Took my first official test today: 690 (Q47, V38). Retake in 3 weeks..

Question

Hey all,

Just wanted to share my GMAT experience and open to any suggestions you may have. Started studying Oct 2019 til now.

Did Target Test Prep and Manhattan Beat the Verbal programs.

Did OG GMAT official questions...

During week leading up to today, did 5 official practice exams: 720, 730, 680, 740, 720 (Q range of 47-50, V range of 32-42)

A little disappointed with my 690 today. This score is good enough to get into the programs I'm looking at, but I still want to get a higher score.

What can I do to maintain my Q score? How can I take my high 30 verbals into the solid 40s?

EDIT: Someone's recommended EmpowerGMAT, I've never heard of this program until today but it looks like this program can help with verbal. What's the fast track path for improving verbal?

Thanks all.

Leadership · Answer

Hi  gmatman77  ..
690 is a good score. What is your target score? 
Quant - Your score suggests that your concepts are clear but you are either unable to apply those concepts or making silly mistakes. You need to analyze the mistakes of your mocks. What are your weak areas and how you are going to overcome them? Practicing more questions and finding various ways to solve a Quant problem can help you.
Verbal - I think there is no fast track option. You can strengthen 'SC' because it is based on fact (grammar, meaning). For CR, you need to find subtle differences between tempting choice and correct choice. Generally, 3 options are easily take out. For RC, you can check out some different strategy to read and comprehend.

You can follow the Experts mentioned in my Signature. 'EmpowerGmat' is the most recommended prep course for re-takers. It focus on strategies, right mindset, and brilliant suggestions apart from nice video explanations. You can also talk with 'TTP' to help you further in preparing you and making strategies for Q50-Q51. I recommend you to explain further your weak areas so that you get a specific advise and not a general one. For ex. Are you facing issues in RC / CR / SC. Further elaborate which type of questions - Inference questions, tenses, parallelism, or comprehension. All the best.

gmatman77 · Answer

I'm aiming for what I got on my practice exams... so at least a 720. The #1 thing that jumps out at me from the real exam today was time management - Quant was a little more manageable (I struggled to get to the finish line) but Verbal was a slog. I got such long-winded SCs and CRs that I spent most of the time reading the question but then they seemed difficult and so I didn't retain what was said, and then dug myself a deeper hole as the questions went on. I am honestly surprised I did as well as I did for verbal - felt like I totally bombed it.

And yes, I am continuing to use TTP for math and just signed up for EmpowerGMAT specifically for verbal. I'll have 3 weeks (While working full-time) to prepare for my retake in Feb 15.

Leadership

And yes, I am continuing to use TTP for math and just signed up for EmpowerGMAT specifically for verbal. I'll have 3 weeks (While working full-time) to prepare for my retake in Feb 15.

Leadership

Leadership · Answer

Hi gmatman77 .. I believe you can improve 30 points and reach your target score. You can check the following link - https://gmatclub.com/forum/should-i-ret ... 83339.html. You can work on timing strategies through mocks. When you face a tough, strange wordy question in CR, why don't you skip it? Some test takers follow this strategy in order to put more time in easy/medium questions.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gmatman77,

First off, a 690/Q47 is a fantastic Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. There's no harm in continuing to study though - and you have the potential to pick up some meaningful points in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How many hours did you typically study each week and how many hours will you be able to study each week going forward?
2) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) What application deadlines are you currently facing?

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

gmatman77 · Answer

Thanks, Rich. It is above the median GMAT score of 680 for the program that is my #1 choice (although it is only a part time program). I already scheduled the retake so I'm going to give it a shot because I know I can get 720+. 
My undergrad GPA and school are fairly good. And my current role is a leadership type role. I feel pretty good about getting into the part time program (knocking on wood).

1) With winter break, I was able to study 3-4 hours a day. For the next 3 weeks, weekdays will be 1-2 hours and weekends will be 4-6 hours.
2) I took 5 CATs every other day leading up to the week of the exam - I could've been a little burnt out. My highest Q was 50, lowest was 47. My highest verbal was 42 and lowest was a putrid 32. Range was 680 to 740. 720 (Q49, V39), 730 (Q47, V42), 680 (Q48, V34), 740 (Q50, V39).
3) I have R3 deadlines in April for #1 choice and May for my back-up school.

I bought the ESR. I was very surprised at the results. My weakest areas were geometry and RC - but normally I feel very comfortable with these topics. My weakest area is definitely CR. My main issues were anxiety and timing (and those kind of compounded together).

I am using the quick verbal enhancement from EmpowerGMAT. Going through mainly the SC & CR. I'll be alternating with math from TTP. I THINK I should be able to maintain the high Q score. My bottleneck is definitely verbal.

EMPOWERgmatRichC

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gmatman77,

I've sent you a PM with some additional notes.

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

freedom128 · Answer

Hi  gmatman77 , congrats for achieving 690. Such score is sufficient for going to European/UK MBA programs. If you want to retake, please keep the current score.

There is a room for improvement for Q47, of course. You can practice gmatclub to put you on the same pressure as the real test.

Posted from my mobile device

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi gmatman77,

I know that we have spoken already, so to reiterate, follow the plan I sent over. If you need anything else, feel free to reach out to me directly.

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Took my first official test today: 690 (Q47, V38). Retake in 3 weeks..

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