I scored a 630 (39Q, 38V). (39th percentile - Quant, 85th percentile - Verbal) Obviously I have a huge split between quant and verbal. How bad is this? The school I'm looking at has an average GMAT of 610 and views applications as a whole but says if you score under the 30th percentile on any section you probably won't be admitted. I don't know if I should retake it or not? I took 6 practice exams and my average quant score was a 38. I will be applying for an MS accounting program (no top 30 schools). My GPA is slightly above the schools average, and I've had one internship. Is my quant score going to ruin my application?
Although test score is an important indicator of your academic prowess, B-schools look at other evidences too. They also consider GPA, rigor of the undergrad program, prestige/ competitiveness of your undergrad/ grad institution, and exposure to Quant/ Verbal in professional life as an indicator of your academic prowess. To quote one such opinion, this is what Dee Leopold, former MBA Admissions Director at HBS, said:
Let's come to your case. Thirty-nine percentile, no doubt, is less, and a higher Quant score will always be better. But, can you avoid re-taking the test? I think, yes.Those [test score] are the numbers, but the reasoning behind how we look at the scores is probably important for you to understand. We care less about the overall score than we do about the components. And we look at the subscores in the context of the candidate's profile.
For example, an engineer with top grades who's been doing highly quantitative work doesn't need a high GMAT/GRE-Q to convince us he/she is capable of doing the quantitative work at HBS. But an English major whose transcript shows no quantitative coursework and has not done anything quantitative professionally or in post-college academics would be helped by a strong GMAT/GRE quant score. The corollary is true too: candidates who don't have a background that demonstrates extensive practice in reading and writing may be helped by strong verbal subscores.
If you can show other evidences of proficiency in Quant, then you'll be fine with your Quant score, considering that your target school's threshold is 30 percentile and that you're fine on overall score and GPA. And, needless to say, you should shine in the rest of your application to give the adcom more reasons to be fine with your Quant score.
So, if you've performed well in calculus, economics, and stats in your undergrad program, or if you had some exposure to some analysis in your professional work, then mention them in the optional essay. These will go a long way in allaying the concerns on your Quant score.
You may read more on this here:
Why Quant Is More Important than Verbal in GMAT, and How to Compensate for a Low Score?
