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720 w/ Questionable splits - retake?

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720 w/ Questionable splits - retake?

by JG3434 » Fri Oct 28, 2011 2:17 pm
Hi all,

I've never posted on this forum before but have been a regular reader for about the last 6 months. I'm looking for some candid advice. I took the GMAT recently and scored a 720 - a great score, no doubt, but the splits have me concerned - the breakdown is as follows Q43 (64%) V46 (99%) 720 overall (95%). It was interesting because I scored, simultaneously, the lowest I've ever scored in quant (was averaging b/w 46-49 on GMAC exams) and the highest I've ever scored in verbal (was averaging 43-45 on GMAC practice exams).

I'm shooting for a top 5 business school but have serious concerns about the quant score. I think I'm going to retake, given my scores on practice exams, but was looking for some advice from others about what they think. I should also note that I have passed Level I of the CFA program (taking LII in June) so I'm wondering how much that could/would compensate for the low quant score.

Also worthy of note for all those shooting for the 700 barrier - My first score on the GMAT was a 610. Be persistent! A 700 score is achievable for ANYONE!

Many thanks in advance for all your input!!


John
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by throughmba » Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:03 pm
Hi

I would never suggest of a retake. Its ok.

Concentrate more on application now. CFA will obviously clear doubts, if any.

Cash it on.
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by mj12g » Mon Nov 14, 2011 12:27 pm
I know exactly how you feel. The first time I took the GMAT I got the same overall score, except my split was even more dramatic: 40Q (56%) and 50V (99%) for a 720 overall. In fact, I even applied to schools last year using that score, and while I did get into a top-15 school, I didn't even get interviews at some of the others (including UVA, which was surprising). I had to believe it was my quant score. I ended up retaking the test this past September and scored a 700 (yikes) that was split 44Q/41V. Knowing that I could do better, I decided to push all my apps to round 2 and give the GMAT a third go this past Saturday (I actually just posted about this in my own thread) and scored a 760 (Q49/V45). The moral of the story is this: if you think you can do better, it doesn't hurt to give it another try, because the results may surprise you, and despite what the adcoms say, the GMAT definitely matters. Good luck.
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by rjdunn03 » Tue Nov 15, 2011 9:05 pm
I would recommend a retake as well, if you think you have time. I took the GMAT on Oct 8th for the first time and scored a 730 (45q, 45v). I hadn't seen that low of a quant score in the previous 2.5 months of my practice tests. I actually left the testing center and went home and rescheduled that same day. My retake was this last saturday and I performed MUCH better: 780 (49q, 50v). I know that for me, nerves were a huge thing and that is what really affected my math the first time - I started out poorly on math, got behind on my timing and wasn't able to make a good recovery.

And for top schools I've heard that they like to see the 75-80th percentile on quant
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by JG3434 » Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:04 pm
Yea I ended up retaking it and made some improvements - got it up to 740 with a balanced split: Q49 (85%) V42 (95%). Now I'm kicking myself because I didn't study verbal at all these last 4 weeks (literally - not for a minute) and my score suffered. Had I put up the same score in verbal as I did in the last exam, I would have had a 770. I don't think I need to retake it to prove anything more to an adcom, but my ego has me leaning towards doing it again. I want that 770! Haha.
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by throughmba » Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:21 am
This time I will not stop you from doing so. :)
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by [email protected] » Sat Nov 26, 2011 6:35 am
JG, I hope you are not serious about retaking GMAT. As Lunarpower has pointed out in some other post, retaking it when you have 740 will show the adcoms that you have not got your priorities straight. If you are so bent on reaching 770, may be you can hold off until you get admission and then try a retake.
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