GMAT Debrief: 730 in Bizarre Circumstances; Retake?

Question

Hello All,

I took my first official GMAT exam (in-person) at one of the test centers here in Houston. The entire test, from before it started to the end, was full of just stressful and bizarre stuff and its a miracle that I got the semi-decent score that I did.

There is TLDR; below if you want to skip the details and just wanna hit the punchline. Otherwise, keep reading the details that follow.

Another important disclosure: My whole preparation was self-directed and on a budget (I guess I am cheap!). So I don't have any feel or recommendation for any tutor/prep company.

Background: I first picked up some GMAT materials back in 2017 and probably studied for a month with no real structure. I put the idea of GMAT and MBA on a back burner while i focused on my switching jobs. Roll forward to April 2020 and I wanted to study for GMAT again. I picked up the following materials and started going through the basics (i.e. reading books) and practicing questions. As you may notice, I hoarded a lot of material as most of the stuff I bought was used (but relatively clean) books. I, however, primarily focused on OG and ManhattanPrep materials along with GMAT Club questions.

Materials: 
a) OG 2012, OG 2017, OG 2019, VR 2019, QR 2019
b) Manhattan Prep 5th edition books (used) - All strategy guides for Quant and Verbal
c) Manhattan Advanced Quant
c) Powerscore CR Bible and Aristotle CR Grail
d) Free Veritas Stuff available online
e) GMAT Club Question Bank and GMAT Club Tests (when they were free on July 4th)

Preparation Schedule: Between the two, Verbal was my weaker section. Therefore, I started with Manhattan's SC guide. It is an excellent book that really covers the SC in greater detail than most books in the market. IMO, the real beauty of it is that you uncover more things on repeated readings. One weakness, as with any book, is that if you read the book in isolation, you may be a bit rigid with a handful of rules that actually are relatively fluid in GMAT world, especially the newer OGs.After my first read-through of the book, I dove into OG12 questions and saw a pretty decent accuracy (~90% accuracy in low level questions; ~80% accuracy in medium level questions, and ~60% accuracy in high level questions). Next, I went through Powerscore's CR Bible to better understand CR question types and different logic types. I also read through Manhattan's CR guide but, in hindsight, I could have just gone with either of the two and saved myself some time. Practiced with OG12 questions and was relatively happy with accuracy on those as well.

After this, I read through all Quant strategy guides, and started practicing with OG12. I quickly realized that OG Quant has relatively few advanced questions, and that I needed more practice materials. So, I bought Manhattan Advanced Quant guide and went through all 15 exercise sets (150 questions). At about the same time, I started looking at GMAT question bank and started looking at posts from  Bunuel . I do think those resources really helped me and pushed my Quant skills to a higher level. Definitely, a must if one wishes to do well on the actual exam.

I was done with materials and OG practice questions by mid-June. That is when I really started diving into more GMAT Club question bank along with secondary resources such as Aristotle CR grail (for practice questions). At the same time, I started going through other OG versions and VR/QR that I had. I did that for about 2-3 weeks, and figured I was ready for official mock tests. Keep in mind, I never took diagnostic GMATPrep test as I didn't want to waste a good test.

Practice Tests / Mocks: 
a) July-18: Paper Diagnostic Test from OG19. I dont remember exact score but it was pretty good ("Excellent" in Quant, and "Above Average" in Verbal iirc)
b) July-25: GMATPrep 1: 780 (Q50/V47). I was more surprised than happy. There were couple of SC questions that I think I may have come across on the forum
c) Aug-01: GMATPrep 2: 780 (Q50/V47). Exact same score. Was happy that first one wasn't a fluke. But did feel like couple of questions were seen before.
d) Aug-08: GMATPrep 5: 760 (Q50/V42). I didnt buy 3/4 as I knew 5/6 represented more "newer" questions. Verbal on this felt a bit harder than 1 and 2. But was still happy.
e) Aug-15: GMATPrep 6: 740 (Q50/V41)

That's it. All my practice tests were official ones. I didn't want to spend time on any other as I knew they will be off. And I didnt want to lose confidence if I saw a lower score on knock-off versions. Also, I only took one practice test per week (on Saturday), and spent the next day reviewing every question in detail regardless of whether I marked it correct. Other thing to note is that one might look at my scores above and say I actually trended lower on each attempt. However, deep in my heart, I knew I was not a 780 test taker and that I just happened to get lucky (and got 1-2 familiar questions). I felt that Exams 5 and 6 were more representative. Additionally, I read numerous posts saying that actual exams are harder than even the GMATPrep. So, I never let these practice scores get to my head and I always felt that I would be satisfied with anything above 700 on the real thing.

