47 Verbal/40 Quant- Retake? Gmat Advice

bailey.rise wrote:Hi there,

I just took the GMAT, scoring a 47 in Verbal and a 40 in Quant- total score of 700. I'm looking to apply to the top schools- would you recommend retaking the test? I've already taken the test one time previously, and studied pretty intensely to get to this point.

Thank you for the advice! Much appreciated.

Three relevant questions here:

1) How strong is the rest of your application?

2) How does that 700 compare to old practice tests?

3) Does it feel as though you're missing some low-hanging fruit when you take the test?

If the rest of your application is strong, you were averaging 680 on old practices, and it really feels as though you've maximized your score, that's one thing. But if you have some weaknesses in your application, you've hit as high as, say, 740 on old practice tests, and it feels as though you still miss questions because of careless mistakes or timing issues, well, that's quite another.

Thank you so much for the response! In comparison to old practice tests, this was the highest score I had gotten. On my previous official GMAT exam, one month ago, I scored a 660 (42 quant, 39 verbal ). At home, on my two GMAT prep practice tests this month, I scored a 640 (38 quant, 40 verbal) and 690 (39 quant, 45 verbal). Def no low hanging fruit- taking it again would mean investing a lot of sweat, blood and tears into getting the quant score up, as the highest I have ever been able to get it was a 42.

The rest of the application is pretty strong. But even with a strong application, is it even worth applying to school like Harvard and MIT with such a low quant score?