The risk of getting a lower score than last time

[Orion007]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick question.

I'm scheduled to take the GMAT for a third time. 1st score was 600, 2nd time was a 640. After some time off, I'm taking it a third time just to see if I can up my score.

All indication from studying for the last month is that I may not do any better that the 640 I got last time, I could potentially do even worse. Due to time constrain and my future plans, I can't necessarily delay this test any longer. It's basically take it now or never take it again.

My question is, does it look bad if I get a worse score than the first two time I took the test? Would that be held against me by any admissions office? Am I taking a big risk here?

Thanks.

[MartyMurray]

Hi.

Supposedly the admissions committees mostly just look at the highest score one achieves.

Anyway, what they look at is a moot point for you now as cancelled scores no longer show up on score reports. So you can take the test, and if you are not satisfied with your score, you can cancel it and the score report will look the same as it would have had you not taken the test again.

On another note, I think that if you do some good topic by topic preparation, driven by practice test results, you can get back into game mode and also score higher.

You might get some ideas from the following blog post and Beat the GMAT post.

https://infinitemindprep.com/raising-you ... the-board/

https://www.beatthegmat.com/now-what-ple ... tml#763793

[[email protected]]

Hi Orion007,

The simple answer is that if you don't 'like' your next GMAT score, then you should just cancel it right there. There's a more complicated answer though, and it depends on your prior scores and the Schools that you plan to apply to.

To start:
1) What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on your prior two Official GMATs?
2) When are you taking your next GMAT?
3) What Schools/Programs are you planning to apply to?
4) When are you planning to apply?

For example, if you're applying to a Finance Program that places greater emphasis on the Quant Scaled Score, then a lower overall score with a HIGHER Quant Score could potentially 'look better' than the alternative (a higher overall score with a lower Quant Score).

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

[Orion007]

Interesting,

I must have missed this last time I took the test.

I thought at the end, in order for me to see my score, I had to first indicate that I wanted it to be an official score (without actually knowing how well I did)

But I can actually view the score first and, if I don't like it, I can have it 'not count' so to speak?

Thanks.

Not sure how may have missed this in all my prep.

[Black5tar]

Interesting,

I must have missed this last time I took the test.

I thought at the end, in order for me to see my score, I had to first indicate that I wanted it to be an official score (without actually knowing how well I did)

But I can actually view the score first and, if I don't like it, I can have it 'not count' so to speak?

Thanks.

Not sure how may have missed this in all my prep.

I just took the GMAT a week ago and yes, your score will be revealed before you decide whether or not to cancel the score. I believe this was a change made some time ago. Lessens the "risk" of taking the GMAT again!

[[email protected]]

Hi Orion007,

The cancellation rules were changed last summer, so it's possible that those rules did not exist when you took your prior 2 GMATs. These days, you can see your Unofficial Scores BEFORE you choose to 'accept' them or cancel them. The 'wait time' between Official GMATs has also been reduced to 16 days, so you can retest sooner than you used to be able to.

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