canceled the GMAT score
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itheenigma
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Brian@VeritasPrep
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The official word from the GMAT Information Bulletin (available at www.mba.com) is:
I wouldn't worry at all about it, but for anyone else reading I'd really question the wisdom of canceling a score unless you know for certain that you've blown the test. If a self-cancellation goes on your record the same way that a low score would, and neither is all that likely to be important to schools, why wouldn't you:
1) Want to at least see your scores so that you know how you can improve. If you bombed the quant but actually performed pretty well on the verbal, wouldn't you want to know?
2) Take a shot that the test didn't feel great but actually you did pretty well. Many a 700+ scorer has reported being pretty nervous to actually see her score, but relieved and even surprised when it came up so successfully. The CAT scoring ensures that you'll be challenged throughout the exam, so it should feel like you got beaten up a little bit out there - you're probably not a terrific judge of your score before you see it, so why not take the chance that you did better than you think?
Even if the test goes poorly, you paid $250 and spent 4 hours on an authentic practice test, so unless you completely botched the pacing and have no hope for a useful score report I'd recommend seeing your score just so that you have a good benchmark for future study (even just knowing that you aced the AWA lets you know that you don't have to worry about it). And this is a pure editorial with no evidence that any admissions director thinks this way, but if the decision were up to me I'd prefer - for a business school decision - someone who at least wanted some return on the $250 test fee investment over someone who was willing to throw it all away and cancel the score. At least the first person is seeking some return...it's slight, but I see a little bit more business acumen there.
So I wouldn't say that there's "absolutely no" impact on your application, but it's doubtful that it would. Overwhelmingly, schools will tell you that they primarily (if not solely) consider your highest score, so it's unlikely that they would see your upcoming 690 and add a strong "but..." because of the canceled score. But theoretically an admissions officer could be weighing the relative candidacy of 4-5 similar applicants and need some point as a differentiator and use that.The score cancellation will remain a part of
your permanent record and will be reported
on future score reports.
I wouldn't worry at all about it, but for anyone else reading I'd really question the wisdom of canceling a score unless you know for certain that you've blown the test. If a self-cancellation goes on your record the same way that a low score would, and neither is all that likely to be important to schools, why wouldn't you:
1) Want to at least see your scores so that you know how you can improve. If you bombed the quant but actually performed pretty well on the verbal, wouldn't you want to know?
2) Take a shot that the test didn't feel great but actually you did pretty well. Many a 700+ scorer has reported being pretty nervous to actually see her score, but relieved and even surprised when it came up so successfully. The CAT scoring ensures that you'll be challenged throughout the exam, so it should feel like you got beaten up a little bit out there - you're probably not a terrific judge of your score before you see it, so why not take the chance that you did better than you think?
Even if the test goes poorly, you paid $250 and spent 4 hours on an authentic practice test, so unless you completely botched the pacing and have no hope for a useful score report I'd recommend seeing your score just so that you have a good benchmark for future study (even just knowing that you aced the AWA lets you know that you don't have to worry about it). And this is a pure editorial with no evidence that any admissions director thinks this way, but if the decision were up to me I'd prefer - for a business school decision - someone who at least wanted some return on the $250 test fee investment over someone who was willing to throw it all away and cancel the score. At least the first person is seeking some return...it's slight, but I see a little bit more business acumen there.
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep
Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep
Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
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Color Me One
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To the original poster: It will have no effect, forget about it & move on with your preparation.
Brian's post took me back to my GMAT days, and I really recommend test takers to understand his points. GMAT will test your mental strength as much as it will test your Quant/Verbal skills. Concentrating for 4 hours straight will anyway distort your perception; combine this with the fact that computer adaptive tests are designed to 'adapt' to your performance and you are really left with a small chance of accurately forecasting your score.
I definitely know a lot of people who felt that they had scored 650 & saw 720 on the screen (and also vice-versa). If I was watching your score report, a previous cancelled score is no better/no worse than a previous low score, so why not atleast see how you did? Much better than going into the GMAT center next time thinking, " What if?!"
Brian's post took me back to my GMAT days, and I really recommend test takers to understand his points. GMAT will test your mental strength as much as it will test your Quant/Verbal skills. Concentrating for 4 hours straight will anyway distort your perception; combine this with the fact that computer adaptive tests are designed to 'adapt' to your performance and you are really left with a small chance of accurately forecasting your score.
I definitely know a lot of people who felt that they had scored 650 & saw 720 on the screen (and also vice-versa). If I was watching your score report, a previous cancelled score is no better/no worse than a previous low score, so why not atleast see how you did? Much better than going into the GMAT center next time thinking, " What if?!"
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