3 hypothetical GMAT scores, which would you submit?

Hey man, how did it go on Thursday?

Hey man i got a 710 (Q49/V38) with an 8 in IR. you and me have had near identical gmat journeys!!! I am extremely happy with my quant but not too happy about verbal. I think I can raise my score through a retake, but any subsequent increase would be from verbal as I believe I've maxed out my quant ability... Ill probably just keep my score...

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Congrats man, yeah, I wish I had the 80/80 split that you do. I have been weighing a retake too. Still not sure but leaning towards not doing a retake. I have talked probably 6 similar background MBA students at various top 5 schools and only 1 has suggested a retake....everyone else said 710 was good enough. I think with your GPA you will be good. Good job and congrats...retake or not, atleast you have a solid score locked in!

Thanks man best of luck to you as well!

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Don't the reports show all scores?

Yep

Don't you only submit one score though???

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That depends on how you're submitting your scores. If you send a score report to a school, then they see all your scores. If you're self reporting on an application, schools will often ask for your highest score and any other scores you want to share. In that case, you don't have to put down all your attempts if you don't want to.

Bhavik

Whoa this is new to me... So if I score a high quant (ie 49/38) in one GMAT and a high verbal (46/43) in another, I can send both GMATs to adcoms?

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Well, right, you'd either report both on the form (if they allow it / have space) or you'd just send them the score report while still in the application process. Most apps, however, have a space to informally report more than one test score. It's their way of letting you showcase high subsection scores (even though only the highest overall score counts for almost every program out there).

Hmmm given that I have a couple questions if you don't mind:

1) If a program says only the highest score counts, then that seems in direct contradiction to the value of show casing high section scores on other attempts. How do I reconcile this seeming contradiction?
2) I got a 710 (Q49/V38) so theoretically if I retake and get a 700 (Q46, V42) for example, is there any value In that? Might adcoms see my soso verbal score on my 710 and also consider the V42 on my 700 retake???
3) Derek Bolton at Stanford said sometimes candidates report the lower of two scores if it has the stronger quant score. Why would a candidate do that if they can just report the higher score and "showcase" the higher quant score underneath?

Thanks for answering these questions as always!

Schools can all do what they want and the process isn't necessarily transparent. It's outside of your control.

In general, my instinct is that there's not much difference between 2 different 710s or between a 710 and a 700.

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Hey there,

So, frankly speaking, you're overthinking this a bit

But...

1) The higher score counts for stats and, therefore, your app. However, if you showcase other scores you could demonstrate tenacity (e.g. scores kept getting higher) or a Q or V ability (e.g. higher subsection score) - it's not a contradiction. Merely another data point. Albeit one that means less.

2) If you have a 710, call it a day unless you're thinking you can crack a 740. Any marginal movement between 700 - 720 / 730 won't mean anything.

3) Once again, the ability to do this depends on the school. They might want to showcase a higher quant score if they come from a notoriously un-quant background or did poorly in quant subjects during undergrad. This is a case by case situation and by far not the norm.

REMEMBER - the GMAT is just part of the puzzle. You have a 710 and that's a great score. If there's a specific reason you're analyzing to this level, feel free to ask but, at a high level, you're fine! Focus on the rest of your application from here on out. Start thinking about your recs, essay topics, and pulling together a list of potential stories.

I hope that helps,

Bhavik