First GMAT Attempt - 710 (Q49 V38 IR7)

Question

Hey there!

I wanted to share my experience giving the GMAT for the first time last week at a test center. I began preparing for the GMAT at the end of March of this year. I took a cold diagnostic and got a 680 with a Q49. I was confident I could replicate that number and didn't make an effort to improve the score. In my second mock I scored a 710 with a V38. Although I posted about a month ago in the forum about improving my verbal, I was unable to see any improvements with brushing up on verbal basics. On the contrary, I lost more points after going through the verbal section of the mocks trying to categorize questions based on my understanding of basic principles. Went through mocks 3 and 4 and got a 690 and a 680(in this one I even lost a point in quant). At this point I stopped what I was doing and tried to get back in to trusting my ears to solve questions, although that might have brought me back to square one.

Coming to the test day, I packed myself a water bottle, a couple of Snickers and got to the test center an hour early. The center was closed since it was too early for it, so I sat down and read a couple of sub 600 RC paragraphs to warm up. As soon as I sat down I put in my ear plugs and headphones and started with verbal, because I wanted to get it over with. Everything was fairly simple and I was making great time with all my questions. With 16 minutes left I had about 7 questions left in the verbal section. Then came a long 4- question passage. I could not for the life of me make any sense of what the author was trying to convey. It had three paragraphs, and way too much fluff, at least that's what I thought.

I noted down a few things in my scratchpad and went for the questions. But I was unable to eliminate more than a couple of options in every question, and had to resort to guessing on them. I knew I had the time for maybe skimming through the passage one more time, but for some reason I just kept moving on to the next question. I'm pretty sure that passage cost me at least 4-5 points.

Took a break and had a sip of water and ate my chocolate. Time ran so fast during that break. I sat back down after what felt like a couple of minutes, but I'd apparently taken 7 minutes already. Started my quant section, and just kept solving whatever I could. I finished the section comfortably within 50-55 minutes and skipped my optional break. The IR was smooth, and although the keyboard was painfully crappy, I completed my AWA section.

I had this false assumption that I could get a way better score than my highest mock. And I probably could have gotten it if not for that one RC. But I guess the ceiling got too high for me that day. I am now waiting for my official score to show up in the mba portal so that I could get my ESR and retake the exam in a few weeks.

Any advice about retake strategy appreciated!

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi kron0s , 710 (Q49 V38 IR7) is a great score, congratulations.

Given that this was your first attempt, and that you seem to have gone in with very little prep, you're almost certainly capable of getting a higher score if you retake. You can get the ESR for this attempt if you want, but I don't think it's going to be super helpful. Do look at your timing information, and use that to fine-tune your timing strategy.

kron0s · Answer

Hi  AjiteshArun ,

Thank you! My main purpose for getting the ESR is to confirm whether or not the last RC caused my verbal score decline. I also plan to see if the ESR can shed some light on what went wrong in my quant section.

MBAHOUSE · Answer

Please, consider a good essays consultant. You really don’t need a higher score. I have more than 3K students approved since 2006, so I speak by statistics and not by perception. Focus in your application and believe that your 710 will not be different from an eventual 750. Good luck.

kron0s · Answer

Thank you. I understand where you are coming from, but since I come from an ORM background, I want to have a better GMAT score to offset it.

Posted from my mobile device

vv65 · Answer

Congratulations, 710 is a good score.
It almost seems that you scored the 710 without doing any special prep for the GMAT! Just by drawing on all you have learned earlier.

But to improve from here will need systematic effort. You may need to rely less on instincts -- and that is likely to slow you down at first. So be prepared. 
And the learning  could  take longer than you thought it would.

Posted from my mobile device

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

First GMAT Attempt - 710 (Q49 V38 IR7)

Gratz on the balanced 700+.

How to get a V40 or higher on the GMAT? What about a V51?

MBAHOUSE · Answer

I imagined that you come from tech. I considered this in my suggestion. Many tech Indian prospective MBA students, for example, have this same myth in mind, specially on pursuing scholarship, when they approach us to help them. Many of them have already 740+, applied to 10 schools with no success.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Do you also need any advice on how to prep for your retake?

kron0s · Answer

Hi  ScottTargetTestPrep ,

Absolutely! I'd like to see a good amount of improvement, and I am ready to work on whatever went wrong the first time around.

Posted from my mobile device

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Here is a great article for you:

How to Improve Your GMAT Score

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kron0s,

First off, a 710/Q49 is an outstanding Score, so you can comfortably apply to any Business Schools that interest you. As such, a retest might not be necessary. 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. 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 certainly no harm in continuing to study (and retesting), but before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) 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)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

kron0s · Answer

Hi  EMPOWERgmatRichC ,

I'd be more than happy to provide you with the information.

1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
~20 hours/ week

2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
I've used strictly official material. OG and Verbal Review. I have given official mocks 1-4.

3) 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)?
4th April - 680(Q49 V34)
30th April - 710(Q49 V38)
16th May - 690(Q49 V35)
24th May - 680(Q48 V35)

4) What is your overall goal score?
I'm aiming for a 740+ score, because I have a bad GPA.

5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
I'm hoping to make it to R1 for T20 B schools in the US and Oxbridge in the UK.

I have attached my ESR to this post. From my quick analysis I see that the last quarter of my verbal section really tanked my score. But I'd appreciate your analysis on the overall report. 
 ScottTargetTestPrep   AjiteshArun  I'd also really appreciate your analysis on the report as well, if you find the time.

Thank you

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi kron0s,

Would you agree that if you could improve your RC score, then you'd be in a pretty great spot with GMAT verbal? To me, the RC percentile score stands out the most.

kron0s · Answer

Of course! Strictly looking at the numbers, nothing seems to have effected my score more than the RC section.

Posted from my mobile device

kron0s · Answer

To add to that, like I mentioned in my debrief, I knew something was wrong while I was solving the last passage. The 50% incorrect from the last set of questions says just that.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kron0s, I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions. GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made, Rich Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

So, you plan to work on RC before your retake?

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