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22 Sep 2015, 22:06
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Hi All,
So I just got back from my 3rd retake of my GMAT, which turned out to be a bit odd. I scored 700 (IR 8, Q44, V41). I am very disappointed in the quant score since I have been scoring consistently in the 47-49 range. Although I believe I can achieve a 720-730, I have decided to be content with my 700 and will be moving on to the applications process for Round 2. It has been an emotional roller coaster these past 5 months. This process has taught me to be humble in tackling the GMAT. Despite the relatively unfavorable split, I have come to appreciate a 700 as a good score that many people would be happy to achieve. GMAT Club has been a wonderful resource these past 5 months and I truly appreciate the incredibly supportive people on these forums.
Sources Used:
Manhattan GMAT 5th edition
OG Guide 2015 - 2016
GMAT Club Tests
E-GMAT SC Course
Powerscore CR Bible
Before First GMAT:
MGMAT 1 - 630 (Q37 V38)
MGMAT 2 - 670 (Q45 V36)
MGMAT 3 - 640 (Q40 V37)
GMAT Prep 1 - 680 (Q45 V38)
GMAT Prep 2 - 710 (Q47 V40)
GMAT Prep 3 - 710 (Q47 V41)
GMAT Prep 4 - 720 (Q48 V41)
MGMAT 4 - 710 (Q41 V45)
First GMAT - 690 (IR 5 Q48 V36)
As you can see, I didn't execute to the best of my ability. For this take, I exhausted most of my prep material. I studied the entire MGMAT set and did the practice questions. I did the entire OG 2015 book three times. I did all of the OG and MGMAT CATs. I felt decent on my quant but I didn't do too well on verbal. I knew I could do better so afterwards, I scheduled my test immediately for 1 month later.
Plan for Retake 2:
Maintain my quant. Did this every single morning before work by continuing to work through GMAT Club and MGMAT CAT quant
Improve my verbal. I enrolled in e-gmat, which was great. I did the entire SC section and felt much more confident in SC.
Mocks before second take:
MGMAT 1 Retake: 710 (Q47 V42)
MGMAT 2 Retake: 730 (Q45 V45)
GMAT Prep 1 Retake: 730 (Q49 V41)
GMAT Prep 2 Retake: 730 (Q48 V42)
MGMAT 3 Retake: 740 (Q46 V45)
MGMAT 4 Retake: 750 (Q48 V45)
Second GMAT - 650 (IR 5 Q47 V33)
After doing worse the second time around, I was devastated. I know that retake scores are no accurate indication of your potential score on the real thing. However, I did not anticipate a lower score than my first take. At first, I was not sure where I went wrong. I got enough sleep, worked out before and felt fine throughout the test. I chalked this up to a fluke. I took a break to clear my head and re-evaluated what I potentially did wrong. I realized that I got a bit cocky on the verbal section. It was possible that I was fatigued and didn't even know it. I purchased the enhanced score report and saw that my SC was in the 90 percentile but my CR and RC suffered greatly. I got 37 percentile on CR and 51 percentile on RC. I ignored the things I learned from MGMAT and the process. I also realized I never took the practice exams in its entirety. I skipped AWA and IR. DO NOT DO THIS. TAKE THE FULL TEST. I vowed to focus on this for the next 3 weeks and to retake again. Having exhausted all of my prep materials, I decided to purchase the new OG 2016 to tackle the new questions. I also decided that I would focus on taking the full practice exams to build endurance.
Plan for Retake 3:
Maintain my quant. Went through the OG 2016 questions and felt great.
Re-establish process and strategy for CR and RC. I went through Powerscore CR bible and a host of other articles and sources from GMAT Club and MGMAT. I found a mix of Powerscore CR and MGMAT strategy to work the best for me. For RC, I spent a lot of time practicing tough passages and note taking (especially for topics I knew I was bad at).
Take full practice exams to build endurance.
Full Mocks before third take:
GMAT Prep 3 Retake: 650 (Q47 V33) - This full exam led me to believe that fatigue was a big issue. This was exactly the same score I had gotten in my 2nd retake! I was scared about this because I took this practice exam 2 weeks out from my test date.
