GMAT Retake? 730 (Q48, V42)

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GMAT Retake? 730 (Q48, V42)

by BFB » Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:05 pm
Hello!

I am a metallurgical engineer (graduated in 2014) from India and currently work as an Operations Manager in a Fortune 500 steel-firm in rural India (~2 years of experience). I took the GMAT about a week ago, and my results stand as follows:

Overall: 730
Quant: 48 (73%ile)
Verbal: 42 (96%ile)
IR: 5
AWA: 5

I have a few questions and I would really appreciate it if they were answered. I am primarily interested in pursuing Operations Management.

Here are my questions:

(1) Given the Indian test-taking demographic, would you say that my Q-V raw scores are skewed? And if they are, how would you suppose adcoms would look upon them? Would I be at a disadvantage because of a lower Quant score or at an advantage because of a relatively higher Verbal score?

(2) Would you say it is necessary for me to re-take the GMAT because my percentiles don't hold up to the 80/80 selection criteria? Or could I simply put the test to rest and focus on profile building?

(3) Could I offset my low Quant score with other Quant rooted achievements? Such as clearing a particularly difficult statistics course, or the first level of the CFA? Would such achievements take attention away from a low Q score?

Thank you so much for your time!

Cheers

BFB

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by Edison@VeritasPrep » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:09 am
Thanks for sharing your question.

A main consideration in deciding whether to retake the GMAT or not is your confidence in getting a higher score on the retake. In your case, improving on the quant score to meet the percentile breakdown for Verbal and Quant would help.

Given the highly competitive applicant pool you belong to, I believe the disadvantage of the Quant score would outweigh the advantage of the Verbal score.

You may use other Quant-related highlights in your profile to address potential concerns about your quantitative abilities.

Wish you all the best!
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by BFB » Sat Mar 05, 2016 10:30 pm
Hello Edison,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I do not intend to apply to schools until early next year, and I think I'll focus on other aspects of profile building as of now and showcase my Quant potential via other channels.

One other question though - is the 80/80 criteria a rule of thumb for all programs in general or is it only applicable to select schools and programs? How do I know which programs employ such a cutoff and which programs do not?

Thanks again

BFB

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by Edison@VeritasPrep » Sat Mar 05, 2016 10:53 pm
Hi BFB,

It is not a hard cut-off, even for the GMAT score, schools do not usually state a minimum. However, the top schools would usually have higher average scores.

Wish you all the best in preparing for your applications.
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