonardo did. Register here to reserve your spot. Hope this helps! Please feel free to write to us at support@e-gmat.com in case you have any further queries. Regards, Aditee

Retake strategy after 660 - target 720+

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards