GMAT score advice

[adam007]

Dear Lisa,

I'd be grateful for your advice on my GMAT score. I think I need a sense check as I'm thinking too much about it and cannot assess reasonably any more...

Question: Would you recommend retaking GMAT? My best score to date is 700=90 percentile (Q50=95 percentile, V34=69 percentile, AWA 6.0).

Points to consider:
- My target schools are H/S/W/Tuck/Kellogg/Insead/LBS
- I'm not native speaker (I come from Eastern Europe)
- I bombed my 1st GMAT (640) and moved to 700 yesterday
- Reasonably speaking I can score max 720-730 (based on my practice tests)
- I think that my quant score (50) is on a high-end for me (on practice I was scoring 47-48)
- On the other side my verbal (34) is disappointing... while practising I was scoring around 39-40.
- My experience so far is good (blue-chip multinational, good career progress, leadership roles) but not amazing. I'd rate my self "strong" in this area but not "super strong" ;-)
- I don't mind retaking GMAT again

Concerns:
- Will extra 20-30 points make a difference?
- If I take 3rd test and score below 700 how would it look?
- I'm happy with my quant score. Will verbal (34 = 69 percentile) be an issue (taking into consideration I'm non-native)?

Many thanks
adam

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Adam,

You are definitely thinking about this too much. First, congratulations on a great score! I do not think it is necessary for you to retake the GMAT as 20-30 points probably will not make much of a difference for you. Your lower verbal score is indicative of English being your second language. Your AWA is very strong, so I do think that (in addition to the well-written essays you will submit) helps to demonstrate your ability to succeed in the classroom. Taking the GMAT again and scoring lower will not hurt you, but will not help you either. People generally do better on their practice tests, so I am not convinced it would be worth your time to retake the test. However, if you believe you can get your score up at least 30 points, then it might be worth the third attempt.

Best of luck,
Lisa

By the way, 640 is not "bombing" the GMAT--340 is!

[adam007]

Thank you a lot Lisa! Your advice was very helpful.

P.S. 640 is indeed not so bad...