Based of my diagnostic GMAT what can I expect on the real deal after studying?

lasampdoria:

MGMAT tends to be a little tougher than actual GMAT on quant, and a little easier on verbal. So I would say your score is pretty accurate.

If you put 2-3 months of work, you can EASILY hit the 750 mark. But it has to be 2-3 of mind-breaking studying. Without knowing your quant/verbal split I can't give you a sure-fire way to improve, but your score suggests you have a decent grasp of the fundamentals (provided your split isn't heavily leaning toward one side).

Below is a list of the materials you should check out if you want to hit the 750 mark:

Ultimate GMAT Ass-Kicking Arsenal

Quant: Manhattan Guides (each book comes with access to 6 CATs) Jeff Sackmann's Total GMAT Math Manhattan Advanced GMAT Quant Sackmann's 1000q advanced challenge set GMAT Club Math Book OG Quant

Verbal: Manhattan Guides OG Verbal GMAT Pill (A+++ source for Verbal)

Both: GMAT Club Tests GMAT Prep CATs MGMAT CATs

I have subscriptions to GMAT Pill, Magoosh, GMAT Club, and Veritas Prep and would be more than willing to offer a slashed price for 2-3 months use.

Good luck on your studies mate!

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I am broke as hell, just finished undergrad so no money for any of that. Going to try using free resources/library etc.

mappleby:

A lot depends on how good you are under pressure. My first time with the GMAT I used some crappy library book (Peterson's GMAT Prep) to study from, was getting around a 650 on the practice tests and scored a 700 on the real deal. I didn't like my score so I took the Kaplan Advanced class, was scoring around 690 on the practice tests and scored a 750 on the actual test. However if you are a bad test taker it could go the opposite way on test day, only you really know that about yourself.

I think people either exaggerate how much they studied or go a little overboard here. You really don't need to buy every single GMAT book available to prepare for the test. It isn't that hard once you understand the basics. It just comes down to actually taking the time to work on practice tests and problem sets. The more problems you see the more they start to look alike and you can often eliminate 2 answers just by reading the problem.

Testing under pressure has always been a forte of mine, think a GMAT exam should adapt well to my test taking abilities. Hoping to follow in your footsteps!

im fairly certain there 100% accurate....

what was your score breakdown?

yeah, barring some glitch or other unlikely event, that is your score.

score breakdown was 44 math (73 percentile) and 42 verbal (95 percentile)- did worse on the quant than I expected but did better on the verbal than expected. im surprised with that breakdown i got a 710. i'd think they'd simply average those percentiles.

regardless, im happy with a 710

congrats, solid score.

I've never heard of a score changing - and people don't give a shit about your essay scores, so congrats.

Just an FYI, the reason they don't average your percentiles is due to the fact someone who scores at the 95th percentile in both math and verbal will come out at a higher overall percentile, since there are a number of people that will score at the 95th percentile in only the math or verbal portion (their relative area of strength). The same logic applies to why your 710 should equate to a higher overall percentile.

Yes, congrats. My GMAT official score was no different than my unofficial. I've not heard of anybody who's taken it and experienced otherwise.

thanks all. congratulations very much appreciated

see top 2 posts from our former writer phantombanker http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/7685

Verbal: MGMAT sentence correction, powerscore bible for critical reasoning, GMAT club verbal problem sets Quant: GMAT club tests, gmat hacks' total gmat math, jeff sackmann's 1000 problem challenge set

Yes, it's possible. Just wait a long time before taking the practice tests again and focus on building up the skills and learning the tricks.

Is a 620 a pretty good first score then? Typically in-line with what many others get on their first attempt?

I think it depends on when you took the test and which practice test you took. You said it's your first test, so I'll assume that means you haven't done much studying and you mentioned MGMAT, so I'll assume you took their first practice test. If those assumptions are correct, a great score is definitely doable, as MGMAT's practice tests are notoriously difficult. Just as an example, I scored a 610 or 620 on my first MGMAT practice test. I then studied pretty hardcore for a month and got a 650 on the final MGMAT practice test I took three days before the real thing. On the real thing, I scored a 760.

The official GMAT site's practice tests are extremely accurate though (based on my personal experience and the experience of others I've read on message boards) and I would advise that you take both of those a week or two before test time. I think both of my scores on those tests were within 10 points of what I got on the real thing.

Hope this helps! Good luck with studying!

You are probably missing out on some points just due to your unfamiliarity with the test. Once you learn the nuances of Data Sufficiency and the tricks they play with number properties you'll do better. When you develop a timing strategy and plan of attack for each type of problem, you will already be upping your score by 50 pts. I suggest you go through the entire MGMAT book series. That should take you about 5-6 weeks and give you the knowledge to attack each problem.

well, I scored a 750 or 770 or something on my first practice test, than practiced for a month, and scored a 730 on the real thing... so I'd say anything is possible, including actually getting WORSE at the test as you practice, which is what I did.... haha

@is 620 a good score: that's a a very relative question, because that's an above average score, but this is a site focused on investment people.... I'd say it's not great (many people on this site hit over 700 on the first try), but I've also heard of a lot worse and people coming up as much as 80-100 points through practice...

People may disagree with me on this, but I've noticed people tend to end up (on test day) getting very close to half of their SAT score... I thought i was going to do better than that on the GMAT, but didn't... how you handle the pressure on test day is part of the game as well, and that's something that if you used to be good at, you probably still are, etc.

^both comments above relate to the official practice tests, which are easier... the non-official ones are harder and if you guy a 620 on that i'd say that's like a 650-660 on the official practice test first try... I never scored as high on the non-official ones