TEST DAY: 
  Stressful Experience #1  : My test was booked for 4:30 pm at a test center about 30-40 mins away. I got there and during checking-in, I presented my DL and PR card (green card). However, they requested my passport which I hadn't brought. Turns out, I misread the GMAC website and DL as id proof only suffices for citizens. I was told that if I can get my passport and be back by 5pm, I will be allowed to sit in. I looked at the clock and I only had 1 hour. I drove like a maniac, thinking this is it.. this test is jinxed for me today. Nonetheless, got my passport and was back at test center at 4:58. This entire time was extremely stressful and I already started thinking about re-take.

Order Chosen: Quant -> Verbal -> IR -> AWA

Quant: Started off fine. Similar level questions as GMATPrep. I started off fast but i must have slowed down unconsciously because at around Q15, I noticed that I am running behind. At about the same time, questions were a little bit harder and time consuming. I had to make couple of "educated" guesses around Q28 and Q30 and was able to finish the section with about 30 seconds left. Overall, as I said, the level was on par with GMATPrep questions. Of course, there were couple of questions that were just so out of the left field that I kinda guessed them.

Verbal: Generally speaking, I agree with other people that the questions are a notch higher in difficulty than OG materials or GMATPrep materials. Some of the splits on SC questions were based more on fine nuances (or at least it looked as such to me). I did find myself running behind the clock a bit and had about 8 mins left for last five questions. I had about 1:40 left with 2 questions remaining when the following happened.

Bizarre Experience #2  : Fire alarm went off. The proctors came by and she asked me to get up and leave. They said they would give us back the time that we had lost. We went down the building only to find out it was a fire drill. When I got back and she logged me in, the screen said my section was over. Proctors made some calls and told me that there is nothing they could do since the section is already over, and that I could finish the test. They opened a case with GMAC and asked me to talk to GMAC about how to handle the situation. I was utterly bewildered. All I was thinking was the penalty for not completing those last two questions. At this point, I pretty much took it as a practice test and told myself that I would be retaking it for sure.

Went through IR. During this section, fire alarms went off again (as part of the stupid freakin drill), and kept going for about 5-10 mins. Was kinda hard to concentrate on the test tbh. Nonetheless, I felt some of the IR questions were really time consuming. Coupled with the fact that I maybe prepared for a day or two max for IR, I didnt really have high hopes for this section. AWA was fine. I pretty much had the chineseburned template memorized and finished the essay with couple of mins to spare.

Final Score: 730 (Q50/V40/IR5)

Of course i accepted the score, but I will be talking to GMAC guys tomorrow about the whole fiasco at the end of Verbal section and see what they have to offer.

TLDR;  Went to test center. Forgot to bring passport (should have applied my RC skills on GMAC website). Had to drive back and forth and was able to make it back to test center with 2 mins left before they would have cancelled my appt. With 2 questions and 1:40 mins remaining in Verbal section, fire alarms went off and we were escorted down and were assured that we will get our time back. When I came back, the test said my section was already over. Proctors said they couldn't do anything since the section is over and asked me to contact GMAC after I finish my test. During IR, fire alarms went off again and kept going for 5-10 mins. Was somehow, by pure luck I guess, able to get a score of 730 (Q50/V40/IR5). No idea what would have been the actual score if I were to finish my exam and maybe got 1 of those 2 questions correct. Anyone wanna guess?!

Question to y'all : 
1) If GMAC offers, should I retake the test? Will I have the option to stick to my score form today's test if I do indeed retake the test and score lower? Or can I keep both? Anyone has any experience on how this is likely to pan out?
2) Is IR score of 5 a deal breaker? Should I retake the test until I can get it to 7 or 8?

Shout out to  bb  ,  GMATNinja , and  Bunuel  for this wonderful forum and your explanations on various questions! This is a really awesome resource for people who want to study for GMAT on a budget.

