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GMAT, retake?

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bentgmat Just gettin' started! Default Avatar
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GMAT, retake? Post Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:14 pm
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Post Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:42 pm
Your GMAT is good enough that it won't be an issue.

Only retake it if you feel that the 710 was a "bad hair day" for you, and that you can confidently score a 750 or higher without much additional prep work. Yes, GMATs after a certain threshold don't matter but a super high score like that can be a plus (albeit a marginal one) at schools like Stanford and Columbia that put a high premium on GMATs. If however you feel your score is close to being the best you can do (i.e. 50/50 chance you'll score more or less the same on the retake), then don't waste time retaking it.

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bentgmat Just gettin' started! Default Avatar
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Post Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:19 pm
Thanks, Alex! I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Would retaking a 710 score ever work against me? I've read things such as 'they'll think you have poor judgement for retaking a high score' - is that just fiction? I believe I can get a higher score, but the possibility of hitting bad luck and not doing so worries me.

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Post Tue May 01, 2012 12:16 am
I agree with Alex here. If your mocks are MUCH higher, and you feel you can do a lot better, sure why not? You have the time. But if you were anyway plateauing around 710 720 it doesn't seem necessary. Once you hit 710, it's not the 750 that will get you in, but all the rest.

As for your second question, I don't think the AdCom will think poorly of you if you are a good candidate and that you got less the second time around on your GMAT. It's not all that important.

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Post Tue May 01, 2012 8:32 am
bentgmat wrote:
Thanks, Alex! I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Would retaking a 710 score ever work against me? I've read things such as 'they'll think you have poor judgement for retaking a high score' - is that just fiction? I believe I can get a higher score, but the possibility of hitting bad luck and not doing so worries me.
Yes, it can - but it's a risk you'll have to decide whether to take or not. Some adcoms will care, others won't, and it will depend on the individual reading your case.

That's why you should only retake it if you're super confident that you will score much higher (i.e. don't retake it if you feel there's a good possibility that your score will remain the same).

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Post Tue May 01, 2012 2:33 pm
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Post Tue May 01, 2012 3:47 pm
bentgmat wrote:
Thank you both for your answers! It is definitely helping me weigh my choice...

What I don't get is, since the schools state they only take into factor the score you report, it seems a bit harsh for them to, in reality, form an opinion on the decision to retake (good if better, bad if worse). Can either of you explain it a bit more in-depth to me?

I normally do fairly well on the quantitative (45-48), and, interestingly, normally do very well on the verbal (45+, & on the first official GMAC practice test I only missed one problem).

Due to my non-math-based university degree, I think it's more important for me to show I have quantitative abilities, which is why I'm wondering if I should just take that Q48 and run. Or, if I should try to bump that quantitative up ever higher - it is only 80 percent.

Thanks again for taking the time to listen and respond! It really does help.
Of course the school *technically* only accounts for the highest score.

But they also claim that they evaluate candidates based on individual merit, and where their nationality, age, gender, occupation, etc. isn't a factor. And yet, they also say they want to build a diverse class. Technically, they don't discriminate. But in reality, they do.

Point being, the whole admissions process is subjective. It's a black box. An individual adcom's own biases and annoyances can influence how they perceive you. It's holistic. If an adcom has a particular pet peeve when it comes to GMAT obsessed applicants, will it make or break a decision just because you took it more than once when you didn't have to? No.

Think of it like dating. There are certainly deal breakers, and other more minor annoyances.

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