ESR Evaluation

Question

Hi all,

First off, I would like to thank the experts on this forum - it's definitely THE best platform for anyone taking the GMAT.

3 months ago, I decided to take the GMAT and finalised on 10th July. After 3 months of focused work, I scored a dismal 660 (Q47,V35). This was quite shocking because I had been performing much better on the mocks. I have attached my ESR here. I plan to re-take the GMAT around 1st week of August. I would really appreciate if I could get some help in understanding the ESR.

All the mocks were taken with 8 min breaks, at a stretch, where I tried to replicate the real environment as much as possible.

Some additional key points:

1) How long have you studied in total?  3 months 
2) What study materials have you used so far?  Manhattan Prep for SC, OG, Quant Review, Jamboree Practice Tests (all 12), Jamboree Books (Basic + Advanced) 
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs/mocks (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
 Chronologically, all taken within 3 - 4 days of gap between each:

- GMAT Prep 1: 680 (V37, Q44) 
- Manhattan CAT 1: 690 (Q46. V38) 
- Veritas: 670 (Q48, V34)
- Kaplan - 690 (Q45,V40)
- Economist: 710 (Q47, V41)
- GMAT Prep 3: 660 (Q47, V35) 
- GMAT Prep 4: 720 (Q47. V42) 
- GMAT Prep (Old Software): 760 (Q50, V42) 
- GMAT Prep 5: 700 (Q48, V38) 
- GMAT Prep 6: 770 (Q50, V44)

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?  720  
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?  Sept (Round1)  
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?  Haas, Anderson, NYU, Tepper, UCLA, Foster, Kellogg

Appreciate all the help I can get, because I am really finding it hard to understand where I have gone so terribly wrong!

Thanks in advance! 
Sneha

snehasultania · Answer

Hi everyone, I was really hoping to get some feedback and help here. Would appreciate if the moderators of the forum could help me direct this to the right group. Thanks again!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Sneha,

First off, a 660/Q47 is a strong 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. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

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

There's certainly no harm in retesting though - and you have the opportunity to pick up some significant points in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. With this 660, you're actually closer to a 720+ Score than you probably realize. Before we discuss the data in your ESR, I have a few questions about your timeline:

1) From what you describe, did you take all of your CATs/mocks over the course of about 4-5 weeks?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

snehasultania · Answer

Thanks for your response, Rich.

To answer your questions:

1. Yes I took all these mocks within a period of 4-5 weeks. 
2. I have taken time off work, so I can dedicate as much time as needed for the next month.

Really appreciate your advice.

Best
Sneha

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Sneha,

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

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

I realize that you are hoping to craft a master plan based on your ESR; however, you need to make sure that you avoid falling into the trap of focusing on micro-details based on your ESR and thus misdiagnosing your weaknesses. Since your ESR is based on only 31 quant questions and 36 verbal questions (a very small sample size), it may not give you a complete picture of what to focus on going forward. For example, does your scoring 72% in Value/Order/Factors mean that you are devoid of weakness in those topics? Not necessarily. Perhaps you had some lucky guesses on those topics. Furthermore, there is no way to know HOW MANY questions you were given from those topics, right?

A few things do seem clear. For one, your ESR indicates that you are not strong in Equal./Inequal./ALG or Counting/Sets/Series. So, by becoming super-strong in those areas, you likely would score a few points higher in quant. On the other hand, the ESR does not clearly indicate a weakest or super-strong area (by a wide margin) in verbal. So, it's likely that you would increase your verbal score by working on any type of verbal question.

Overall, you haven’t gone “horribly wrong.” Rather, you performed OK on the test, and at the same time, the test exposed some weaknesses of which you were not aware. We know that your quant score currently stands at 47 and your verbal score stands at 35. So, to improve by 60+ points, you need to follow a structured study plan that allows you to master the GMAT topic by topic through linear learning and focused practice. By studying in such a way, you can ensure that you methodically learn GMAT quant and verbal and fill in any knowledge gaps.

Certainly, if you’d like more specific advice on how to improve your quant or verbal skills, feel free to reach back out. You also may find it helpful to read this article:  How to Score a 700+ on the GMAT — A Mini Guide for Success .

Good luck!

hellothere88 · Answer

hi, i had my exam (offline) a few weeks ago, but I was late by more than an hour of the scheduled time. However I did manage to complete the exam and received unofficial score at the end. But when I checked on my 'My Account' page on mba.com, the status on the exam is only 'Contact Us', which is similar to that of cancelled one. Does it mean that the exam was considered not attended (maybe due to I was late more than 30 minutes) and did not count toward my lifetime quota?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi indonesianfintech,

Since you were allowed into the Test Center and completed your Exam (and received an Unofficial Score), then your appointment was considered "attended." The delay in receiving your Official results could be due to a couple of different reasons (such as your AWA has not been scored yet or there were technical issues at the Facility that day - so ALL of the Exams need to go through an extra certification/verification). Have you reached out to Customer Service (and/or received a response?)?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Did you end up reaching out to anyone at GMAC to see what is going on with your score?

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