690 (Q42,V42) Frustrated and need advice, at a loss of words

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Hello all,

I was directed over to this thread and told that this was the spot to seek some clarification and assistance on my admission questions.

This is what I posted on the general thread. Any help would be much appreciated

My intention is to apply somewhere Top 10; however, I am leaning to apply to UT Austin as well due to financial reasons. UT Austin is likely to be my first pick, followed by Stanford, MIT, and Harvard



Guys, I just took my latest GMAT exam and I'm sitting here beating myself up. Honestly stuck on deciding what my next move should be. My GMAT journey has been looong, roughly 6 months, and I have placed it at my highest of priorities. I worked my butt off for 6 months with the aim of attaining a 700+.

Look below for all my Gmat Practice and Official Tests. As you can see I'm super perseverant and have a tremendous work ethic.

The latest Official GMAT that I just took is a great score! However, I'm disappointed with myself for two reasons. One, I scored far far far below my quantitative average score of the past eight tests, 45. Two, my IR score is abysmal and also far far below my typical IR average.


Here are my questions:
  • 1) Do you think it's worth it to take this test again? Should I mistrust the feeling that I deserve a higher score based on previous performances?
    2) The next date I can take the test, 16 days from today, is a few days after the majority of Top Ten second round applications are due.
    a. Can I still apply and provide them with an updated score?
    b. How bad are my odds of acceptance if I wait until their third round of applications?
    3) If I decide to keep the score, how bad will this latest IR score look with the rest of my GMAT application portion? How bad will it look if I choose to apply outside of top 10, like UT Austin?
    a. I scored a 5.5/6 on my previous essay and I feel that I did significantly better on this essay

My background
  • - Mechanical Engineer undergraduate from UT Austin with 3.7/4 GPA (Magne Cum Laude)
    - 4 Years work experience in one of the top 5 Oil and Gas Companies (Shell Oil)
My Scores
  • 1) MGMAT: 440 (Q23, V28) (IR: 2)(Dry run, no studying at all)
    2) MGMAT: 580 (Q40, V31) (IR: 4)
    3) MGMAT: 580 (Q39, V31) (IR: 4)
    4) Kaplan: 640 (Q44, V34) (IR:6)
    5) Kaplan: 620 (Q41, V34)(IR: 6)
    6) MGMAT: 620 (Q43, V32) (IR:6)
    7) GMAC: 680 (Q43, V40) (IR: 8)
    8) Kaplan: 450(Q46, V5) (Rage Quit)
    9) MGMAT: 650 (Q45, V34) (IR: 5)
    10) Kaplan: 680 (Q45, V39) (IR: 8)
    11) MGMAT: 640 (Q45, V33) (IR:6)
    12) GMAC: 640 (Q46, V32) (IR:6)
    13) Official Test: 660 (Q45, V36) (IR:5)
    14) GMAC: 690 (Q45, V40) (IR: 8)
    15) Official Test: 690 (Q42, V42) (IR:2)

In between the 14th and 15th test I spent my focus on mastering the verbal portion and reducing my test anxiety through the practice of meditation; both of which helped tremendously. However, this was not at the expense of getting out of practice with Quant, I drilled Quant just as hard as before. Therefore, the score is baffling for me because of both Quant and IR. Very very very frustrated right now with the thought of lost potential "Had I only done as good as usual on Quant....."

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by CriticalSquareMBA » Sun Jan 01, 2017 12:26 pm
Hi there,

Thanks for sharing your GMAT story with us. I'm sorry your test didn't go as planned. Seeing your practice tests, however, it seems as though your aggregate score came in at the high end of the range. With standardized tests, it's hard to expect to do better during the real test than you do in 10 practice tests prior...it just doesn't happen. That said, do I think you can do better? Probably! But, unless you've made drastic improvements in your practice since the official test date, it's not likely you'll do that much better in January. That said, it'll likely take another 3-6 months to boost your score into the 710+. If you're going after top 10 schools, I'd recommend waiting until next year to apply, as R3 isn't a great option. If schools like UT are your top choice, however, I think you can go ahead and apply in R2 this cycle. Now, this is just going off of your GPA and GMAT, so we'd need to look closer into the rest of your application and your profile to assess your candidacy. Feel free to sign up for a free consultation below to see how we can help. Best of luck!
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