Retake? Not sure if I beat the GMAT - 700 (Q44/V41)

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Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
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Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 9:06 am
GMAT Score:700
Just took my test yesterday and was kinda dissapointed with my 700. I didn't think I was doing too well or too bad during.
Here are my practice test scores in the order I took them:

Kaplan Diag test - 560 (Q34/V35)
Kaplan CAT 1 - 650 (Q37/V49)
Kaplan CAT 2 - 590 (Q37/V30)
Kaplan CAT 3 - 580 (Q37/V29)
Kaplan CAT 4 - 660 (Q44/V36)
Kaplan CAT 5 - 690 (Q48/v37)
GMATPrep CAT 1 - 670
Kaplan CAT 6 - 730 (Q43/v55)
GMATPrep CAT 2 - 700 (Q47/V38)
Kaplan Ultimate Practice test - ??? didnt report scores. Test sucked, waste of time...
GMATPrep CAT 1 retake - 730 (Q47/V42)

Actual GMAT - 700 (Q44/V41)

I was hoping for at least a 720...

The thing is I'll be applying to the M7 schools, but I have a 2.7 GPA. My major was bioengineering at UCSD, which is one of the top 3 BE programs in the nation. I also minored in cognitive science and worked 20 hours a week all through out undergrad doing brain imaging research. I even coauthored 4 papers that were published in medical journals. I helped build the lab I worked at from a small group of maybe 6, up to about 25 by the time I left. The doctors I worked with are world renowned in psychiatry (featured in Time, hundreds of pubs, etc)

I ended up chaning my career path and am currently in IT. I work more in marketing now, as a product manager for a software company. I work at the top level of the company though, working directly with our CEO (HBS grad) and VP (Haas grad), who will both write me phenomenal recommendations.

As for extracurriculars, I am professional dancer. I have been teaching dance for about 3 years now, and am the top instructor at our dance academy in San Diego. I perform at various venues and also codirect one of our dance companies.

I'm 27 today w/ 4 years of work experience, looking to enroll probably in 2012, when I'm 30 (applying at 29)

My GPA seems to be the only weak point. I will do the due diligence to put together phenomenal apps, but I feel like my GMAT should be in the 750 range to be considered for HBS/Haas/Stern/Stanford/Sloan

Should I retake the GMAT?

Thanks!
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by ogbeni » Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:12 am
3dmiller,

Are you kidding me? You owned the GMAT - you should be proud of yourself.

Question: Are you female?

If so, then you seriously don't need to worry about your undergrad because men outnumber women in MBA programs and you have a good explanation for having a 2.7 GPA.

You've also demonstrated an upward trajectory in your career path and have professionals who will vouch for your maturity and leadership potential.

If I were you, I'd stop beating myself up about the GMAT and focus on your application to b-school.

Good luck at one of the top programs!!

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 5
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GMAT Score:700

by 3dmiller » Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:08 pm
I'm male :)

A few other points I forgot to mention. The GMATPrep CATs were a good representation. Explanations to the questions can be found pretty easily via google. After taking those and doing the problems from the OG book I can definitely say that there were no surprises.

What got me through the quant was know what types of questions I have difficulties with and only spending a little over a minute on them before making an educated guess. It is VERY important to know your weaknesses.

As for Kaplan, I had an overall good experience. More than anything it kinda forced me to get myself in the GMAT mindset.

Good luck to all! Feel free to pm me if you have any questions!

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GMAT Score:750

by modesto2 » Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:41 am
Congrats on a 700! That's an awesome score. While I'm certainly not a MBA admissions counselor, I would probably try the test again. If you scored a 700, I'm sure you could increase that score with another attempt. A 700 score is still slightly below the average score for all those top schools so another attempt wouldn't hurt. Good luck!

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by El Cucu » Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:43 am
3dmiller wrote:I'm male :)

A few other points I forgot to mention. The GMATPrep CATs were a good representation. Explanations to the questions can be found pretty easily via google. After taking those and doing the problems from the OG book I can definitely say that there were no surprises.

What got me through the quant was know what types of questions I have difficulties with and only spending a little over a minute on them before making an educated guess. It is VERY important to know your weaknesses.

As for Kaplan, I had an overall good experience. More than anything it kinda forced me to get myself in the GMAT mindset.

Good luck to all! Feel free to pm me if you have any questions!
Hi 3dmiller, congrats for your score! Can you explain why you got 47 in the Cat and 44 in the real thing? You said there were no surprises, did you fell short of time or have very tricky problems?
tks in advance

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
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GMAT Score:700

by 3dmiller » Fri Jun 26, 2009 8:59 pm
Just a bad day I guess... Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, I just happened to miss a few more than I normally do.

Got my score report; 5.5 on the AWA, which makes me happy. Regardless, I have decided to retake the GMAT in August. My quant score is in the 70 percentile, that's just unnacceptable. I normally score above that and my background is very "quant" so I'm hoping I see improvement.

Good luck to the rest of you! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the test.