I would like to apologize first to moderators and appreciate if post not removed. Searched through earlier posts, but am always unnerved by tech nightmare. So may have missed if an earlier post describes a situation that I now face. Friends, I t…
I would like to apologize first to moderators and appreciate if post not removed. Searched through earlier posts, but am always unnerved by tech nightmare. So may have missed if an earlier post describes a situation that I now face.
Friends, I took my GMAT yesterday (15th Feb.). Scores - Q 42 (67 percentile), Verbal 41 (93 percentile). Total 670 - (88 percentile). I am targeting European schools - IMD, IE, ESADE, HEC - schools whose GMAT requirements are in kilter with my total score. But my problem is that I am from liberal arts background, a journalist by training and have little quant abilities to show for in either my professional career or academics (my graduation honours is English literature). Since I am benchmarked against Indian peers with a minimum 49 Quant score, I am sure to get rejections from adcoms.
What has compounded my agony is that my three months of preparation went exclusively to Mathematics, as I knew I will trip up even on concepts that to you engineering/sciences/commerce professionals would appear utterly simple. To prevent any misuse of time, I did not even look up critical reasoning in the verbal section, the only aspect of the test that does not include my line of work or academic training. But now I am beginning to wonder that since I could rustle up a mere 42 in Quants even with a unifocal test-taking approach, I can only improve in maths by a miracle. I do not want a significantly higher overall score. All I want is the reverse of my percetile mix to argue my case before adcoms. Barring the GMAT, I have no other recourse to convince them that I know how to count, as I have never studied any quant-heavy discipline beyond class X.
Please help with suggestions to improve quant skills so that I can at least get a 46 or 47. I started out with the NCERT primers to at least understand the concepts tested, but as the scoresheet suggests, I have been an utter failure.
I am fortunate to be seeking help from a community that includes bright engineers, technology experts and maths wizards. Please suggest a way out for me. Incidentally, since I may not have scored well in the early questions, I only encountered ratios, percentages and number theory problems/DS through the test. Only the penultimate question tested probability skills.
Please, please help. Much appreciated. Cheers.
IMO your score is pretty good and balanced. I would recommend not going for GMAT again, but work well on your essays.
If you really want to take GMAT again:
If you want to work on your quant, I suggest get your accuracy right first then work on speed. So for starts, work on good problems and try to get your answer correct even you take a lot of time at first. Once accuracy improves, speed can be improved with practice.
But my problem is that I am from liberal arts background, a journalist by training and have little quant abilities to show for in either my professional career or academics (my graduation honours is English literature).
Since I am benchmarked against Indian peers with a minimum 49 Quant score, I am sure to get rejections from adcoms.
I dont see a problem. Being from a liberal arts background, and with atleast 8yrs of work-ex( assuming you really are 34) you wont be compared with the IT pool who normally would have half the amount of work-ex. Actually you should worry that your Verbal score is not high enough
If you were an engineer, they would perhaps want your score to be near a 49. You arent AND you have a lot of work-ex so no worries.
For atleast IMD, your GMAT score is fine and i believe baccardisprite(alumnus of the same) would agree. His GMAT score is slightly better than yours and he's only 32.So in some ways, you are a lot better off.
Have PM'd him. Waiting for his reply 😃
poor mods see what impression you guys have developed 
dear mods are here for good they wont just remove any thread like that. 
Are you thinking of retaking the test?
most of the top gun colleges require u to hv balanced and high score (80 %tile in both)
if you r not thinking of retaking the exam then i d suggest u to take some pre-MBA quant related program.
ash34 SaysI am fortunate to be seeking help from a community that includes bright engineers, technology experts and maths wizards. Please suggest a way out for me. Incidentally, since I may not have scored well in the early questions, I only encountered ratios, percentages and number theory problems/DS through the test. Only the penultimate question tested probability skills. Please, please help. Much appreciated. Cheers.
670 is fine. You needn't worry much. At 34, you need to convince adcomms of your future career goals, your rationale for both the goals and the MBA to achieve those, based on which the school judges your recruitability post the MBA...
Your score reflects adequate academic ability - 67%ile means you probably did basic arithmetic / mathematics right. Your verbal score reflects an ability to put your thoughts into words better than some others. 8-10 years of journalism means you're probably quite good at it.
Relax about the GMAT - channel your energies into your applications, essays and references. If after submitting the applications, the GMAT still nags you - take a one month classroom crash course and retake the test aiming for a better score!
Good luck.
I would like to apologize first to moderators and appreciate if post not removed. Searched through earlier posts, but am always unnerved by tech nightmare. So may have missed if an earlier post describes a situation that I now face.
Hi,
I ll leave it to the gurus to analyze your score and suggest whether to give the gmat again or not.
But if at all you decide to give gmat again herez something that might help you in quants...
Try to get hold of IMS CAT quants books. They are really good. They go right from basic concepts to the toughest problems. Your can find them easily.
Secondly try to form a study group and have a few engineers(or guys good at quants) in the group. I guess you will get quiet many guys who would be more than willing to help you with the tips and tricks in quants in return if you can help them with your verbal skills..
Regards,
Nitiman