Why You Should Plan to Take the GMAT Twice
Over the past five or so years, I have seen more and more students take the GMAT twice. Now that students can cancel a score and never have it appear on record, Ive come to the recommendation that everyone should plan to take the GMAT twice. Read on to find out why!
Taking the GMAT is seriously stressful
Most people become at least a little nervous when taking any standardized test. A computer adaptive test is even more stressful because, no matter how much you study, the test just keeps getting harder as you learn more.
Ive had many students take the test twice, and every single one has told me that they felt more comfortable the second time. They knew what to expect at the testing center, the security procedures didnt stress them out, and they were even better able to handle the small distractions of the testing roomanother student typing, a proctor entering the room, and so on.
For those who know that they get extra nervous when taking standardized tests, having a dry run first test is a great way to help keep a handle on your nerves when you take the test for real, the second time.
Theres no downside: MBA programs use your highest score
Most people have heard that business schools use your highest score, but manypeople dont trust that the schools really dont care about lower scores on yourrecord. In fact, some schools dont even look at your full set of scores until theyve decided what to do with your application (and this used to be true for all schools). Let me take you through that process. (Note: this applies to MBA programs. If you are going for a Ph.D., theprocess may be different and the doctoral program may care about all of yourscores.)
Lets use an example to illustrate whats going on. Last year, Stanfords GraduateSchool of Business* received approximately 8,000 applications spread over 3 roundsof admission. The school admitted just over 400 people, or about 5% of applicants(yikes!).
Now, picture the offices of the admissions people. They have mounds of informationto get through: essays, recommendations, resumes. They know theyll admit onlyabout 5% of the people whove applied. Do you think theyre going to check theofficial GMAT score reports of all 8,000 people?
No way! Instead, they evaluate the applications assuming that you told them thetruth when you reported a certain GMAT score. Once theyve generally decided whothey want to admit (or put on the wait list), then theyll verify the scores just forthose students.
In the past few years, some schools have built in the ability to link your account to your test results after you enter certain pieces of identifying info into your application. If so, then youll see your verified test date(s) pop up in your official application at this point. (*Note: I dont know how Stanford does things; I chose them for the example above because they have an exceptionally low yield, so they make for an especially good example.)
If they dont have access to your full score set at the beginning, then theyve already decided your fate by the time they look up your scores. If they want you, theyrenot suddenly going to reject you because you had another GMAT score that waslower. After all, you did earn that higher GMAT score on which they based theirdecision! (Assuming you did. This should be obvious but here goes: dont lie aboutyour GMAT score on your application.) And even if they do have access to your full score set at the beginning, theyre used to making this decision based on your highest score. Thats how theyve always done it. If you can get that top score once, then you are capable of getting that score period, and thats what they care about.
Theres no downside, part 2: you can cancel your scores
Any canceled test administrations dont show up on your record at all. The schools literally wont even know that you took the test that day.
So if you go in and really dislike your score, just select the button to cancel at the end. Then you dont need to worry about whether some b-school might penalize you for a lower score even if you later earn a higher score. (Though, again, you really dont need to worry about this!)
Know before you go in what kind of score youd want to keep vs. cancel. In the 4 months since this new cancelation policy started, Ive talked to two students whove canceled when the screen flashed a 690 and they wanted a 700+. Seriously! They were only 10 points off and they canceled their scores!! Dont fall prey to a knee-jerk reaction just because the score you wanted isnt on the screen. (You can reinstate your scores within 2 months of a cancelationif you pay a $100 fee.)
I generally tell my students that if they score more than 100 points below their (reasonable) goal, then they should feel free to click the cancel button if it makes them feel more comfortable.
Note my reasonable caveat. If you want a 730, and your practice tests topped out at 580, and then you score a 620 on the real test, please do not cancel that score. You just had your best test ever and you want to keep that score, just in case.
But the GMAT costs $250 thats a downside!
I agree that $250 is a lot of money. If you think about how much money you spent the last time you went to dinner, then $250 is definitely expensive.
But put this figure into perspective. If youre going for a full-time program at a private school, youre looking at a $200,000 price tag! If you attend a public school via a part-time, evening-and-week-end program, business school is still going to cost you tens of thousands of dollars. The cost of one GMAT, $250, is far less than 1% of the cost of b-school. Dont try to save $250 now when a proper investment might get you into a higher-caliber program down the line.
So build two tests into your study timeline. If you end up loving your first score, then you can take that second $250 and go out for a really, really nice dinner. :)
[Edited] Note: this article was edited after first publication. Initially, I said that many / most schools don't check scores until after making the decision. It then came to my attention that more schools had added the functionality described in the article than I had thought, so I edited the article to say that some schools don't check until after and some schools attach the data to the application from the start.