Is it worth a retake?

Question

Hi All,

First of all, I'd like to thank this great community for the insight it brings.

I want to share my experience and ask for a little bit of steer:

I've studied for 3.5 months approximately and I had scored consistently above 700 in all GMAT prep tests I've done. I also did 3 MGMAT mock tests and scored 680, 670 and 680.

I've done the GMAT twice: 640 (Q46 V34) and 650 (Q48 V32) with a two month gap between them. The first time I did, I knew I was a little short in time but I wanted to give it a shot anyway. During the exam, I was reasonibly confident to be performing similarly to my GMAT prep mock tests but to my surprise I scored 640. I felt bad for quant, because of my engineering and maths background but I knew that I prepared the GMAT quite in a rush and I had been extremely busy at work. I took two months for my next attempt, and the preparation included GMAT Prep Course, all the OG exercises, and the mock tests mentioned above - all GMAT prep above 700+ and 3 MGMAT 670+. In all these mock exams I had a really good performance on Verbal (v40+ on mock tests and 86% on OG exercises)

During the second GMAT exam that I did on Friday, I did a reasonable Quant (48) - though below of what I think I was prepared for - but my performance on Verbal was very disappointing. I felt while doing Verbal that I was kind of tired and my brains were not 100% on the reading. Rest was not a huge issue, because I took the entire week off and slept very well throghout - maybe the night sleep before the test was not the best.

My question now is, considering that I want to score 700+ to get to one of my preferred BSchools, should I repeat the GMAT in two weeks time now that it is fresh in my brain or am I just not prepared/qualified to get that mark. If the answer is go for it, what would you do differently? What steps would you take? What extra preparation would you take? I was thinking about purchasing the extra set of GMAT prep to see if my mock tests were just luck or if I just underperformed on the test day as I think I did.

Any advice will be really appreaciated! I feel really down right now, because I have such an emotion and desire for my MBA and I don't want to let my dream go.

Thanks folks!

HiLine · Answer

Do you have the enhanced score reports from your previous attempts? The ESR is the most powerful performance analysis tool there is; your ESR can reveal a lot of information about what happened on your test day and can help determine whether you'll be able to improve your score in a short period of time. If you don't already have your ESR's, I'd recommend that you get them. If you need help analyzing your ESR's, you can post them here and I or someone else will give you a hand.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Fredurst89,

I would be happy to provide some advice, but I would first like to learn some more about your GMAT experience and MBA goals. So I have some questions:

1) Did you get your enhanced score reports? If not, could you do so and share the verbal score breakdown from your two exams?

2) Can you provide us with the dates and score breakdowns from your Official GMAT prep practice exams? When you took the practice tests, did you take them under realistic conditions (e.g. in a quiet environment, no extended breaks)? Did you complete the entire CAT, including the IR and Essay sections?

3) Can you describe your study routine? What resources have you been using to study? How many hours a day did you study and for how many total months?

4) If you do retake the GMAT, how many hours a day can you commit to studying?

5) What are the MBA programs to which you plan to apply? What deadlines are you targeting?

6) Are you open to applying second round?

fredurst89 · Answer

Thanks a lot Hiline and Scott.

Please see below:

1) Did you get your enhanced score reports? If not, could you do so and share the verbal score breakdown from your two exams?

Nope, I have not. My question is, can I get already a score report for the GMAT I did on Friday?

2) Can you provide us with the dates and score breakdowns from your Official GMAT prep practice exams? When you took the practice tests, did you take them under realistic conditions (e.g. in a quiet environment, no extended breaks)? Did you complete the entire CAT, including the IR and Essay sections?

I did twice both GMAT Prep 1 and 2. I did the first two 1 month before the exam (Around 22nd of June)

GMAT Prep 1 720 (Just Verbal and Quant) (Q47 V42) - First Attempt

GMAT Prep 2 670 (Just Verbal and Quant) (Q47 V35) - First Attempt

GMAT Prep 1 740 (Full-Blown) (Q49, V42) (9 incorrect q) (6 Incorrect V, 4 SC, 1 RC, 1 CR) - Second Attempt

GMAT Prep 2 750 (Full-Blown) (Q49, 7 incorrect, V42 6 incorrect ( SC 5 RC CR 1) - Second Attempt

3) Can you describe your study routine? What resources have you been using to study? How many hours a day did you study and for how many total months?

I studied on overage in the past two months 2.5 hours on weekdays and 7 on weekends.

4) If you do retake the GMAT, how many hours a day can you commit to studying?

If I retake it, I want to do it on August 5th, I want to give myself a month to at least apply to two BSchools in First Round.

5) What are the MBA programs to which you plan to apply? What deadlines are you targeting?

MIT, Chicago Booth and Insead. Deadline are mid Sept for the first two and mid October for the latter one.

6) Are you open to applying second round?

Preferrably not, because it may impact not only my chances to get admitted, but also the potential company sponsoring for the MBA.

