730 Q45 V47 IR8 should I retake?

[Caiman11]

I'm worried that INSEAD (my first choice) will be off-put by the relatively low quant percentile (59). They have been on record saying that they strongly prefer applicants that score in the 70th percentile or above on the quant side of the test.

That said, I did get a perfect 8 in IR. Any idea as to whether this can offset a lowish quant score? Also the 730 is 25 points above their average. On the other hand I was a philosophy major and the only two math-heavy classes I took I got a D and a C in respectively, so that doesn't help.

Also I wonder whether INSEAD takes into account the changes in percentiles over the years. I think they first started saying that they wanted applicants to be in the 70th percentile or above back in 2010 or so, when a 45q would have been good for 69th percentile or something. So, do they tighten up their standards on this point every year when the score required to get a 70th percentile increases? Or do they just mean that you need mid 40s at least?

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Hi Caiman11,

First off, a 730 is an outstanding score (it's well above the 90th percentile overall), so you should apply to any Business Schools that interest you. While a Q45 will not impress anyone, it won't necessarily keep you out of contention either. Since you're ultimately asking Admissions questions, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/ask-an-mba-a ... t-f40.html

If you do choose to retake the GMAT, then you could conceivably train to score at a higher level in less than a month.

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

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

I'm worried that INSEAD (my first choice) will be off-put by the relatively low quant percentile (59). They have been on record saying that they strongly prefer applicants that score in the 70th percentile or above on the quant side of the test.

That said, I did get a perfect 8 in IR. Any idea as to whether this can offset a lowish quant score? Also the 730 is 25 points above their average. On the other hand I was a philosophy major and the only two math-heavy classes I took I got a D and a C in respectively, so that doesn't help.

Also I wonder whether INSEAD takes into account the changes in percentiles over the years. I think they first started saying that they wanted applicants to be in the 70th percentile or above back in 2010 or so, when a 45q would have been good for 69th percentile or something. So, do they tighten up their standards on this point every year when the score required to get a 70th percentile increases? Or do they just mean that you need mid 40s at least?

I'll second Rich's recommendation to post this in the consulting section, but what I consistently hear from my friends in admissions consulting is that schools do, in fact, take the percentile changes into account. (Anecdotally, they seem to say that if you're 45+ on the quant, you're fine.) Worth confirming to be safe, but you should be encouraged by this.

[Caiman11]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'll re-post in the admissions forum.

It's crazy how much the percentiles have changed. My paranoid research shows that in 2000, 45 on the quant would have been good for 80th percentile! Earlier THIS YEAR, it would have been 61st percentile. Now it's 59th.

I guess we Americans aren't very good at math compared to much of the rest of the world.