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700+ is not for everyone?

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700+ is not for everyone?

by gmat_mba » Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:29 pm
I have noticed that in several GMAT forums, many people claim that they scored 700+. According to Dave Wilson, chief executive of GMAC, about 240,000 people take GMAT every year (You can listen to his latest interview from here: https://tambor.uk.tangozebra.com/tambor/c/715.mp3 )

Here is what I do not understand:
Person "A" studies for 2 weeks, uses the official guide 11th and GMATPrep and gets +700.

Person "B", gets private tutor, buys several practice books, uses several GMAT forums, practices every day and still can not even get 650!

Even though I am no planning to give up MBA and getting high GMAT score, I am very disappointed in myself because I am the person "B". I am one of those people who have studied hard but could not get 700+. I am just wondering should I just accept the fact that not everyone can get 700+. Should I accept that high IQ and high confidence are only keys for getting good score in GMAT.

Your thoughts?
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by shilotilo » Sat Aug 30, 2008 5:57 pm
Hi there,
I think the Qs that come in the range 700-800 test one's reasoning abilities under high pressure conditions. I don't know if books and tutors can help in getting these questions right.
I have long come to the conclusion (being in the same boat as you) that one can either think clearly and fast under pressure or one can't. So now I say to myself, "It's OK; I am a plodder.That's the way God made me."

:)

Shilo
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by chykie » Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:23 pm
I'm also in that B category, I've been studying for months and I'm not even close to my Target score (680). Only the top 7% score over 700 so I guess that leaves me in the other 93%.
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by bilko » Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:25 pm
MOST people can't get 700+, so I honestly wouldn't worry about that at all. It's a mythical, magical number that people seem to think is required to get into good schools. It's not. A GMAT score can't get you in, although it can keep you out if you're well below a school's average.

If your 650 is within the average range for your school, then you're fine. Especially if your other stats are better. And a 650 is perfectly competitive at a LOT of good schools. Don't sweat it!
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by lunarpower » Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:27 pm
bilko wrote:MOST people can't get 700+, so I honestly wouldn't worry about that at all. It's a mythical, magical number that people seem to think is required to get into good schools. It's not. A GMAT score can't get you in, although it can keep you out if you're well below a school's average.

If your 650 is within the average range for your school, then you're fine. Especially if your other stats are better. And a 650 is perfectly competitive at a LOT of good schools. Don't sweat it!
yeah.

there's a certain irony in my posting the following, given that a large part of my livelihood is contingent on people's obsession with gmat scores, but here goes:

past a certain point, your gmat score isn't as important as you think it is.
this is business school. the gmat is important, of course - a BAD score can certainly keep you out of the top schools - but other factors in your profile, such as work experience, diversity, unique perspective, and so on, are arguably more important. in particular, the top schools reject people with 770-800 scores on the regular, even though their averages are much lower than that. (there is not a single business school whose average gmat score is more than about 710 or so.)

this is not law school. law schools are notorious for numbers-grubbing; if you're a completely unaccomplished ne'er-do-well with a really high lsat score and a decent gpa, you can pretty much go where you want to go. that is not the case with business school.

in general, here is the best advice to follow:
concentrate the most on improving 2 things: the single weakest thing on your application, and the single strongest thing on your application. this is the best way to make yourself stand out more: your strongest suit is the thing that distinguishes you the most, so improving it will make you stand out even more. in addition, shoring up your biggest weakness will help your overall case, by removing any obvious incentive to disqualify you form the candidate pool.

if your gmat score is somewhere in the middle - 650-660ish - then it's probably not the strongest thing on your application, nor is it probably the weakest thing. therefore, your energies may be better directed somewhere else.

good luck with everything.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by VP_Jim » Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:40 am
Ron, so true about law school (speaking from personal experience as I applied after undergrad!)... and great advice.
Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep
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