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02 Feb 2021, 11:56
Kudos
Bookmarks
I wanted to post about my GMAT which I took today.
Briefly about myself:
I had scored a 750 (Q50, V41) on the GMAT in July 2011 & had an admit from Michigan Ross (2 year MBA) but unfortunately couldn't attend the program as the school decided to close down the no-cosigner loan program for the incoming class of 2012. Also there was no Prodigy finance then, it was sheer bad luck!
I was 30 when I last appeared for the GMAT so you can guess what age I am now..
.
About the GMAT exam:
Anyways, this time I took the GMAT as I want to apply to MIT Sloan's Fellows MBA and a couple of other 1 year MBA programs.
I started my preparation around Christmas (Dec'20) and since I already had a good understanding of the exam, I thought I would be able to score a decent 700+ this time as well with only a few weeks of preparation. A toddler and work responsibility didn't leave much time for a 4-hour practice test!
I scheduled the exam at one of the Test centers in Kharadi, Pune (India) and I felt that it was a very professional & cozy setup.
I chose the Verbal-Quant-IR-AWA sequence as I realized that tackling dense RCs after a grueling Quantitative section could be a challenge & I usually ended up losing some steam there.
Verbal:
I recall attempting 3 to 4 RCs and these were of moderate to difficult types. Thankfully I didn't get any of those tricky ones which I don't like to read & comprehend. RCs were not difficult but the answer choices were very close. I could recollect the mantra several times - 'chose the best option' but always felt that choice amongst the last two options for few questions was just too narrow.
What I did realize is that the sentence correction questions were a bit tough than what I had encountered during the official practice Tests.
Critical reasoning had a couple of difficult questions but none of those Bold-faced types.
I completed the verbal section with 4 minutes to spare.
Quant:
The quantitative section started on a bad note as I was unable to solve a profit/loss question which was just the 2nd question.
I guessed it and moved on. The questions that followed weren't that difficult but I still was unable to solve a couple of difficult DS questions. All in all, I recollect guessing a total of 3 to 4 questions in the Quant section. I was able to complete 28 questions with 10 minutes to spare. The last question was a difficult one on roots & I wasn't able to solve it even after spending ~ 5 minutes. I had to guess and close off the Quant section.
Finally, a score of 49 indicates that I would have marked at least 5 to 7 answers incorrectly in Quant.
Final recommendation to fellow aspirants:
It would be ridiculous of me to offer tips considering today's score but still for people who are struggling to break into 700s:
I strongly urge everyone to use the official material available on mba.com as I felt that the look & feel of the questions, specifically Quant was very similar.
Also basic concepts on Profit & loss, Simple Interest, Distance & speed, Work & Co-ordinate geometry are tested. Ensure you get a solid grip on these topics.
I encountered only one question on probability and that was a very simple one.
I also noticed GMAT provides formulaes for the Volume (Solids) as I did receive a question along with the formula.
I took all the 6 official tests from mba.com & my score was between 700 & 720, so today's score was a letdown to some extent.
My verbal score used to hover between 37 & 40, hence today's score of 34 was a big downer.
My honest assessment is that I didn't practice RCs enough as I was generally very bored of these & which probably hurt me.
I used ExpertsGlobal online study material (6 weeks crash course). They do have a good & reasonably priced package. I also used the MGMAT app with 1 month's subscription but didn't find it very useful.
I have ordered the ESR to check where I went wrong and unless it indicates that even my Quant was very bad, I will reattempt the GMAT in next few weeks. I definitely believe I can score a 720+ if not the 750 which I could manage 10 years ago...
Thanks to everyone on the forum & I hope to post another debrief with a score on the other side of 720.
Briefly about myself:
I had scored a 750 (Q50, V41) on the GMAT in July 2011 & had an admit from Michigan Ross (2 year MBA) but unfortunately couldn't attend the program as the school decided to close down the no-cosigner loan program for the incoming class of 2012. Also there was no Prodigy finance then, it was sheer bad luck!
I was 30 when I last appeared for the GMAT so you can guess what age I am now..
.About the GMAT exam:
Anyways, this time I took the GMAT as I want to apply to MIT Sloan's Fellows MBA and a couple of other 1 year MBA programs.
I started my preparation around Christmas (Dec'20) and since I already had a good understanding of the exam, I thought I would be able to score a decent 700+ this time as well with only a few weeks of preparation. A toddler and work responsibility didn't leave much time for a 4-hour practice test!
I scheduled the exam at one of the Test centers in Kharadi, Pune (India) and I felt that it was a very professional & cozy setup.
I chose the Verbal-Quant-IR-AWA sequence as I realized that tackling dense RCs after a grueling Quantitative section could be a challenge & I usually ended up losing some steam there.
