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phendag
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
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GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
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GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
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MathRevolution
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GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V42
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GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V42
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ReedArnoldMPREP
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A V38 is quite a strong start, which means, unfortunately, it's a tough score to improve from. And often when people try to, they eat up time, psych themselves out, and end up scoring lower.

What would you say are your relative strengths and weaknesses in quant and verbal? Why do you think these are your strengths and weaknesses?

For those that are weaker, how are you fundamentals? What active changes do you think you can practice to improve? I can almost guarantee you that 'content' is not your primary sticking point, so it's more a game of 'what you do' and 'how you think' than it is a game of 'what you know.'

What does your review process look like when you review a question you've done, particularly ones you've missed? On a scale from 1-10, how thorough do you think that process is? Why do you rank it? My honest guess is if you rank yourself a 7 or above, you're over-ranking yourself. A good sign that you should rank a seven or above is that you find at least three specific takeaways regularly. For quant, you're often finding two or more valid approaches to a problem.

The 650-700 jump is a notoriously challenging one. It requires a lot of self-reflection, and a willingness to do things differently even when the way you've been doing them is good enough to get a solid 650.

The skills that get a 650 don't get a consistent 700, I'm afraid. So you have to be willing to cut up your thought process and find a way to change them.
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GMAT 2: 760 Q51 V40
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phendag
Hey GMAT Club,

Long time lurker / first-time poster.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention give a thank you to all who have gotten me to the point at where I currently am - I've leveraged these points more than you/anyone could imagine. Still looking to go a bit further, however...

Long story short, I began studying for the GMAT in Jan 2021. Took my first exam June 2021 and scored 650 (Q:42 / V:38). I've taken the exam twice more, only to see my scores decrease. Attempt #2 in August 2021 was a 630 (Q:42 / V:34) and Attempt #3 was a 620 (Q:44 / V:32). It's been fairly disappointing to see this trend...

I've spent lots of time and $ on tutoring, but I often suffer on the psychological aspects of the exam, which can then eat into timing it seems, especially on verbal. Mind you, my diagnostic exam score was a 620 (Q:38 / V:36), so I'm naturally strong in Verbal. I had never scored below a 35/6 in my practice exams.

I'm running out of steam here and I can no longer afford to devote the time that I have to studying for the exam because of the pressures/commitment of my job (>=60hrs/wk). That doesn't mean, however, that I'm ready to give up! I'd be happy with a 680 at this point, but am still shooting for that optimal 700. I purchased an ESR, but it isn't yet available.

My primary question is when should I aim for a retake? Is it best to give myself time to break and recharge - if so, how long? I'm yearning to get to where I need to be to be competitive at the Top 25.

Thank you.

Hi phendag,

Sorry to hear about how things went with your GMAT.

You may find these articles helpful:

https://blog.gmatwhiz.com/when-should-you-retake-gmat/

https://blog.gmatwhiz.com/retaking-gmat-after-break/

Hope this helped and feel free to contact if you have any further queries.

You can always write back to me here or the better way would be to connect over a call and have a discussion regarding the retake strategy. You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call
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phendag
Hey GMAT Club,

Long time lurker / first-time poster.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention give a thank you to all who have gotten me to the point at where I currently am - I've leveraged these points more than you/anyone could imagine. Still looking to go a bit further, however...

Long story short, I began studying for the GMAT in Jan 2021. Took my first exam June 2021 and scored 650 (Q:42 / V:38). I've taken the exam twice more, only to see my scores decrease. Attempt #2 in August 2021 was a 630 (Q:42 / V:34) and Attempt #3 was a 620 (Q:44 / V:32). It's been fairly disappointing to see this trend...

I've spent lots of time and $ on tutoring, but I often suffer on the psychological aspects of the exam, which can then eat into timing it seems, especially on verbal. Mind you, my diagnostic exam score was a 620 (Q:38 / V:36), so I'm naturally strong in Verbal. I had never scored below a 35/6 in my practice exams.

I'm running out of steam here and I can no longer afford to devote the time that I have to studying for the exam because of the pressures/commitment of my job (>=60hrs/wk). That doesn't mean, however, that I'm ready to give up! I'd be happy with a 680 at this point, but am still shooting for that optimal 700. I purchased an ESR, but it isn't yet available.

My primary question is when should I aim for a retake? Is it best to give myself time to break and recharge - if so, how long? I'm yearning to get to where I need to be to be competitive at the Top 25.

Thank you.

Hey, sorry to hear that. Have you read this thread? I think it may help if you spend more time on the first 10-12 questions.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/new-format-g ... 69682.html