Second time GMAT Improve Verbal but lowered Quants score

Question

Hi GMAT Club,
I wanted to share my story to see if I can get help, I did my second time GMAT test last Saturday and got a 680 (Q46 V36). I felt really bad with the low Quants score. Usually I get Q49-50 in my essays, but happy for my Verbal score, my first GMAT was 660 (Q49 V30) that was over a year ago. I don't know exactly what happened in Quants, but I notice that the question were not that difficult. Has anyone heard this kind of case? What do you recommend me to do?
I will take GMAT again in one more month, I believe I can maintain the Verbal score an take Quants to a 50.
Best Regards,

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jgnorero,

First off, a 680 is a great score (it's just a bit below the 90th percentile overall) - and it is likely strong enough to get you into Business School. As such, you might not need to retest.

The GMAT is remarkably good at giving each Test Taker the score that he/she has EARNED. This time around, you did enough to earn a Q46 - this is still a strong performance, but you made enough little mistakes (likely on DS questions, but you probably missed a couple of 'gettable' PS questions too) to miss out on those remaining points.

Since your original score was a year ago, what type of studying did you do for this latest attempt:

1) How long did you study?
2) What resources did yo use?
3) How much of your time was spent on Verbal and how much was spent on Quant?

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

jgnorero · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your reply, For the first GMAT 660 (Q49 V30) I actually study with EMPOWERGmat, then for this year GMAT 680 (Q45 V38, I was wrong in my first post about the Q and V, just receibe the mail from GMAC) I study with the Verbal part of e-gmat.

Answering you questions
1) How long did you study? 4 Months
2) What resources did yo use? e-gmat
3) How much of your time was spent on Verbal and how much was spent on Quant? Studying only Verbal but in every practice test I did, which was one every weekend for the last month, the whole exam, and then review the Math part.

What do you recommend me?
Best Regards,

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jgnorero,

From what you described, you did not do much Quant practice while you were working on your extra Verbal studies. Since your Quant score dropped to a Q45, your Quant skills clearly 'faded' a bit over time. Assuming that you want to retake the GMAT (and do so relatively soon), for this next month you'll want to do a mix of Quant and Verbal practice.

What Schools are you planning to apply to?
When are you planning to apply?

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

jgnorero · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your response again.

What Schools are you planning to apply to? With my 680 i'm thinking of Berkeley,Kellog,Booth and MIT.
When are you planning to apply? First round

I will take the GMAT again the 08th of August.
What do you think?
Best Regards,

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jgnorero,

Considering that the Schools you listed are all highly competitive, I would strongly advise that you work with an Admissions Expert on your applications. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

Those same Experts would probably all tell you to retake the GMAT, but the truth is that your 680 is 'in range' of all of the Schools that you listed (albeit at the lower end of the range). You'll need a strong OVERALL application and you'll need to 'market yourself' correctly to each of these Schools to stand out.

Since you've already scheduled your next GMAT, you should proceed as normal and continue studying. If you can put together the best 'pieces' of your prior performances, then you should have no trouble scoring 700+.

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

jgnorero · Answer

Thanks Rich. Considering I already know the EmpowerGMAT approach do you think that if a pay for 3 weeks I will improve to Q50-51?
Best Regards

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jgnorero,

A Q50/51 requires a high level of 'precision', regardless of how you approach the section. Given the number of variables that can influence a Test Taker's performance, HOW you choose to handle the Quant section is arguably the biggest. If you make too many silly/little mistakes, then that score is simply not possible. From a tactical standpoint, I would want to avoid too much 'technical math' and stick to easy-to-use strategies, but that's up to you.

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

Second time GMAT Improve Verbal but lowered Quants score

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