670 (Q - 47, V - 35)..not upto expectations

Question

I took the on 3rd Jan. Scored a 670 (Q - 47, V - 35) This was my second attempt. My first attempt was 630 (Q - 47, V - 35) in November. The score is not upto my expectations (700) and I am really confused what to do next ? :roll:

I do not plan to apply to the top colleges but would like to get into the middle-tier colleges like Purdue, Kelley etc. Applying as an international student, is 670 ok ? Should I take another attempt for 700 ? Anonye who has experience or any suggestions please help me out of this dilemma I have more than 4 yrs. of world-wide experience and am an IT professional. This forum helped me a lot in my preparation. Thanks to all members for their participation in the discussions.

Geethu · Answer

Congrats. I feel 670 is a great score for applying. You need to concentrate on your essays now.

Bhai · Answer

You can even apply to top tier school with 670. Believe me.

--Bhai

dj · Answer

In the top tier univs, average intake gmat score varies between 670 and 720. You have good chance.. just concentrate on the applications. But, if you think that you can do better, then go for the test again.

anyway, how was the verbal section? anything out of the way from what the Preparation tests offer?

stoolfi · Answer

If the rest of your app is fine, you will be competitive at Krannert or Kelley. On the other hand, the schools ranked between 10 and 20 (like K and K) are really trying to massage their GMAT numbers up, so if you think you can pick up 30 or 40 more points, I'd consider taking it again.

Paul · Answer

Well done Asandeep. Congratulation for your score and thx for you inputs to the club. I'm sure you will be fine for your application or else, do as stoolfi recommended you to.

asandeep · Answer

Thanks to Geethu, dj, stoofli, Bhai and Paul for your responses.
There are a number of things going on in my mind.
First, there is hardly anytime left for the application deadlines. (priority for international applicants)
Moreover, I still have to finish off TOEFL.
I want to give the best application essays and thus want to give sufficient time to them.

Second, if I cannot give a good application this year then I think it is wise to give another attempt for GMAT and apply for 2005 by early application rounds of 2004.

I am still in dilemma what to do.

As far as my experiences of GMAT go, here they are - 

AWA - ETS has sent mails to many people who have registered for GMAT to give inouts to their AWA Pretesting prog. If you have received the mail, I suggest that you participate in the prog.. Others find a partner for AWA and then exchange and evaluate each others response. This helps a lot. Like everyone suggests prepare a framework and stick to it. Practice it so many times that you don't have to think about it in the real exam.

Quanta - I was comfortable with quanta. so probably I am not the best person to give you advice. But, solving Kaplan will help to deal with tough questions that you can expect if you are looking for a high score. I was totally puzzled about how I was doing in the quant. section until I got a probability question in the first 10 questions. Fortunately, it was an easy one. I got about 2-3 more combination problems. I think, the only mistakes I made was in DS. So, I would suggest focusing on DS rather than PS. Moreover, if you solve DS you can just continue on to actually solve the problem which gives you practice of PS. Timing was not a problem for me. I finished dot on time and devoted about 2 mins per question.

Verbal - This section was puzzling for me on both my attempts. Not because I got tuff questions but because both times I felt I did pretty well!! Again, timing was not an issue for me as I made sure not to spend more time on any particular question. (But, now I think may be this was my mistake. Some questions initially do deserve more time then others. Would like your comments on this).
CR questions were quite tricky. Although, prep. tests and other sites have good questions, but the real test CR are a bit different. In most test prep. CR you can easily eliminate by only considering scope and main point of the argument. But, in the real test you will need to weigh two very similar choices for the best one. I found this very tough given the time pressure. Its really hard to say which material is close to real test, but the studa.com CRs' are good for discussions and will help to understand other view points on the same argument. I think, I must have screwed up in the RC questions. 
I must admit that this forum has helped me a lot in the verbal preparation. Discussing your views here helps a lot.

Keep sending in your comments.

pitts20042006 · Answer

Hi asandeep.

First of all let me congratulate you buddy. 670 is indeed a very good score ... just look at your percentile and be proud of it.

Now you can think about whether YOU are satisfied with it or not. Seems to me like you or not ... similar case to mine. What I would suggest is (as you have written above ... and as I myself shall be doing) concentrate on the application package for the 2004 batch ... as we are already late ... if you get in where you want GREAT .. if not then prepare again and take the gmat again ... but if you are yet to take the TOEFL and if you are like me, who cannot dedicate much time to preparing applications per day, then you need to speed up on application rather than spending 1 more month preparing .... because preparing an application process is a very frustrating and time consuming process according to me.

Just my honest 2 cents.

asandeep · Answer

I kind of agree with you pitts20042006. But again...

Although, it is wise to give shot at one of the schools I am aiming at but there is hardly any time left. About 3 weeks to go with essays, recommendations, TOEFL...I just don't feel comfortable rushing the whole process.

By the way, does anyone know of the current application pool ? What are the trends in general ? 
I have heard that the applications received by schools this year are lower but much more competitive than previous year's. Is that true ?

pitts20042006 · Answer

I was assuming that you wanted to apply for this year's batch. If you are not keen on applying for this year .. or if you can wait then you may give it another shot ... and I am sure you will score much more.

bluefox420 · Answer

Congrats! Although 670 is a good score to get you noticed by the top 10, 700+ will make it all the more easier. It also matters more if you have to compensate for a low GPA.

Your CR sample questions that you posted on the forum were invaluable in my preparation, so I suspect that you may have scored lower in either SC or RC. I am sure that with a little more practice, you can ace the verbal section and jump above 700.

All the best!

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670 (Q - 47, V - 35)..not upto expectations

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