Thanks again!

fredurst89 · Answer

I would appreciate if anyone can help. I think I could do it on the 9th and then buy the GMAT prep exam pack 2. Any other material I could use?

Thanks again!!

Silviax · Answer

You should be able to get your ESR already. I took my exam last Saturday and got the score report late Sunday night. I mean you can purchase the code whenever.... even BEFORE you take the exam, but it can take up to 48 hours for the report to become available online.

It's been 3 days in your case so yes, you definitely should be able to get it at this point.

I also wanted to add that if you took the test last Friday (the 22nd?) then you probably won't be able to take it again on August 5th. The "wait period" is at least 16 days if I remember it correctly.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi fredurst89,

Your two Official scores are remarkably similar, which implies that you dealt with the GMAT in the same general ways both times that you took it. You did certain things consistently well, but you likely made the same consistent mistakes. This is meant to say that if you take the GMAT again soon, then you will likely continue to score at this general level. To score 700+, you're going to have to make some fundamental changes to how you're working through the GMAT.

When you retook your CATs, you ended up with artificially inflated score results. By extension, you didn't receive accurate data about your true ability level, so you were not able to properly define the areas that you needed to work on. This is meant to say that you'll need to take NEW CATs during your next round of studies. You might also need to invest in some new resources and learn/practice some new Tactics. You could conceivably be ready to retest and hit your score goal in a month, but 2 weeks is probably too little time for you to make the necessary adjustments to how you handle the GMAT and consistently score at a high level.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Thank you for the detailed response. Yes, you can order your enhanced score report from the exam you took on Friday, and you can order it here: https://www.mba.com/us/store/store-catal ... eport.aspx

Also, based on your response to my question about applying second round, it sounds as if you have already made up your mind about when you will retake the GMAT. If you are dead set on taking the GMAT in August (after 16 days are up), you should first purchase and analyze your enhanced score report from your exam on Friday. Once you determine your main verbal weaknesses, be sure to focus on improving those areas. To improve those weak topics, I suggest practicing official GMAC verbal questions (whether from the OG or question packs), as those questions will provide the most accurate depiction of what you will see on test day. After doing each problem set, analyze each question you missed and fix any weak points.

Outside of focused verbal practice, you should purchase and take exam pack 1 and exam pack 2. If you are scoring above a 700 on those exams it’s a good sign that you can acheive a similar score on your August retake; however, if you score in the mid 600’s (similar to your last exam), you may want to consider pushing out your test date and also consider applying round 2 to some schools.

Once you you take another practice exam, let us know how it goes.

fredurst89 · Answer

Hi All,

Thanks again for your answers. I think that ScottTargetTestPrep is right, I've already made up my mind and I will do it on August the 9th possibly. I agree also with EMPOWERgmatRichC that I need to take new CATs.

My ESR is attached. By reading it, I think that I have basically screwed the GMAT in SC and RC. That's a bit shocking because in all honesty RC has been my strongest point from the very begining. Had I done a decent SC and RC, is it ok to think that I would have scored 700+? I also see a huge drop in performance in section 3 of the verbal section and that is probably why by the end I was seeing relatively easy questions.Any other advice/opinion that you can have by reading it?

My plan for the next two weeks is as follows:

- As I have done all the OG, retake those questions that I got wrong and understand why.

- New CATs: MGMAT 5 and 6. GMAT exam pack 1 or 2. Which one is the best? What is the difference between them?

- Read three articles from the economist every single day.

Any other advice?

Thanks again!!

HanoiGMATtutor · Answer

Most people find something surprising in their ESR. There is a reason the ESR is so helpful!

Do you remember whether you had a tough Reading Comprehension passage in the 3rd quarter of your Verbal section?

fredurst89 · Answer

Indeed, I had a killing-5-questions-extra-large-passage!

HanoiGMATtutor · Answer

Ouch that must've been painful! Did you freak out after that?

fredurst89 · Answer

Thanks HanoiGMATtutor!

I was conscious in the exam that I probably underperformed in that section on the exam. Any extra advice you can give?

Thanks!

HanoiGMATtutor · Answer

Do you remember what topic the passage was on? Was it a type of topic that you were unfamiliar with? If so, I'd suggest reading a lot of articles on that topic. Read about any kind of topic that you're unfamiliar with; you've seen how one single RC passage can really mess with your overall performance. Don't walk into the testing room feeling weak about anything.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

In looking at your ESR, I agree that RC and SC appear to be your weakest areas. Its tough to say what would have helped you score a 700+, but it’s clear that you need a major bump in your verbal score to achieve a 700+ GMAT score.

In regard to your study plan, I do not suggest redoing the Official Guide questions. Since you have already seen and reviewed those questions, you will most likely have correct answers memorized, and thus will not learn too much from doing them a second time. You should practice other fresh official verbal questions from the GMAC question packs or from the Verbal Review Guide.

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