Confused about how to proceed

Question

Hi folks!

First things first, thank you very much and congrats for the forum. I`ve been reading you for a while during my GMAT journey and it`s been such a great help.

This is my case: I took the GMAT for the second time (first time was 640 and I cancelled it) and got a 680, Q44 (percentile 54) and V39 (percentile 89). For the Verbal section I am quite satisfied since I am not a native speaker but on the other hand I am dissapointed with my Qant Score, as it was lower than what I was scoring in the practice tests...And it bothers me that my GMAT score is not balanced.

The schools I plan to apply for are: INSEAD, LBS, IESE, UCLA and Michigan Ross. For all of them my score is within the GMAT mid80, but would my unbalanced score put me out of the schools?

I hope I will be able to improve my Qant score. But preparing the GMAT again may force me to apply on the 2nd Rounds, would this reduce my possibilities of getting accepted?

And a little background of myself: I am Spanish and 28 years old. I hold a Degree in Chemical Engineering and have more than 4 year of experience in the Oil & Gas Sector. I have been working in Saudi Arabia for the last 4 months and will stay there for around a year (the problem is that I work 6 days a week 13 hours a day so the time I can dedicate to my MBA application is limited).

To summ up, should I retake? Applying on the 2nd Rounds reduces the odds of being accepted?

Thank you very much again.

Regards

IanStewart · Answer

Your overall score is very good, and it will probably be perfectly fine for most of the schools you're looking at. I'm not an admissions consultant, so you'd do best to direct your question to someone expert about the programs that interest you, but the impression I have from test takers applying to those schools is that your Quant score is going to be a bit borderline for programs like INSEAD - it's definitely possible to get in with your score, but I think you could apply more confidently if the Q score was even a point or two higher. If your scores on GMATPrep tests were consistently higher than Q44, then you probably just had 'bad luck' on test day. Luck or variance always influences scores to some degree, since on some questions you will have guessed, and on some days those guesses work out well, and on some days they work out badly. If you were scoring, say, a consistent Q46 on GMATPrep tests, then if you took the test tomorrow, the most likely result is a Q46. On an unlucky day, you might get a Q44 and on a good day, a Q48, but it's not too likely you'll score at the lower end of that range. So if that's the situation you're in, I'd suggest just taking the test again very soon, and you'll very likely get a higher Quant score. The situation would be different if Q44 were around or above your diagnostic scores - then you'd likely need to make some genuine improvement in order to be confident of a better result on a retake. I'd add that you should only be using GMATPrep tests to gauge your level; company test scores won't be accurate enough to give you reliable information.

As for how your chances differ in Round 1 and Round 2, that's a question you should ask an admissions expert. Good luck!

As for how your chances differ in Round 1 and Round 2, that's a question you should ask an admissions expert. Good luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi iribardyc,

First off, a 680is a really strong score (it's right around the 85th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. While a Q44 won't impress anyone, it won't necessarily keep you out of any of the Programs that you've listed (assuming that you have a strong OVERALL profile). You're ultimately asking Admissions questions though, so you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

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

If you do choose to retest though, then we have to examine how you were studying for the Quant section before. As it stands, you could potentially retest within a month and score significantly higher in the Quant section - but you will have to make some adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) that section of the GMAT.

1) How long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used?
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

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

iribardyc · Answer

Thank you for your response.

I will take your advise into account. Regarding your questions, here are the answers:

1) How long have you studied? I studied for 4 months, consistently only the 3 last
2) What study materials have you used? I used the official guides, the GmatPrep materials and the Manhattan Prep books.
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)? I had a 680 and 690 in the first attemps and in the second ones 730, but to be honest in the second attemp I remembered a lot of questions so this scores are not reliable.

I also bought the GmatPrep exercises pack, I had 85% of exercises right for quant. approximately with 90% for the easy ones, 85% for the medium ones and 80% for the difficult ones.

Thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi iribardyc,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your various score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (+/- a few points). Since you did not include in the information about the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores from your practice CATs, I'm going to assume that they are essentially the same as your Official Scaled Scores. We have to ignore the CAT score that came from 'retakes' for the exact reason that you noted (seeing even a few 'repeat' questions can alter your performance enough and almost always leads to an artificially 'inflated' score result). Thus, your Official Score isn't too much of a surprise.

Since your studies were so 'book heavy', it's possible that you have 'self taught' your way to this current level (but you've been 'stuck' at this level for awhile). To get 'unstuck', you'll have to learn and practice some new Tactics. Thankfully, the Quant section of the GMAT is remarkably predictable, so if you're a flexible enough thinker to incorporate a new way of approaching that section, then you could pick up some significant points rather quickly.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

iribardyc · Answer

Thank you again for your prompt answer.

I agree with you. I`ve been wondering whether even though I know pretty well the basis and understand most of the exercises my approach to the exercises was the correct one.

To respond to your question, I would say that I can dedicate 2 hours/day on 6 working days and 8 hour on my one dayoff, maybe I could get some extra half and hour here and there.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi iribardyc,

With a Q44, you were likely really good on the straight-forward "math" questions that you saw on Test Day, but you missed out on lots of 'strategy'-based points (likely including a number of DS questions) and you probably made a few little mistakes throughout the section.

Based on everything that you've described, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Quant Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in under a month, so the time commitment wouldn't be too intense. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an account.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

Confused about how to proceed

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards