Hi everybody, five hours ago I took my first ever GMAT exam and as you can read from the title I managed to get an overall score of 650 with Q47 V32.
I don't want to seem arrogant, but I am so unsatisfied.
Let's give you first my background knowledge.
I graduated in December 2020 in mathematics (BSc), and I am doing a master degree in math, but as I would like to expand my knowledge in economy, I decided to enroll in a school of economy.
This said I would like to tell you the score I got from my gmat prep mock:

-GMAT prep test1:29/11/2020 : 540 Q43 V22 (at 11pm and with 0 hours of study)
-GMAT prep test2 30/11/2020 : 680 Q50 V31 (with 0 hours of study)

I did those two just to see how the test was, and to understand what I had to study.
Then after my 680 I thought I could continue doing my staff at university (I was pretty confident of doing well in short time) and so I did.
After my last exam on January 26 I came back to study GMAT and I studied until yesterday, 24/7.
At first it was painful, I also regretted the my stupid though of using studying only for one month.
I did some exercise then studied all the Manhattan SC, RC and CR.
For math I basically did nothing, some exercise from OG and skimmed a little bit All the quant from Manhattan, but I don't think quant is an issue for me.
The thing that devastated me is that it doesn't matter how much time you study and how much schemes you do (trust me I wrote down and schematized also all the Manhattan idiom in that infinite list ).
That said let's get on, I did then

-GMAT prep test3:02/01/2021 : 650 Q47 V33
-GMAT prep test4 09/02/2021 : 650 Q44 V35
-GMAT prep test3 (retake):20/02/2021 : 720 Q50 V38
-GMAT prep test5:22/02/2021 : 690 Q49 V34
-GMAT prep test6:25/02/2021 : 610 Q48 V25 (this demoralized me)

I know that the score I got today reflects in an objective manner the performances I got in the mocks.
But I am sure of one thing: I won't stop until I get 750.
I know that I can do it, but actually I don't know what to do more; I have done everything in my power (read all the books recommended, read all the explanations even if I got the question right, and studied hard like nothing), but this is not enough.
Thus I need to change my way of studying.
I was wondering if out here there is someone who would help me (a tutor a course, whatever I can do to change my way of studying besides books), plus I will retake the test on march 16, so I will need something now.(from tomorrow until the 16 I would only study for the gmat 24/7 as I did before)
In my opinion I would need help in SC and CR, as RC is something I find easy most of the times, but overall Verbal is my weak part as I am non native speaker.
I am glad if you can tell any recommendation.
Last thing: Should I cancel my score? I am not used to fail, and that score for me is a loss, but I don't want to do things in a hurry (I have 72 hours to decide).
Thanks in advance for every advice.

speripro - If you are determined to get 750 or above on the GMAT, then there's no other choice but to cancel your current score of 650. That said, your real-GMAT score is quite close to the average of your practice test scores. At this point in time, you must purchase the ESR to understand how exactly you performed on the test. A 650 score says that you still need to master a few concepts to reach your target score: 720.
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Hi speripro,

I’m sorry to hear about your GMAT. Since you are looking for new prep resources, in addition to seeking advice in this thread, take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses, and also read through some GMAT success stories to see what materials have worked well for other test-takers.

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

Good luck!
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DisciplinedPrep thank you so much for your answer.
Do you have any study suggestion to improve my verbal?
I have gone through all the Manhattan books but it seems it doesn't help at all.

ScottTargetTestPrep thank you so much for your answer.
Do you know If within 2 weeks time (I'll retest on march 16) I could manage to find a tutor? (I think I just need the right path and then I'll be able to walk on my own, but as a non native speaker it's a bit difficult for me)

Hi speripro,

To answer your immediate question - Business Schools generally do not care if you take the GMAT more than once, so having this 650 in your profile is not a "bad thing." If you'd rather not have that data-point there though, then go ahead and cancel it.

A 650/Q47 is a solid Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. 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/

There's certainly no harming in continuing to study, but to earn a 750+ on the Official GMAT, you will have to make significant improvements to how you deal with BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. As an aside, the 750+ score is approximately the 98th percentile - meaning that most GMATers never score that high on the Official Exam. Thankfully, NO Business School actually requires that you score that high - so it's important to realize that the score that you "want" and the score that you "need" to get into your first-choice School are not the same thing. In addition, the type of skills that you will need to hone to consistently score at that higher level take time to develop, but a March 16th Test Date only gives you about 2.5 weeks of additional study time. While there would be no harm in taking the GMAT at that time, you will almost certainly need more study time than that to earn that type of score result.

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 your timeline and your goals:

1) How many hours did you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you mentioned?
3) For your next attempt, are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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
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EMPOWERgmatRichC Thank you so much for your detailed answer.

I'll go through your post and reply back to everything you said.
First of all: are you sure that business school doesn't count it?
I mean someone says that it is not a good thing to have a lower GMAT on your profile, but I am here to learn and open to hear your opinion.
1) How many hours did you typically study each week? every day, all day, as I would do for a normal exam at university, and that's how I was able to go through all the material I mentioned in only 1 month
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you mentioned? I used only Manhattan prep SC,CR and RC completely (I also did schemes), and OG 2020 for verbal; I skimmed "All the quant" a little bit and did some questions of OG 2020 for quant (but I think that I've spent at least 10 hours for quant as I wanted to do Verbal the most)
3) For your next attempt, are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?At test center because I absolutely need the break
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to? Deadline is 17th of march for Bocconi university in Milan

Thanks in advance

However I have purchased the ESR and I have attached it to the first post!

Hi speripro

Sorry about how things went with your GMAT. But do not get disappointed. You can definitely improve your score provided that you identify what went wrong in the previous attempt and work on your weak areas. Let me help you here.

How to improve your score on GMAT Verbal?

As you seem to struggle a lot in the Verbal section, let's focus on the verbal part for the moment. You can't just rely on learning the concepts and practicing questions to score well on GMAT. Your focus must be on learning the right methodology as well as it is the main thing that is tested on GMAT. The better your application skills are, the better your performance will be.





Before suggesting you any plan of action, I would like to have a detailed discussion with you regarding your study strategy till now, the way you solve questions and your weak areas. This information will help me understand your concerns and guide you in a better way. I'll PM you my mail id, to which you can send your ESR. We can analyze the ESR together during the call itself. You can use the below link to get in touch with me.


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Hi speripro,

I've sent you an analysis of your ESR with some additional notes and questions.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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I see you test is in just a few days. How are you feeling?
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Thanks for your message @ScottTargetTestPrep; I have gone through all the verbal e-gmat course (SC and CR); I have given everything: I hope everything will go in the right direction on test day...
finger crossed;
I'll definitely post a follow up tho.

Good luck!!
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