BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

640 to 700... should I take it again?

Find out how Beat The GMAT members tackled GMAT test prep with positive results. Get tips on GMAT test prep materials, online courses, study tips, and more.
This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:25 am

640 to 700... should I take it again?

by goblue235 » Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:00 pm
Hi everyone,

I just completed my GMAT for the second time around and scored a 700 (Q47,v40). It is the 90th percentile and I know it is a decent score but let me explain why I'm considering retaking the exam:

These are the practice exam scores I had:

MGMAT CAT: 700 (Q47, V39)
MGMAT CAT: 740 (Q47, V44)
GMAT Prep: 740 (Q49, V42)
GMAT Prep: 710 (Q48, V40)

Now, every time I took these practice times, I always had sufficient time to complete both sections with time left over. Today when I took the actual exam, I spent too much time double checking my answers and ran short of time for the last few questions.

Now... for the most traumatic part - I clicked the correct answer on time for the last question but did not submit before I ran out of time. This of course COMPLETELY messed up my mental game because the one thing everyone told me was to never leave a section incomplete. I have a feeling this messed up my performance a little on the verbal section because I was shaken up a bit. Needless to say.. I was surprised to see I had even broken 700! I personally feel like I could have done at least 20 points higher but I wanted your opinions of whether I should take it again.

More about me - I had a 3.5 GPA at a top 5 undergraduate business school, have 2 years consulting and some managerial experience at great firm by the time I'm ready to apply, and also do pro-bono consulting work for a non-profit organization.

Thanks so much!
Top
Source: — I just Beat The GMAT! |
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1031
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:23 pm
Location: Malibu, CA
Thanked: 716 times
Followed by:255 members
GMAT Score:750

by Brian@VeritasPrep » Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:52 pm
Hey goblue,

Love the username...this time of year that's how I sign off nearly all my emails and probably accounts for 80% of my text messages!

Congratulations on your 700 - that's a huge accomplishment that shouldn't be taken lightly even if you know that you could have done better, so please take at least a few minutes to be proud!


A few thoughts on your situation and whether you should retake or not...

1) It looks like your score was dangerously close to the "holy trinity" of GMAT scores (80th percentile quant, 80th percentile verbal, 700+ overall...it looks like you just missed quant with the high 70s, right?), so as 700s go yours is a lot stronger than others that are more unbalanced. Your score as is is pretty solid all around, and with a top 5 BBA and your work experience I doubt any schools would be particularly worried about your quant chops. So if you were to sit on your current score I don't think you'd be making a bad decision in any way.

2) But on the other hand...it seems like you know that you left some points on the table, and if your goal is to get into a top 5-10 school, and particularly if it's something like Stanford where they have to reject 80% of the qualified applicants, you may want to get those remaining points back just to know that you gave those applications everything that you had. If you were to retake, you'd be in a great position...absolutely no pressure since your 700 is pretty strong on its own, so you can relax and just see the next test as a good opportunity to improve but no real sweat if you don't.

And if you end up in the same position with that last quant question, know that it's probably not a big difference either way. From the horse's mouth:

https://www.mba.com/mbacommunity/MBA_com ... ssing.aspx

they basically say that there's negligible difference between guessing on and omitting the last question. Now, if you know you had gotten it right and didn't get credit, that's frustrating, but still...no need to panic at that point!

3) Now, if you think that your last quant question impacted your verbal performance, keep in mind that your verbal performance is less of an issue (and I use "an issue" lightly - your score is great)...the only thing holding you back from that "holy trinity" is 1-2 well-placed correct quant answers. So while you can improve on verbal a little bit by keeping better composure, I'd only retake if you know you can knock that quant score up a couple ticks to the 85th percentile or so.

_______________________________________________

So in summary - I'd retake the GMAT if:

-You're confident that you left points on the table that you know you can get back
-You feel confident that you'll improve your quant score enough to bump it over the 80th percentile
-You're applying to top 10 programs with average GMAT scores above 700, and feel that you'll really need the bump
-In retaking the test you won't be sacrificing the quality of your applications (which I don't think you will be...doesn't sound like you're applying for round 1 this fall)


Go Blue!
Brian
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
Top
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:25 am

by goblue235 » Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:52 pm
Thanks for that reply Brian! I didn't know that fun fact about it not being THAT big of a deal missing the last question. And you're right, that Quant score put me at 76% (so close!)

I posted that topic immediately after I completed my exam but I've calmed down now and your advice has helped me think it through! I'm a while away from applying so I might take a break and come back the exam closer to that time.

Go Blue! (Can't wait for the season to start!)
Top
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1031
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:23 pm
Location: Malibu, CA
Thanked: 716 times
Followed by:255 members
GMAT Score:750

by Brian@VeritasPrep » Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:31 am
Great to hear, goblue - and again let me reiterate a proud congratulations to a fellow Michigan BBA on a great score! It sounds like you have a good plan and a great perspective, and it also sounds like you'll be applying with some other fantastic assets on your resume when you approach b-school so I'm pretty confident for you.

Let us know if we can help out at all when you apply or if you decide to retake - I'm a total sucker for a fellow Wolverine and I've convinced one of the owners here to become a big fan (he's currently wearing the Dhani Jones t-shirt I got him from mgoblog.com) so we're pretty friendly to Michigan folks and to Ross applicants. And just to put it in writing so that he knows he can take us up on it - Denard Robinson qualifies for 100 free hours of tutoring whenever he wants it!

Go Blue!
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1