700 (43Q; 41V) - too one-sided?

[Aholden14]

So I just finished my 2nd GMAT after months of significant studying and lots of stress. After reviewing quant over the summer, studying almost every day, I scored a 550 (MGMAT) on my first CAT. I improved to a high of 730 in my last CAT before the first actual test. The night before the test, I found myself in an incredibly anxious state and ended up never falling asleep. With an 8 am test time, I stumbled into the exam and scored 650 38q and 42V. I proceeded to develop a sleeping anxiety and had trouble sleeping over the next 2 weeks. Obviously I rescheduled and resumed studying after I got back on a normal sleep schedule. I took a GMAC-sponsored practice exam and scored 760 (I forget the splits). Feeling confident, I felt ready for the exam on the eve before the exam. Unfortunately I once again slept terribly, sleeping for only 3 hrs. Thankfully, I pulled through it and got 700 (43Q and 41V). I believe I have the potential based on practice exams to score 45Q and 44V, but I also really want to put this behind me.

What are your thoughts on this score's relative imbalance? I have my eye on Wharton, due to their strong finance and real estate orientation and I just don't think that this will cut it. Will this score get a lot of bad looks by admissions officers for how weak the quant is on a relative basis? I feel like the composite number is kind of worthless given the relatively low quant and so I'm looking for some feedback.

Some background on me: graduated from a top 10 undergrad program in 2011 with a 3.4 GPA and am now an acquisitions associate and asset manager for a boutique real estate investment company.

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Hi Aholden14,

First off, a 700 is a fantastic score, no matter how you earned it, so you should be pleased. You can now comfortably apply to any US Business School that you want to apply to.

You ask some great Admissions questions, but the truth is that no one has the exact answer. Wharton sees a new pool of applicants each year and is going to reject 80 - 90% of them, so you have to make sure that your overall application is strong AND you're memorable AND there aren't too many applicants who are more exciting/memorable than you. There are a great number of variables in this process that you have no control over.

Your GMAT score is already the 90th percentile, so there's very little to be gained by retesting. Barring a representative from Wharton telling you directly that you should retest, you're done with the GMAT. As far as the Quant section is concerned, the Top programs would prefer if you scored Q46 or higher, but it's not a requirement. You'd be better served putting your time and effort into bolstering the other areas of your application. You might also consider working with an Admissions Expert when you're assembling your application.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich