700 (49Q/37V/6.0 AWA) - Should I retake?

LOL, I took my tests all without sleep...and I was naive thinking that if I scheduled at 10am, I could maybe get some sleep in if I end up falling asleep at 2am or something. So instead, I didn't sleep at all and have to try to stay awake until 10...then almost 5 more hours past that.

So ya, I think you may be suffering because of lack of sleep, but then again, you might not. Might be better to just focus on the application, and perhaps post this question in the other dedicated section of this forum.

Hey flexed,

Just one man's opinion, but your situation sounds tailor-made for a retake. For anyone scoring 700+, the only times I'd really recommend retaking the GMAT are when:

1) You know that you left some points on the table and feel confident that you can improve it. This seems perfect for you - if that verbal section isn't a great reflection of your ability and you can bump it up by even just a few points, you start getting into "rare air" with your scores...right now you're competitive with about 10% of all test-takers, but it seems as though you're in pretty easy striking distance of bumping that up closer to the top 3-5% without much extra effort (actually, with less effort...just get a good night's sleep!).

In the absence of the above, then retaking is a tougher call - the return on your investment of time may not be that high if you don't have a direct area of emphasis to work on or that you simply know you can improve quickly, and that time may well be spent better in other ways.

2) That 700 still betrays a potential weakness on one section vs. the other (e.g. 99th percentile quant, 65th verbal or something like that) and you could use more balance. In your case, you're balanced enough that it's not a problem, but you could certainly pull that verbal score up above 40 and end up >85% on either section with a 730+ score.

If you do have an imbalance there, you have kind of a "soft" 700...there's enough of a "yeah, but" factor (yeah, he scored 700, but his verbal is pretty weak...) that your score isn't infallible...it's mostly an asset, but still has some liability to it.

3) You're counting on your GMAT score to be a strength of your application (e.g. to overcome a low GPA or a lack of quantitative experience). Much like inflation, a 700 isn't exactly what it was 10 years ago...it's almost always an asset to your application, but it may not pack the punch that you really want if you're counting on your score to be a driving factor in your candidacy. No one gets in on a GMAT score alone, but a GMAT score can erase academic doubts and/or tip the scales in your favor. If you think you need that score to tip those scales, a 730+ may be a significant factor for you. At most top 15-ish schools, the average is slightly over 700, which means that at 700 flat you're right in the mix...but you don't stand out or offer anything "new". If you're 30-40 points higher, you're now the reason that they can accept a 660 that they really like without dragging down the average. That's a nice situation...

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Looking at your candidacy and target schools, I can see a 730-760 score adding quite a bit to your profile. Last I looked, Ross's average score was about 702 or 703, and the other are all probably similar - a significantly higher score helps to pull up that average for them, and they're all competing to be considered firmly in that top 10 so they're likely to have a watchful eye on the numbers even if they don't use them as the sole basis for their decisions. If say, Tepper can boost its average score to 3-5 points higher than anyone else on that list without sacrificing overall quality, it starts to stand out in at least one way as a head above the rest...I'm not saying they're necessarily thinking that way, but there's a case to be made that maybe they should...