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Can't break into the elite. Frustrated beyond belief.

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by sunman » Mon Dec 05, 2011 2:08 pm
Just scored a 710 (92nd percentile) on the retake, which usually wouldn't be a bad score, but the fact that I paid $250 for a 10 point/2 percentile increase makes me want to bash my head in with a rock. Flushing $250 in cash down the toilet would have been less painful. Guess it's time for Round 3 in February.

I've scored 740-770 on practices before, including 770 on GMATPrep1 and 750 on GMATPrep2.

Why I can't replicate the result on Game Day is beyond me. I seriously want to pull my hair out.

P.S. Is it acceptable to adcoms to take the GMAT 3 times in 3 months? I'm seriously about to sign up for another go in January, 31 days from today.

GRR!!!!!!
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by ldiffen » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:06 pm
once you reach a certain point ie 700 i heard it is extremely difficult to get a much higher score. the exam is designed to be that way. i suggest that you do not retake unless you are very sure that you can get a 770 or something close. it would look bad if you take the exam three times in three months and your scores look the same. ur also wasting your money.
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by Dan@VinciaPrep » Tue Dec 06, 2011 6:15 am
I agree with ldiffen. I don't think taking the exam another time is worth the time and the effort. Your time would be better spent writing great essays, which usually takes just as much effort as studying for the GMAT (if not more). I know it's hard to let go when you know that you can do better on the test, but you have to move on. A 710 is a strong score and won't hurt your chances of getting into a good school, but taking the test 3 times and scoring about the same all three times might.
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by sunman » Tue Dec 06, 2011 8:36 am
Why would that hurt you? That makes no sense.
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by Dan@VinciaPrep » Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:32 am
Because taking the GMAT several times at that level tells a story. It is true that schools look at your top score, but they might also question why a student who already did well would spend his time taking the GMAT again when he could be doing more constructive things. I talked to an admissions councilor who said that the school takes the highest score into account for the rankings, but she also looked unfavorably upon those people who took the test several times without making much progress.
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by chieftang » Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:52 am
I agree with Daniel. Although the score is a very solid score, a repetitive history of essentially the same score ad nauseam starts to point to lack of achievement.
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by AbhiJ » Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:01 am
Since you already have a different profile - millitary, 710 may be good enough for your target schools. If you fail to get in this year you can then decide to retake GMAT or improve other aspects next year.

As your Q is 47, the only way for you to get to Q50 is practising and reviewing several hundreds of problems. At higher levels quant becomes more an issue of speed than concepts itself and only way to improve speed is through practise. You may spend 1000$ dollars on GMAT Prep but its all about practise.
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by mundasingh123 » Wed Dec 07, 2011 5:34 am
sunman wrote:Why would that hurt you? That makes no sense.
Whats the score range for the elite club according to you
I Seek Explanations Not Answers
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by sunman » Tue May 08, 2012 9:42 pm
mundasingh123 wrote:
sunman wrote:Why would that hurt you? That makes no sense.
Whats the score range for the elite club according to you
I have a 2.9 GPA, so I have to make up ground for it.
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by AbhiJ » Tue May 08, 2012 10:43 pm
ldiffen wrote: once you reach a certain point ie 700 i heard it is extremely difficult to get a much higher score.
So is anything worthwhile - building a business empire, out performing your peers,climbing the corporate ladder. What score do you think Bill Gates/Steve Jobs would have got on the GMAT - i bet you it would have been in the top 1%.
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by sunman » Tue May 08, 2012 10:57 pm
AbhiJ wrote:
ldiffen wrote: once you reach a certain point ie 700 i heard it is extremely difficult to get a much higher score.
So is anything worthwhile - building a business empire, out performing your peers,climbing the corporate ladder. What score do you think Bill Gates/Steve Jobs would have got on the GMAT - i bet you it would have been in the top 1%.
I just need to get my foot in the door...after that, I control my own destiny.
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