GMATaxe001 · Answer

Really sorry about the experience. Its a good thing though that despite all these hindrances, you could score a 730. Hats off to you. To retake or not will depend on what schools you ar tarrgetting. 730 itself is an amazing score and I think you can apply to most schools in top 10 with this..plus, a higher score isnt guaranteed if you reattempt. You could actually utilize that time for your B school applications because now is the perfect time.

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lemonmelon · Answer

Update: talked to Pearson and GMAC. They are offering me a retake at no cost. However, if i take that offer, I will lose my current score - they will pretty much wipe it from the system as if the test never happened. Therefore, I have decided that I will not ask for a refund as 730 is within range for many schools I will apply to. However, I may just pay another fee and take a second exam so that I have the optionality of choosing between the two scores, especially if I get higher score

I really don’t have a fine tuned target schools list as I am still in the process of reaching out to current students and alumni. That said, usual suspects are: McCombs (UT Austin), LBS, Insead, Duke

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I really don’t have a fine tuned target schools list as I am still in the process of reaching out to current students and alumni. That said, usual suspects are: McCombs (UT Austin), LBS, Insead, Duke

Posted from my mobile device

GMATaxe001 · Answer

I would suggest one of the following :

1. Apply to Early/R1 of your targets. You will have ample time to write a great story. Take consultants help if needed.
2. If you are really looking at that 740+, pay and take a second attempt.

What is your work ex like and which country are you from? if you are not from an overrepresented background then 730 works well
for you for any B school of your choice.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

730 is a very nice score!

To answer your questions:

1) Given your overall experience on test day, if you have the option for a retake, then yes, it would be worth giving the GMAT one more shot. If you score lower on the retake, you can cancel and just keep your original score.

2) No, your IR score of 5 is not a deal breaker. Especially because you scored 50 on quant.

If you decide to retake, let us know.

Good luck!!

lemonmelon · Answer

Thanks Scott! That is good to hear. I might give one more shot depending on how my applications go.

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bb · Answer

Congrats on your GMAT Score! 730 is SOLID! Unless you need to compensate for something, you can get into any BSchool with a 730 and nobody cares about IR (it is not in rankings and it is not a concern to the AdCom, as long as it is not super low like 3).

As to your test, let's what GMAC offers and how lucky you feel. They like to be difficult sometimes so I would see how it goes and then perhaps we can decide collectively (I hope you will share an update). However, 730 should be solid unless you are Indian Engineer Male.

Congrats! 
BB.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi lemonmelon,

First off, a 730/Q50 is an outstanding Score, so you can comfortably apply to any Business Schools that interest you. As such, a retest is almost certainly NOT necessary. Most Schools do not care much (if at all) about an applicant's IR Score, so you have likely have nothing to worry about with an IR5. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, 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. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

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

While the two situations that you faced on Test Day likely impacted your performance, the fire alarm wouldn't have had as much of an impact as you might think. Since the fire alarm first occurred at the END of the Verbal section (after you had already taken the Quant section) - and you only had 1:40 for the last 2 questions - it was likely that you were going to get one or both of those questions wrong anyway (if they were both SCs, then you would have probably needed 2.5 minutes to correctly answer both - and if either was a CR, then you would have needed even more time than that). Thus, the impact to your Score would have probably been limited to just the 'penalty' for not answering the questions - and that was likely not more than 10 - 20 points at MOST (depending on how you were performing up to that point in the section). This is meant to say that you would probably have earned a V40-V41 regardless of the fire alarm going off.

All things considered, you've got an outstanding GMAT Score right now, so you would likely be fine sticking with this Score and applying to any Program that interests you.

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

lemonmelon · Answer

Yep, I was only concerned about the penalty for not completing those two last questions as I was going to randomly guess one of them anyway. And based on your and other people's comment, I feel better about keeping the score. I may retake just to see if I can improve to V42 and get to 750 later in the process once I have got my applications under control. Thanks!

lemonmelon · Answer

Thanks  bb 
As I mentioned in one of the comments above, if I retake the exam at no cost, this score will be deleted. So, I have decided to keep the score, and just pay from my own pocket if I do decide to give a retake. Good to know the general consensus about IR score's importance or lack thereof.

lemonmelon · Answer

Received my official score today. 6.0 on AWA - all thanks to the chineseburned template.

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Thomas18r · Answer

That is definitely a strange turn of events, but you surely made the best of it! a 730 is amazing, but if you feel like you could do better, then why not?

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Cool. Keep me updated.

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