Strike 1=Strike 2=640

[2011mbaspirant]

I took the GMAT for the second time and ended up scoring the exact same score of 640. However my split score for Q went down by 1 point and for verbal it went up by 4 points and still an unchanged score of 640.
Can someone resolve the above mystery please?
I have pretty much run out of steam and have no more patience for a third one.
I am not planning on applying to any of the top 15 schools and with five years of full time work experience I think I should work on other aspects of my app..
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[beatthegmatinsept]

I am not sure if I can really help you with the score breakdown, but with 5 years of FT work experience and a GMAT score of 640, you can still get into a good school.
Incase you are open to Part time MBA, a 640 score would be good to apply to the Top 15 as well then!

[mj78ind]

@2011mbaspirant

Sorry to hear about your scores. I think the algo weighs you against people who took the test that day or that month or something like that..........so essentially what happens is say someone with 650 scored Q/V break down of 47/30 on June 30th 2010, now if you took it again on Aug 12th 2010 and the people taking the exam at that time get a 45 in Quant that is equivalent to a 47 of June then the percentile ranking does not change. That might explain the scaled score shift but not the percentile shift. Another possible explanation could be that the combination of 47/30 = 44/34 to give a 650. If this has not fully confused you it could also be a mix of the above two reasons as well.

Businessweek would be a great place to start with ........ this has profiles of schools and the average GMAT score requirements, which will help you gauge what are the GMAT requirements in programs after top 15. But I think as a general observation you would be correct other pieces of the app matter too, and worst case you could take GMAT after the results of schools you applied to are announced, this just puts you one year back but then you will be a reapplicant to many a school which will be positive next year when hopefully you will also have a better GMAT score and more work experience!

Cheers