So I had my test this past Saturday and I am somewhat happy to say I got a 690 (Q47 V37). I am actually pretty pleased with the score but am thinking of a retake. Any advice on this subject? Rigth aftter I got the score I thought that's a good first score but I should retake and put a couple more months of effort into the GMAT and get a higher score but after taking the weekend and reading some blogs I have found several people say the difference between a 690 and 710 is not that big of a difference and not really a deal breaker at all. I have thought it may be better time spent to contact schools and writing essays about my goals and ambitions rather then attempting GMAT again.
For the actual test, here is a breakdown, and why I think I may be able to do better.
First off I am happy with the score I received. It was pretty much in line with the last 4 practice tests I took. The reason I think I may retake is I have scored a lot higher on verbal on a couple of practice tests and a little more polishing and I feel I could get a higher verbal score.
Test Center - I had some difficulty finding the center and then even more difficulty getting into the building as it was part of a complex and the doors were locked on weekends. Luckily i was an hour early I knew I had plenty of time to get in. I eventually got in the doors. After that the center was great the staff was friendly and very helpful (I even took an extra restroom break during Verbal and the lady was running fast then I was to get me checked out) I could not have asked for a better test center to attempt the GMAT.
Essay - Fairly comfortable, as I don't have my score yet but I feel I did fairly well. I was good on time and did not get to hard of a subject. Finished up with about 2 minutes left.
IR - This was a little bit of a worry for me before the test as I did not put too much time into IR until the last 2 weeks. But during the test I actually felt very comfortable during the test and the questions seemed right in line with the GMAT prep questions.
Quant - I started off horribly..... That's all I can say, I got two relatively simply questions at the beginning but could not think fo a way to answer them. It must of been nerves but by the fourth question I was feeling better. I felt quant was going alright for the first 15 questions when I looked at the clock. I was 10 minutes ahead of pace and then I began to realized the questions were still really simple, nothing complex yet. I quickly realized I was rushing and begin to take more time on quetions and really think through them and finally around question 25 I started to see some more difficult quetions. I ended with a Q47 which is right in line with all my practice tests.
Verbal - I feel I could have done better here. I received a V42 on my last practice test and only received a V37 on the real thing. But after thinking through it a V37 was only 1 point below my average Verbal score. I do feel SC hurt me during the test. I felt really confident in CR and RC but SC I was unsure. I never really mastered SC. I was good enough to get through the easy and medium questions but as soon as I hit the upper level I always came down to two choices and this happened quite a bit on the actual test.
Overall it was a good score and right in line with my practice tests. I am really tempted to take a week off and then start the process again. Any thoughts on a retake would be appreciated. When thinking about a retake I always feel since a 690 is so close to my target score of 700 my time might better be served in the essay and application process.
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