I just Beat The GMAT!

I would like apply to the top 5 bschools. I just scored a 720 yesterday on the GMAT but think that I can do better. I ran out of time on the Math section with 8 questions left, and just randomly guessed on those last 8 problems. I have two questions:

1) How many points lower was my score due to me randomly guessing on the last 8 problems?

2) I have a GPA of 3.1 which is well below what the top 5 bschools usually look for. Would a score of around 750+ help to offset my low GPA?

Thanks.

BUMP! any comments would be appreciated. thanks!

First of all, congratulations on the 720 score. It is a very competitive score for any school. Chances are, you probably got quite a few of the last few questions in Quant correct.

I think that even if you did have the time to answer the last few questions right in Quant, your score will be around 730 - 740. I think in your case, an improvement in Verbal score (even by 1 point) will have a bigger impact on the overall score than the Quant score. But the experts would know better..

Good luck!

homeyg wrote:I would like apply to the top 5 bschools. I just scored a 720 yesterday on the GMAT but think that I can do better. I ran out of time on the Math section with 8 questions left, and just randomly guessed on those last 8 problems. I have two questions:

1) How many points lower was my score due to me randomly guessing on the last 8 problems?

2) I have a GPA of 3.1 which is well below what the top 5 bschools usually look for. Would a score of around 750+ help to offset my low GPA?

Thanks.

If it was me, I wouldn't take the GMAT again for a couple reasons.

1) Your scores are fairly balanced. Your Q is roughly 84% and V is 92%.
2) You ran out of time and had to guess means you spent a lot of time on the early questions. You did so in order to get these questions right. If you rushed through the early problems at a faster pace, you may not have got these questions correct.

Your GMAT definitely won't be what holds you back from a top 5 school. The balanced 720 is good enough for any school. Now, you need to look at the rest of your profile (extracurriculars and work experience) and see how you can improve those.

Good luck,
Dave

If your only goal is to get into a top 5, don't repeat it. Above a certain GMAT score other parts of your application begin to matter more. Also, the upside to repeating is marginal -- you may improve to 740 or 750 which won't help you much more for top 5 than a 720 would. In addition, th downside is significant -- you may actually score lower which is bad in and of itself AND it makes you look foolish for retaking when you scored well enough in the first place.

If however, you want to be a GMAT instructor, then do it coz you need 760. Or if you want to get a scholarship from a lower ranked school looking to boost its GMAT averages, then sure go ahead.

But your score is really well balanced as someone else noted. Your GMAT score and breakdown are exactly what top 5's a looking for.