Should I retake GMAT for the 3rd time?

Question

Hello everyone,
I could really use some advice on retaking the GMAT. My first attempt was in March 2018 when I got a 450 with a little preparation. In fact, I had a kind of breakdown at the testing room, when I realized that I had underestimated the exam and was underprepared. However, I started again my preparation in December 2018. I bought Magoosh course, studied all the Manhattan guides and solved the whole Verbal OG and half of the Quant OG. I have to mention that I quitted my job after 2 months of preparation in order to focus exclusively on my preparation.

My first CAT: 15-03-19 , 550(Q31,V34) Gmat prep
Second:Magoosh pool questions, 600
Third:09-04-19 ,570(Q36,V31) Gmat prep
Fourth:21-04-19,590 (Q47,V34) manhattan free test
Official test: 24-04-19, 530 Q28,V 35

In the meantime, I was solving various sets of questions all timed and on Pc and took some Gmat club' Cat, as well.
As for my experience in the test room, I was really concentrated and felt sure about my preparation. However, I started with the Quant section and did not know how to answer many of the first questions. It was like I 've never seen them before.

The problem is that If I decide to retake the exam I must do so in 15 days because the deadline for Erasmus University in Rotterdam is on 15/05. Is it enough time to prepare or will I just waste more money?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kallia.x,

To start, this 530 is a nice improvement over your prior 450. In a prior post, you stated that your Goal was 600+, and it will likely take at least another 1-2 months of consistent, guided study to get to the point that you can consistently score at that higher level. With a May 15th application deadline, you only have a couple of weeks of potential study time - so there will be a limit to how much you can improve.

1) What is the Average GMAT Score for the Program that you are interested in? 
2) When is the next application deadline after May 15th?
3) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi kallia.x,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. Assuming that I’m correct in saying that the minimum GMAT score at Erasmus is 600, raising your GMAT score by 70 points in just 2 weeks is going to be challenging. If you kept studying and took your GMAT at a later date, would you be able to apply in a later round or would you need to apply in an entirely different admissions cycle?

In any case, would you like some general advice on how to improve your GMAT quant and verbal skills?

Also, you may find it helpful to read this article:  How Long Should I Study for the GMAT?

Feel free to reach out with further questions. Good luck!

souvonik2k · Answer

Hi
It would be better to know how much is the average Gmat score for admission to Erasmus University.
In 15 days, a lot of improvement cannot be expected, so if the average score is much higher then it would be a better option to focus on Gmat now.
Regarding improving your Gmat score, I would suggest to focus on the concepts first. I see that your Verbal score is decent and if you can score more in Quant then you can easily score higher. Use the Ultimate Gmat Quant megathread for building up concepts and practice from the Gmat Official and Review Guides for practice. 
Hope it helps.

kallia.x · Answer

ScottTargetTestPrep

Thank you very much for your reply. Indeed, the minimum Gmat score of RSM is 600. However, after a lot of consideration, I decided to pursue a master degree at another university. My current goal is 550, a score that I achieved many times at my home environment tests. How long will you recommend to study and prepare to sit for the exam again? At the moment, I am not working so the preparation will be my full-time job.
Thank you again!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kallia.x,

If your Score Goal is now 550+, then you likely have the necessarily knowledge/skills right now to hit that Score, so you just have to tweak how you 'see' (and respond to) the Exam. You appear to have changed your overall plans though, so it would help to know a bit more about your current timeline:

1) Are you still planning to take the GMAT on May 15th or are you going to push it back?
2) What is the application deadline for the Program that you are now planning to apply to? Are there any other Programs (and what are their deadlines?)?

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

kallia.x · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC
Thank you so much for your reply!
Indeed, I decided to pursue two other universities, which are also really good and have a lower Gmat minimum of 550. One deadline is on 01/06 and the other on 01/07 . I am going to prepare intensively in order to take the exam before the end of May.
During the last days of my preparation, I noticed that my Verbal score was stuck at 35, although I studied more and more every day. I guess this is my top ability? As for Quant, I realized that I did not work much on my error log and needed more practice at some specific types of questions, which happen to appear on my official test- bad luck!

Do you have any recommendations as to how I should proceed now? Any thoughts or tips are welcome.
Thank you

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kallia.x,

With your Score Goal, you do NOT need to correctly answer ANY of the questions that you think are too hard or too weird, but on all of the other questions, you do have to keep the little mistakes to a minimum. By extension, you have to become comfortable with the idea of 'dumping' questions on purpose - so that you'll have more time to spend on the questions that you CAN correctly answer.

Since your Official Score was relatively similar to the CAT Score you received on March 15th, we can use that prior CAT as a reference. "Review" is an exceptionally important part of the GMAT training process; your ability to define WHY you're getting questions wrong is essential to defining the areas that you need to work on (and the specific things that you need to 'fix'). As such, I'd like to know a bit more about that CAT. While a full Mistake Tracker would provide a lot more information, there are some basic questions that you should be able to answer (and the more EXACT you can be with your answers, the better):

After reviewing each section of that CAT, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?
5) How many Verbal questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

Based on your prior Scores (both CAT Scores and Official Scores), you almost certainly have the skills to hit 550+ right now, so you might not need much in the way of additional study materials. If you're looking for a guided Study Plan for the next few weeks, then I could put together a sub-set of the Total Score Booster Study Plan for you.

1) Have you scheduled your next Official GMAT yet (and if so, then what date is that Exam?)?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

kallia.x · Answer

Thank you for your advice.
Well, I am thinking about taking the exam in late May but have not scheduled yet. I believe that I could study for about 3-4 hours a day, in order to retake sooner.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kallia.x,

The analysis of that practice CAT is really important, as it will define what you need to work on going forward. There's a big difference between getting questions wrong because you just don't know how to answer them and getting questions wrong because you made a bunch of little mistakes (meaning that you COULD have answered those questions correctly).

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Honestly, if you give yourself a solid month of “full-time” prep, I think you should be able to achieve your score goal. That said, when is the latest you can take your GMAT?

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