GMAT Prep 770/760 - Actual 710 Only (ESR attached)..Next steps?

Question

Hi Experts,

Will sincerely appreciate if you could suggest me next steps for reaching V40. This was my second attempt (Q50, V35)

I managed to score V42 and V45 in GMAT Prep fresh mocks before Exam. I screwed up SC and time management in Exam. Anxiety crept in because I was looking at clock very often. I am going on a family trip for 1st 15 days of November. When should I retake and what should my study strategy be till then? I can't devote more than 1 hour when I am on trip. I am looking to appear for next attempt before Nov end for sure so that I have time for Round 2 applications.

EMPOWERgmatRichC

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EducationAisle · Answer

V45 on mock to V35 in actual exam, is a huge drop Harsh. Any chance you saw repeat questions in your mock?

HarshBazooka · Answer

EducationAisle  - None. Zero. Repeat questions. Time management and concentration issues are quite obvious from this ESR. My bigger concern is not knowing how do I solve these things.

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ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi HarshBazooka,

I’m sorry to hear about how things went with your GMAT. Before providing specific advice, I’d like to learn more about your situation with the GMAT. I have some questions:

1) How many practice GMAT tests did you take? Please list the dates on which you’ve taken any practice GMATs, the total scores, and the quant, verbal, and IR scores, as well as how you were feeling while taking the tests. Also, please tell me where these tests came from (ex: mba.com).
 
2) Please describe how you studied. For how many hours a day did you study and for how many months? What resources did you use?
 
3) To what programs will you be applying? What are the deadlines for these programs?
 
4) By when would you LIKE to take the GMAT? By when MUST you take the GMAT?
 
5) For how many hours a day, on average, can you study between now and your next GMAT?
 
6) In your opinion, how prepared were you for the GMAT? It's important that you answer this question as objectively as possible.
 
Once I learn a bit more about you, I can provide some detailed advice.

Thanks!

HarshBazooka · Answer

Thanks for your reply  ScottTargetTestPrep  . This was my second attempt and I am not happy at all. Previous attempt was 690 (Q49, V35) in Feb'18 and so no improvement in Verbal Scaled score. These are great questions. Please find my answers below:

1) How many practice GMAT tests did you take? Please list the dates on which you’ve taken any practice GMATs, the total scores, and the quant, verbal, and IR scores, as well as how you were feeling while taking the tests. Also, please tell me where these tests came from (ex: mba.com).

Answer  :

a.  9th Oct  GMAT Prep Mock 3: 770 (Q50, V45,IR1). Order- Quant then Verbal then IR. Solved only Quant and Verbal. I was feeling good. A little bit of running against the time but still not a disaster time management. Few of the questions were a close call (unsure between two options so went with gut feeling in verbal)

b.  13th Oct  GMAT Prep Mock 4: 760 (Q51, V42). Order- Quant then Verbal then IR. Solved only Quant and Verbal. I knew I demolished Quant. Verbal - I couldnt finish the section. second last question was wrong and couldnt even reach last question. Entire exam my time management was a disaster. Again, I was not 100% sure of answers on 20%-30% of questions.

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2) Please describe how you studied. For how many hours a day did you study and for how many months? What resources did you use?

Answer  :

Resources Used:  Magoosh Videos and Question Bank, GMAT Club question of the day, OG 19 and Verbal/Quants review 19. GMAT Prep official question pack (entire exhausted). GMAT Club Math Book. Few questions here and there as per GMAT club directory. GMAT Ninja CR videos. CR Bible.

Study Methodology:   Complete ALL Magoosh Videos ( from basic to advanced). Hours per day was not fixed but average would be 2-2.5 hours a day. I studied for 2 months.

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3) To what programs will you be applying? What are the deadlines for these programs?

Answer  :

a) Dream Schools: Booth, CBS, NYU, Cornell, INSEAD, LBS. --> With a 710 and because I belong to over represented pool, I and multiple admissions consultants are highly skeptical about any chances in these schools. Deadlines for NYU and Cornell : 15th Nov. Then 3rd round in Jan. For rest all deadline is Early Jan

b) With 710 I can look for Rotman and HEC Paris. Rolling admissions for Rotman. HEC- 15th Nov and 2nd January.
 
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4) By when would you LIKE to take the GMAT? By when MUST you take the GMAT?

Answer  : Like to take End of Nov. Must Take first week of Dec.

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5) For how many hours a day, on average, can you study between now and your next GMAT?

Answer  : This is tricky. Till 31st Oct I can study 3 hours a day. From Nov 1st to Nov 12th I can study 30 mins per day max. After Nov 12th I can study 3-4 hours a day. I am going on family trip in early Nov.

-----------------------
 
6) In your opinion, how prepared were you for the GMAT? It's important that you answer this question as objectively as possible.

Answer  :

DS: Very comfortable. Especially with Number properties, arithmetic. I cut down on silly mistakes.
PS: Geometry sometimes made me uncomfortable if time crunch is present. I hate word problems. Few seconds were always wasted because of lack of quick math ( what is 342 divided by 3, etc.)
RC: Very confident and comfortable. GMAT PREP official Mock accuracy -100%. 
SC: Consumed more time. Lost in irrelevant parts of the sentence at time. Didn't have the best strategy in world to attach SC questions. Accuracy wasn't as it should be. Went over the theory in detail from multiple sources though. Many a times got the answer right without being 100% sure why other 4 answers were wrong.
CR: Love this piece. Always able to narrow down to 2 options. Double negative options always confused me. Was happy with my CR skills.

egmat · Answer

Hi HarshBazooka , 710 is a great score even if not your target score and it indicates that you have understood most of the concepts well. From your ESR, SC stands out to be the sub-section that pulled your score down. I would like to invite you to the free SC webinar that we are conducting on 27th October. Register here to reserve your spot. Additionally, you can take a Verbal Ability Quiz to identify the specific topics in SC which are weak and work upon them. Hope this helps! Please feel free to write to us at support@e-gmat.com for any GMAT related queries. Regards, Aditee

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi HarshBazooka,

Thank you for the detailed response. I see that we have connected offline, so I look forward to hopping on a call and discussing your situation in detail.

We will get things sorted out, my friend.

Let’s do this!!

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