Hi All,

I scored a 690 on my GMAT (Q40 V42). A fine score, but I lost 5 minutes on the Q section at the test center because there was only one proctor and a long line of test takers waiting to check back into the test room at the end of the 10-minute break. 5-minutes of my time had passed by the time I was back at my seat. I scored 720/730 on my two GMAT prep tests, and I'm sure I would've done better had I not lost 5 mins. at the beginnning of the Q section.

I think I'd like to retake the test. My apps are due this week, and I wouldn't be able to retake the test until the end of January. I contacted the schools, and they said if I want to retake the test, I should let them know in the optional essay that I plan to retake the test at the end of January so that they know to look out for my updated score.

The dilemma: what if I tell the schools I'm going to retake the test in my optional essay and then I don't do any better on the retake? Would it be better to retake the test, not indicate that I'm doing so in my optional essay, and then let the schools know I have an updated score only in the event that I do better? Doing the latter might mean that they consider my application and make a decision before I give them my updated score, but doing the former might be shooting myself in the foot if I don't do any better (or even worse?) the second time around. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I'm applying to Columbia and NYU, and think I have a pretty strong application apart from the GMAT.

Thank you!