Verbal:
I recall attempting 3 to 4 RCs and these were of moderate to difficult types. Thankfully I didn't get any of those tricky ones which I don't like to read & comprehend. RCs were not difficult but the answer choices were very close. I could recollect the mantra several times - 'chose the best option' but always felt that choice amongst the last two options for few questions was just too narrow.
What I did realize is that the sentence correction questions were a bit tough than what I had encountered during the official practice Tests.
Critical reasoning had a couple of difficult questions but none of those Bold-faced types.
I completed the verbal section with 4 minutes to spare.
Quant:
The quantitative section started on a bad note as I was unable to solve a profit/loss question which was just the 2nd question.
I guessed it and moved on. The questions that followed weren't that difficult but I still was unable to solve a couple of difficult DS questions. All in all, I recollect guessing a total of 3 to 4 questions in the Quant section. I was able to complete 28 questions with 10 minutes to spare. The last question was a difficult one on roots & I wasn't able to solve it even after spending ~ 5 minutes. I had to guess and close off the Quant section.
Finally, a score of 49 indicates that I would have marked at least 5 to 7 answers incorrectly in Quant.
Final recommendation to fellow aspirants:
It would be ridiculous of me to offer tips considering today's score but still for people who are struggling to break into 700s:
I strongly urge everyone to use the official material available on mba.com as I felt that the look & feel of the questions, specifically Quant was very similar.
Also basic concepts on Profit & loss, Simple Interest, Distance & speed, Work & Co-ordinate geometry are tested. Ensure you get a solid grip on these topics.
I encountered only one question on probability and that was a very simple one.
I also noticed GMAT provides formulaes for the Volume (Solids) as I did receive a question along with the formula.
I took all the 6 official tests from mba.com & my score was between 700 & 720, so today's score was a letdown to some extent.
My verbal score used to hover between 37 & 40, hence today's score of 34 was a big downer.
My honest assessment is that I didn't practice RCs enough as I was generally very bored of these & which probably hurt me.
I used ExpertsGlobal online study material (6 weeks crash course). They do have a good & reasonably priced package. I also used the MGMAT app with 1 month's subscription but didn't find it very useful.
I have ordered the ESR to check where I went wrong and unless it indicates that even my Quant was very bad, I will reattempt the GMAT in next few weeks. I definitely believe I can score a 720+ if not the 750 which I could manage 10 years ago..
.Thanks to everyone on the forum & I hope to post another debrief with a score on the other side of 720.
02 Feb 2021, 12:50
Kudos
Bookmarks
Thank you for the debrief and sharing your story!
Also, welcome back!!!! Not often do I see people with accounts that were created back in 2010 and have 5 digits. We have over 1,000,000 registered members now
I believe you can get higher too. 10 years is a long time but it should come back to you fairly quickly by revisiting and doing more practice, esp with timing.
The test has evolved a bit and some of the questions also evolved. I recently did an analysis of the GMAT Prep vs. the OG and they are meaningfully different on the quant side (have not done verbal yet)
https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-prep-vs ... 47092.html
The test is shorter and timing is tighter. Keep in mind that the sequence of the section matters and jumping into your weakest section (e.g. verbal) only makes sense if you have warmed yourself up before the test and did some practice to get your mind spinning and firing on all cylinders.
P.S. Are you thinking EMBA these days or what's your plans for the score?
Also, welcome back!!!! Not often do I see people with accounts that were created back in 2010 and have 5 digits. We have over 1,000,000 registered members now
I believe you can get higher too. 10 years is a long time but it should come back to you fairly quickly by revisiting and doing more practice, esp with timing.
The test has evolved a bit and some of the questions also evolved. I recently did an analysis of the GMAT Prep vs. the OG and they are meaningfully different on the quant side (have not done verbal yet)
https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-prep-vs ... 47092.html
The test is shorter and timing is tighter. Keep in mind that the sequence of the section matters and jumping into your weakest section (e.g. verbal) only makes sense if you have warmed yourself up before the test and did some practice to get your mind spinning and firing on all cylinders.
P.S. Are you thinking EMBA these days or what's your plans for the score?
02 Feb 2021, 20:25
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi neosumit,
First off, a 680/Q49 is a strong score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Since you're interested in at least one highly-competitive Program, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/
There's no harm in continuing to study and retesting though - and you're closer to a 720+ than you probably realize. 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.
In addition, I'd like to know a bit more about how you've been studying and your goals:
1) What type of study routine have you been following? How many hours did you typically study each week?
2) On what dates (or approximate 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 specific application deadlines are you currently facing?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
First off, a 680/Q49 is a strong score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Since you're interested in at least one highly-competitive Program, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/
There's no harm in continuing to study and retesting though - and you're closer to a 720+ than you probably realize. 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.
In addition, I'd like to know a bit more about how you've been studying and your goals:
1) What type of study routine have you been following? How many hours did you typically study each week?
2) On what dates (or approximate 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 specific application deadlines are you currently facing?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
