Hello reader,
In this thread I would appreciate any input on helping me assess potential next steps in my GMAT journey. Until this point, I've already taken 3 official "classic" tests with their results indicating (personally) unimpressive scores. My personal goal for 2023 was to attain something in the low-to-mid 700s to apply to M7 schools/scholarships, and unfortunately I've fallen short.
I started prepping in August 2022 solely with
TTP and took their scheduled coursework until about early-2023 which is when I realized that at the current pace I wouldn't be ready to take the GMAT until early 2024. Instead, I opted to skip reading the remaining sections and resort to doing their quizzes to identify my weak areas to then target with subsequent studying; I also did all official practice tests to gauge my progress during this time. Long story short, before my first official test, I went through all 6 practice tests at least once, scoring 680 as my highest result.
On 08/23, I scored 640 on my first test (Q50, V27) and learned that I had problems pacing with RC which resulted in a low score. Thinking I already have a solid grasp of Quant, I continued to study using
TTP but placed more emphasis on Verbal.
On 09/23, I scored 650 (Q43, V37) and took the test while slightly ill (mild headache, stuffy nose, etc.); I felt the sickness had a big impact on my performance and vowed to study harder for a third attempt. It was also at this time that I realized
TTP was no longer useful to me (plus it also became too expensive consider I bought 3 subscriptions since 08/2022). After this point, I exclusively did GMAT Club practice problems filtering by Med/Hard
OG problems for all sections and equally focused on Quant and Verbal; I took the time to understand why I was getting certain questions wrong versus just doing them. I did not take any official practice tests during this time since I've exhausted all of them with multiple resets, and took practice test #2 a few days before the exam in which I got a 760.
On 12/23, I scored 660 (Q45, V35). During the test I didn't feel any perceivable anxiety, but I definitely felt some anxiety. I went through the test without taking a break after Quant, and I somehow finished Quant and Verbal sections early with 2-3min to spare in each one which is why I didnt take the break after Quant; I thought this was very odd since during my practice test I was down to the last few seconds in each of those two sections.
Since the 2nd test, I've done all of my studying from home with earplugs and just my laptop to simulate a test center environment. I timed all my questions and occasionally reviewed my
error log. After the 3rd test, I was very shocked to see marginal "improvement" in the score considering that in the last 3 months I did exclusively nothing but
OG practice questions and slowly amping the difficulty within reason.
At this point, I'm taking a 2 week break from studying and the whole GMAT prep process, and I'm reconsidering if this is the right path for my career development. I've 7 years of corporate and leadership experience with additional experience running my family's small business. I've had to make a lot of sacrifices to make time to study for this test and I am wondering if it makes sense to take the test a 4th time, perhaps from my home.
If it helps, I can provide ESR for test 1 and 2, but I'll have 3 in a few days.
If I were to take the "classic" test a 4th time, what should I focus on?
Perhaps the GMAT Focus may be a better option for me?