GMAT Prep 4 Retake: 770 (Q50 V45) - This was shocking. I felt much better about verbal and I was crushing quant. Overall, stamina felt better and the strategies I was practicing for CR and RC were really settling in nicely. This was just the confidence boost I needed before my test, which was in 3 days.
Third GMAT - 700 (IR 8 Q44 V41)
This take was bittersweet. I improved on my first score and made it into the 700 club (barely). I got the verbal improvement I wanted and the IR8 from IR5 was a nice bonus. However, what happened with my quant? It was somewhat odd since I thought I did well and I have consistently done well. I contemplated whether I wanted to retake for a fourth time since I knew I was capable of getting a Q48 V40 (720~) at the very least. However, I decided to move on to my applications.
Main lessons learned:
- Take full practice tests. Just do it, no excuses. Stamina is an important issue that is easily overlooked.
- Be humble. Respect the GMAT. Respect the process. Stick to your strategies.
- Don't do back-to-back GMAT retakes like I did. Take the time to identify your weaknesses and really work on attacking them. Part of the issue with my back-to-back retakes is that you start to play the "luck" game where one day you might get lucky and you may not get questions that are tailored towards your weak points. This especially applies to RC topics and the Quant section.
- Have a short memory. This applies to both questions and GMAT retakes. Forgive yourself for your past mistakes and focus on nailing future questions/retakes.
- Knowing when to stop. Not everyone needs a 730+. It's easy to get caught in that race when you spend a lot of time on these forums. It is common to see many people write debriefs of scoring 730+, whether on the first try or through multiple retakes over months/years of persistence. Don't beat yourself up badly because you didn't get that 740. The GMAT is a difficult test. However, it is just a test and is only one part of the process. I am not saying don't strive to get the best score you can. However, take the time to understand what score makes the most sense given your background and the schools you want to apply to. Allocate your time and effort wisely.
Thanks guys and best of luck with your GMATs and applications.
So I just got back from my 3rd retake of my GMAT, which turned out to be a bit odd. I scored 700 (IR 8, Q44, V41). I am very disappointed in the quant score since I have been scoring consistently in the 47-49 range. Although I believe I can achieve a 720-730, I have decided to be content with my 700 and will be moving on to the applications process for Round 2. It has been an emotional roller coaster these past 5 months. This process has taught me to be humble in tackling the GMAT. Despite the relatively unfavorable split, I have come to appreciate a 700 as a good score that many people would be happy to achieve. GMAT Club has been a wonderful resource these past 5 months and I truly appreciate the incredibly supportive people on these forums.
Sources Used:
Manhattan GMAT 5th edition
OG Guide 2015 - 2016
GMAT Club Tests
E-GMAT SC Course
Powerscore CR Bible
Before First GMAT:
MGMAT 1 - 630 (Q37 V38)
MGMAT 2 - 670 (Q45 V36)
MGMAT 3 - 640 (Q40 V37)
GMAT Prep 1 - 680 (Q45 V38)
GMAT Prep 2 - 710 (Q47 V40)
GMAT Prep 3 - 710 (Q47 V41)
GMAT Prep 4 - 720 (Q48 V41)
MGMAT 4 - 710 (Q41 V45)
First GMAT - 690 (IR 5 Q48 V36)
As you can see, I didn't execute to the best of my ability. For this take, I exhausted most of my prep material. I studied the entire MGMAT set and did the practice questions. I did the entire OG 2015 book three times. I did all of the OG and MGMAT CATs. I felt decent on my quant but I didn't do too well on verbal. I knew I could do better so afterwards, I scheduled my test immediately for 1 month later.
Plan for Retake 2:
Maintain my quant. Did this every single morning before work by continuing to work through GMAT Club and MGMAT CAT quant
Improve my verbal. I enrolled in e-gmat, which was great. I did the entire SC section and felt much more confident in SC.
