I just Beat The GMAT!

Hey everyone, I've been stalking these boards for around two months now, since the day I registered to take the GMAT. I just finished my test a few hours ago, and I'm seeking some of the sage advice I've seen all over these forums for my current situation.

Here's the full breakdown of my score:

AWA: don't know, but I am confident this will be solid.

IR: 6 (67th percentile, this was pretty surprisingly low for me, but I did not prepare at all for this section save for the parts I did in practice CAT's I taken previously)

Quantitative: 45 (63rd percentile, very disappointed in this part of the test because I paced myself extremely poorly and ran out of time. I ended up guessing on about 5 of the last 10 questions to finish all the questions in time. I had never had pacing issues on any of the previous seven practice tests I had take. I think I had some test day jitters that really dug me into a hole early on in this section.)

Verbal: 46 (99th percentile, solid and this is about where I expected to score. this section is intuitive and easy for me.)

I'm not interested in applying to MBA programs, and that's not why I took the GMAT. My life's ambition is to go to a top business school for a Ph.D., and my understanding is that these are very competitive programs where high GMAT's are a must. My score is 96th percentile, and based on some very cursory research, seems to be a good enough score to warrant consideration at top Ph.D. programs. However, I have a few concerns.

1.) My integrated reasoning score is fairly poor, and I'm not sure if that will factor into my application in any negative sense. I have seen people consistently comment here and elsewhere that B-schools aren't factoring in IR or don't place much importance on it. Am I correct here? More importantly, how do Ph.D. programs look at this section? If it is going to dismiss my otherwise strong application, I will need to retake the GMAT and bump this up significantly.

2.) My score is lopsided big time, as you can see. This has been the general trend, but my last few practice tests were trending toward a much better balance. My background and work experience is in finance, but my discipline interest is in strategy/strategic management, NOT finance. Will the lopsided score hurt me in this context?

The test prep programs I purchased are good for 365 days, so I can take the test again in the summer after my work's busy season is over and go for my 750 target score. But, if the two concerns I've stated above wont hurt me considerably, then I will probably pass on that and stick with my current score. I should also note I wont be applying to any programs until fall of 2015, so I have time for a potential retake.

The remainder of the Ph.D. application (letters of recommendation, solid GPA, statement of purpose, etc.) are all solid. My undergrad GPA is close to 4.0, I have several professors who can attest to research abilities and academic promise, and I am extremely confident in my writing abilities for the statement of purpose.

All that said, any advice? I know most of this stuff is MBA focused, but I figure there will be some posters out there who know enough to answer these questions as well. Thanks in advance y'all, this board has been so helpful in my two-month journey to this score, and perhaps my journey next summer to a 750+.

[email protected] wrote:Hi collster37,

A 730/Q46 is a fantastic performance, so chances are pretty good that you're set with this score (and you won't need to retest). Since your situation is somewhat unique for this Forum (most site visitors aren't on the path to a PhD), you might be better served speaking with an Admissions Expert about your situation (there's a Forum full of them on this site).

In addition, the respective PhD programs that you're interested in will likely have information for you (either on a website or by contacting the School directly). I'd be far more likely to trust THAT information and perspective than whatever you might receive from random strangers (who are not experts on admissions nor PhD programs).

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

Thanks so much for the quick reply Rich! Super helpful. I will speak with some experts.

Congratulations collster37 on your achieving 730 and beat the GMAT! Can you enlighten me on what test prep course comprised your two-month journey to conquer this test?
I am a novice on this BTG platform and would like to get some useful insights on strategizing my future GMAT study plan. Thanks in advance!