Strategy for a Retake - Practice test scores & official score dilemma

Question

Hi I recently took the GMAT online & scored a 645. I took GMAT official mocks 1 & 2 prior to this with results of 1 655 (Q76 DI 86 V85 ) 2 645 (Q78 DI 83 V85).

Naturally I wanted to work on quant as this is my weakest and easiest area to catch up on some simple points. I really just didn't know all the concepts that well and had to learn how to solve these problems. But I also continued to work on Verbal and Data Insights because I know working on strengths is just as important. I would love to get 665 which seems to be possible for me.

My breakdowns on the official 645 are (Q79 DI 84 V83). I was happy with this improvement in Quant, and DI I felt very good about too but Verbal I really am not sure what happened. I studied this consistently and felt the absolute strongest here. Any time I did hard level practice problems in the official gmat practice problems I could consistently get 90+% . I read some replies on here about test day anxiety, change of routine, or memorizing easy tricks to get verbal right instead of actually understanding the content being the culprits of a huge swing from mocks to exam day. But I don't feel like those really explain this drop.

Additional context I finished verbal with 10-15 minutes left on both mocks and the official exam. Was able to review all questions and really make up my mind on each attempt. Felt supremely confident on the official GMAT and the mocks that my answers were correct, but evidently not on the official.

My question is: could this just have been an unlucky day & a fluke on verbal? How can I improve on this when I can always get all the verbal answers right at all difficulties on the official gmat practice all the time? Wondering if I should just take another test soon to see or do I have to go and take several mock exams and see if there really is an underlying weakness that I can't find out through practice problems.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi ADAllDay,

It’s entirely possible that you just had an off day. Why don’t you take another practice test or two to see how things go? Once you have a bit more scoring data, we can go from there.

kingbucky · Answer

I think instead of chasing a set score in your mind, and being fixated at that particular score. Start applying to schools, GMAT is just a part of the process, reading your post, I think you think GMAT is the only piece you must be worried, wake up, much bigger thinks are out there, and your score is decent. That's the way I think, let's wait for the experts reply.

HarshaBujji · Answer

You can certainly consider reattempting, as many strong test takers achieve their target score after multiple attempts, while a few manage it in their first try. That said, review the average scores of your target schools—if your score is already above those averages, it may be more beneficial to focus on strengthening other aspects of your application rather than fixating solely on the GMAT.

bb · Answer

You could say a fluke on the V and Q as well (some is higher and some is lower)
+/- 20 points is definitely within the standard error so you can boldly give it another shot. I would just keep working on all sections. Don't assume any is strong and can be abandoned, so spend 2 weeks poking around the GMAT and staying up to speed and see where the retake takes you.

But hopefully AdCom can not worry about 20 points so hopefully you have a good enough score (not the strongest perhaps) but this should be a low-stress retake so to speak.

yc168 · Answer

Are you on any sort of time line here?

I feel that there is much more head room in Quant for you, if you have the time, instead of being fixated on your Verbal, which is already quite strong.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider sharing your score report when it becomes available. If you include some of the issues or types of questions you find challenging (e.g. DS questions), people may provide a few specific suggestions. For time management, for example, using question/time markers may help a bit.

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