710 94% (48 quant, 39 verbal)

Let me first just say that i am not very happy with my score, and i am contemplating retaking the exam.

My advice i give to everyone is to be cafeful with the timing of your breaks.

My quant score seems low, i got a 50 on every GMATprep i took before the real deal. My quant score is low because i made a pretty big mistake on the first break after the essays.

I had 8 minutes left following the second essay so i decided i would take a break. I figured i had 18 minutes, 8 for the last part of the essay portion and 10 minutes for the break. So i took a 13 or 14 minute break and sat back down to start the math section. I was shocked to find out that the last 5 or 6 minutes of my break ate into my math time instead of the 10 minute break time. So i only had 70 minutes for the quant section. Because of this i was very rushed on the first 20 questions or so and i know that i made a few dumb rushed mistakes.

So my question is if i get a 50 on the quant and keep my 39 on the verbal (39 is on the good side of average for me on verbal) could i expect a 730 total? And do you think that the extra 20 points will make a difference with admissions. I am applying to the real estate development programs at MIT and Columbia.

Typically, I have read in blogs about business school admissions that it is worth re-taking the exam if you are confident you can improve by 30 points. If your verbal is in the high range of your practice scores, it may not be worth the effort to re-take the exam to get those 2 extra points on Q, because there is some risk your verbal could go down a bit.

My advice would be that if you think you can work on verbal and increase your range 3-4 points, it might be worth re-taking the exam. It sounds like you won't need to study Q much to improve your score there, since your setback was because of a timing error. If you think you can study again so 39 is the low end of your verbal, and then also improve on Q, you could be looking at 30-40 points, which would put you at the top end of admitted students at almost any school.

Columbia and MIT are both very competitive - I do not know if there is any difference for the real estate specialization programs you mention. 710 puts you squarely in the middle range of admitted applicants for both schools; 740-750 would put you into the top quarter or so.

Yeah, I agree with you, and it's the big white elephant in the room that everyone tries to ignore when they point out that a score is "within the average range".

Of course each person has different work experience, college scores, recommendations and essays. But for a person that has typical (for an admitted student) work experience, typical grades, and typical essays and recommendations (everyone thinks that they nail the essays and recommendations but the reality is that most are probably average), a middle of the pack GMAT score probably means the chance of admission is right at the school average admit rate.

The admissions rate at Columbia last year was 15%. So, each person knows if they are a fulbright scholar or a senators kid, but if all other things are typical, a 710 GMAT probably means that you have about a 15% chance of being admitted. Being 'in the range' doesn't equal admission, or even a good chance at admission, especially at the most competitive schools.

I think your score is fabulous as schools wont reject you for it, but if you think you can do better, sure go for it. Whats your profile like? Maybe if you have an unique profile, you dont need to take gmat again..
_________________

I believe its yogurt!

Matt,

Why 730? If you're repeating and you are confident - then set a goal of hitting the 99th percentile (750+) because that would make better sense.

The nice thing about your situation is you may have a good shot at it, and assuming your current GMAT is the first one - most schools would anyway take the higher score, so you can't lose much. But a nice score like that would make your application more favorable.

good luck!
_________________

http://onwardtomba.blogspot.com - MBA, GMAT, INSEAD - the journey.
My 7 GMAT Quant Strategies/Trap
My GMAT Debrief

too bad you aren't happy, I will take it if you don't want it

CONGRATS anyways!