gmat beat me; 680 after 6' attemps!!

[ALEXANDRO]

Hello, think after sixth attempt, gmat finally beat me! very frustrating..As my gmat story is very long I would extend on my last 2 attempts.
For the last two attempts it seemed that I was perfectly ready. Year ago, just before my fifth attempt, as I was done with all the tests and I really did them well, I purchased Manhattan gmat tests and scored mainly 700-720, but on test got poor 580! As i am not native English speaker my achiles' heel was verbal, scoring mainly below 30 on real tests. So i started everything from fresh start, did a lot of reading from lsat and gre.
Again, before my last exam I was doing fine at home tests, but on final exam, which I took about a month ago, got 680 (q 42 v 41)awa 3.5..it really feels terrible when you end up so close to goal!
Frankly, I thought that i would go for final shot, but I have found very hard to put my heart in it. I really can't decide what to do next? to retake it, or just start my preparation for Toefel. I think that with my age 31, 6 exams in gmat hystory, and highest score 680(with quant. scale score 42 and awa 3.5) I wont have much chance to get at any university in my wish list, which consists of top universities, such as stern, columbia, and etc! I really need some advice from experts, what would you advice-should i go for final shot or continue with my application?
(planNing to apply for 2013 class)

[Ashim88]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the fact that you took the test six times may show admissions committees that you cannot effectively devise a solid study plan.

Nobody should take the test more than 2 or 3 times (at the most) - and if you're going to take the GMAT more than once, there should be at least an improvement by 30 points each time- at least.

680 is still a great score, and you can still get into a great school- so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Besides, say you did have that Harvard MBA - there are still plenty of other factors to worry about when getting future jobs (personality, drive, motivation, speaking skills, etc.)

an Ivy League degree is by no means the end-all of a successful future.

[wallyw]

Completely agree with Ashim88 and would add that you need to thoroughly think about why you so desperately want to attend these top schools. Do you just want a brand name to add to your resume? That's fine if that's what you truly want, but then think about how you package your story together, including taking the exam 6 times. The way I look at it, taking the exam is the EASY part. It's putting together a compelling and accurate application, along with executing a great interview that is the HARD part. I know plenty of folks who have <700 GMAT scores and have gotten into top tier MBA programs, and even more folks who have <700 GMAT scores who have gotten into awesome second tier MBA programs with great scholarships to boot. Conversely, I know plenty of folks with >700 GMAT scores who have been dinged without even getting an interview because their profiles are just too indistinguishable. With the amount of money you've spent taking the stupid exam you probably could have applied to a dozen schools already!

[Jim@StratusPrep]

Focus on developing a solid application. That should be your main focus right now. Forget about the GMAT, you have a solid score to work with.