I got a higher overall GMAT score, but my IR score dropped

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GMAT Score:700
The first time I took the GMAT, I got a 660 and the 2nd time I got a 700. Yay, improvement! However, my Integrated Reasoning score dropped from 8 (93 percentile) to 6 (67 percentile). Both sets of scores have been reported to the schools I'm applying to.

Here's my question: when I recap my scores in the actual application form, do I have to report the 6 on Integrated Reasoning, or can I report the 8? It seems to me I'm supposed to put 6, but if I'm somehow mistaken, I'd love someone to correct me.

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by Vincent Ho-Tin-Noe » Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:00 pm
Dear sairazali,

Good job on improving your GMAT score to 700. This is a great achievement.
Do not worry too much about your IR score. Few schools really look into it, and in any case, your second score is still pretty decent.

By default, I would recommend you to report the 6 in your application form. However, some schools allow you to report your higher score across multiple tests. My advice: send a quick note to the admissions team at your target school and ask them directly what their recommendation is. This won't hurt your application chances, but it will allow you to move on and think about something else.

Good luck.

Vincent
Vincent Ho-Tin-Noe (HBS '13)
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by CriticalSquareMBA » Mon Sep 23, 2013 1:33 pm
Hey there,

Great job on improving the score mate! That's quite an improvement and I'm sure it took a lot of hard work so congrats!

While some schools may consider your highest scores in each section, each test will be reported separately. So even at those schools, you'll need to post the 700 score with the 6 in IR. In other programs, they sometimes only require you to post your highest overall score. In that case, if you're concerned with the drop in IR, you can provide your second score as well. Not only does this show a higher IR score, it also shows your significant improvement.

As Vincent mentioned, overall, IR scores aren't statistically significant yet. Their introduction last year hasn't really developed a strong pool of scores to compare yours to. While your score is static, the percentiles are not. They can change year over year as additional data comes in. So it might be a 67th now, it could be a 76th next year (or it could drop - there's no way to tell).

While most schools aren't seriously considering IR yet, some companies are beginning to, however. Bain recently announced they may begin using the IR score as another factor in their recruitment process. That's more just an FYI for you though. I do NOT think you need to retake the test - I don't want to be misleading about that!

Overall, you have absolutely nothing to worry about - congrats again!

Bhavik
Critical Square | MBA Admissions Services

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