Confused and mad : Got a 650 - should I retake?

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Hi All,
Well before I left for the test today I was confident that I was going to crack a 700+ score.

During the exam I felt it was headed in the right direction. Math kept getting harder and harder and I felt really good.

When verbal started I was feeling pretty good; and I finished in time.

Then I saw my score and I was like : What??

I got a 650 overall percentile 83
Verbal 28 percentile 51
Quant 49 percentile 90

Now question should I retake or should I just go ahead as I have 8 year work experience, good career progression and good recos.

What do you guys think?

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jayofbay wrote:Hi All,
Well before I left for the test today I was confident that I was going to crack a 700+ score.

During the exam I felt it was headed in the right direction. Math kept getting harder and harder and I felt really good.

When verbal started I was feeling pretty good; and I finished in time.

Then I saw my score and I was like : What??

I got a 650 overall percentile 83
Verbal 28 percentile 51
Quant 49 percentile 90

Now question should I retake or should I just go ahead as I have 8 year work experience, good career progression and good recos.

What do you guys think?
Hi jayofbay:

Sorry to hear your disappointment with your GMAT today.

What kind of verbal scores were you getting on your practice tests, especially GMATPrep? Was this raw score of 28 an anomoly?

If you have been consistently scoring 700 or above on your practice tests, you might want to retake.

That being said, even if you don't retake, a 650 is not a bad score by any means--coupling that with your great work experience, you seem to be a strong candidate in any program that you apply.

Best of luck to you!
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Thanks so much Eric

by jayofbay » Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:42 pm
I think my problem was that I peaked two weeks ago. I was scoring high 600s in the Kaplan. In the GMAT Prep my scores were 690 and 700. My quants were always around 45 to 49. This is really a low verbal score for me.
I think I bought the Manhattan SC two weeks ago as I wanted to kick up my SC a notch and I think this totally messed up my previous strategies. Its a great book but two weeks before the exam was a bad idea.

I had taken GRE 10 years ago and scored a 2160(verbal in 85%).

My problem is I work at a startup and don't have a lot of time. My study schedule really varies depending upon work load. I am a little apprehensive that if I take the test again and get a lower score, that will be worse.
I will take a couple of weeks off from studying and then decide whats best for me.

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Re: Thanks so much Eric

by beatthegmat » Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:46 pm
jayofbay wrote:I think my problem was that I peaked two weeks ago. I was scoring high 600s in the Kaplan. In the GMAT Prep my scores were 690 and 700. My quants were always around 45 to 49. This is really a low verbal score for me.
I think I bought the Manhattan SC two weeks ago as I wanted to kick up my SC a notch and I think this totally messed up my previous strategies. Its a great book but two weeks before the exam was a bad idea.

I had taken GRE 10 years ago and scored a 2160(verbal in 85%).

My problem is I work at a startup and don't have a lot of time. My study schedule really varies depending upon work load. I am a little apprehensive that if I take the test again and get a lower score, that will be worse.
I will take a couple of weeks off from studying and then decide whats best for me.
Please let us know what you decide!
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by aim-wsc » Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:55 pm
since you asked the question:
i read your profile at stacy's forum and thought to reply you
and look at this once again Eric posted before me :evil:
:lol:

nevermind.

I don t see any problem in your GMAT and as a whole package.
wait for stacy's advice though....

For Haas Part time (errmm i dont know much about your profile... your nationality... GPA and other things still......)

i d suggest go ahead with application. No need to take it again.
all the best.
& If you decide to take the test again, come back here we ll study together :lol:

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Heres my education background

by jayofbay » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:07 pm
Bachelor in Electrical Engineering: 2nd in a class of 80. First class with Honors. I am from India so no GPA from where I went to school but I have an 81% raw score.

Masters in Electrical Engineering: GPA 3.8/4.0

One year towards PhD in Computer Science: GPA 3.47/4.0

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look for stacy

by aim-wsc » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:23 pm
thanks for replying
i would wait for Stacy's advice :|