Mocks before second take:
MGMAT 1 Retake: 710 (Q47 V42)
MGMAT 2 Retake: 730 (Q45 V45)
GMAT Prep 1 Retake: 730 (Q49 V41)
GMAT Prep 2 Retake: 730 (Q48 V42)
MGMAT 3 Retake: 740 (Q46 V45)
MGMAT 4 Retake: 750 (Q48 V45)
Second GMAT - 650 (IR 5 Q47 V33)
After doing worse the second time around, I was devastated. I know that retake scores are no accurate indication of your potential score on the real thing. However, I did not anticipate a lower score than my first take. At first, I was not sure where I went wrong. I got enough sleep, worked out before and felt fine throughout the test. I chalked this up to a fluke. I took a break to clear my head and re-evaluated what I potentially did wrong. I realized that I got a bit cocky on the verbal section. It was possible that I was fatigued and didn't even know it. I purchased the enhanced score report and saw that my SC was in the 90 percentile but my CR and RC suffered greatly. I got 37 percentile on CR and 51 percentile on RC. I ignored the things I learned from MGMAT and the process. I also realized I never took the practice exams in its entirety. I skipped AWA and IR. DO NOT DO THIS. TAKE THE FULL TEST. I vowed to focus on this for the next 3 weeks and to retake again. Having exhausted all of my prep materials, I decided to purchase the new OG 2016 to tackle the new questions. I also decided that I would focus on taking the full practice exams to build endurance.
Plan for Retake 3:
Maintain my quant. Went through the OG 2016 questions and felt great.
Re-establish process and strategy for CR and RC. I went through Powerscore CR bible and a host of other articles and sources from GMAT Club and MGMAT. I found a mix of Powerscore CR and MGMAT strategy to work the best for me. For RC, I spent a lot of time practicing tough passages and note taking (especially for topics I knew I was bad at).
Take full practice exams to build endurance.
Full Mocks before third take:
GMAT Prep 3 Retake: 650 (Q47 V33) - This full exam led me to believe that fatigue was a big issue. This was exactly the same score I had gotten in my 2nd retake! I was scared about this because I took this practice exam 2 weeks out from my test date.
GMAT Prep 4 Retake: 770 (Q50 V45) - This was shocking. I felt much better about verbal and I was crushing quant. Overall, stamina felt better and the strategies I was practicing for CR and RC were really settling in nicely. This was just the confidence boost I needed before my test, which was in 3 days.
Third GMAT - 700 (IR 8 Q44 V41)
This take was bittersweet. I improved on my first score and made it into the 700 club (barely). I got the verbal improvement I wanted and the IR8 from IR5 was a nice bonus. However, what happened with my quant? It was somewhat odd since I thought I did well and I have consistently done well. I contemplated whether I wanted to retake for a fourth time since I knew I was capable of getting a Q48 V40 (720~) at the very least. However, I decided to move on to my applications.
Main lessons learned:
- Take full practice tests. Just do it, no excuses. Stamina is an important issue that is easily overlooked.
- Be humble. Respect the GMAT. Respect the process. Stick to your strategies.
- Don't do back-to-back GMAT retakes like I did. Take the time to identify your weaknesses and really work on attacking them. Part of the issue with my back-to-back retakes is that you start to play the "luck" game where one day you might get lucky and you may not get questions that are tailored towards your weak points. This especially applies to RC topics and the Quant section.
- Have a short memory. This applies to both questions and GMAT retakes. Forgive yourself for your past mistakes and focus on nailing future questions/retakes.
- Knowing when to stop. Not everyone needs a 730+. It's easy to get caught in that race when you spend a lot of time on these forums. It is common to see many people write debriefs of scoring 730+, whether on the first try or through multiple retakes over months/years of persistence. Don't beat yourself up badly because you didn't get that 740. The GMAT is a difficult test. However, it is just a test and is only one part of the process. I am not saying don't strive to get the best score you can. However, take the time to understand what score makes the most sense given your background and the schools you want to apply to. Allocate your time and effort wisely.
Thanks guys and best of luck with your GMATs and applications.
R1Hopeful
Joined: 20 Jun 2015
Last visit: 28 Mar 2016
Posts: 27
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23 Sep 2015, 13:51
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Wise words. Good luck on your applications!
