take the test a third time or just apply?

[eugenemarini]

I took the gmat for the second time and got the same score a 550. I have a 3.5 gpa from UCSD and have 3 and a half years experience as a commercial real estate broker. I do not know if i should apply to some tier two school and see what happens or take this month and study hard (which i have been doing but working a full time and part time job) to try and get it right. Will taking the gmat a third time kill my shot with a top tier school? with what i have where can i realistically have a chance of getting into? I take the tests when i practice and there is no consistency, my highest practice exam was a 640 and i score almost a hundred points below that on the real thing. Very frustrating! round three or just apply?

Thanks,

Eugene

[Sophia007]

Top tier with a 550 score? Highly unlikely. I'm not trying to discourage you - I'm just letting you know that you have tough situation here. You'll need score atleast in the 650 score range to apply to second and third tier schools. Do you think you can do that?

I do not know if i should apply to some tier two school and see what happens or take this month and study hard (which i have been doing but working a full time and part time job) to try and get it right.

You do not qualify for tier 2 at this point. You'll simply get rejected.

Will taking the gmat a third time kill my shot with a top tier school?

Not at all. They take the best score that you get regardless of how many times you take the test.

with what i have where can i realistically have a chance of getting into?

With this score? Please see above for me response. I've already answered this question.

Go work out, take break, take the test again. It's better to take it again and apply next year. Specially, as you've kept really high goals and you have this huge gap to fill at this point or you manage to get (realistically speaking) a score above 600+ and get into a third tier school. You've got options - but you will only make matters worse by leaving this marathon in the middle - so hang in there!