GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Posts: 5916
Given Kudos: 7
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
WE:Business Development (Consumer Products)
[#permalink]
18 Aug 2006, 16:11
Great practice score!
From 650 to 700 in 6 weeks? Possible? yes. Easy no.
I was scoring 630-640 when I first started, took me about 3 months to push to over 700 consistently. Once I hit 720 consistently I knew I was ready. I expected to do a bit worse on the real thing, but actually beat my practice scores. A friend of mine who pushed 640 early on, studied three months, ended up with a 680. Another friend I know got a 620 first time, studied one month, got a 720. It's been done, but it wont come easy.
A 750 is also possible with 3 months, but I think much much harder to get. That is, the jump from 650 to 700 is an easier jump than 700 to 750. Not only because, of course, the questions you have to get right to get a 750 are going to be harder, but also because there is far less room for even small human error. A handful of careless mistakes here or there, and the 750 is gone. It's the 99th percentile for a reason...
That being said, there is no reason you can't take the GMAT in six weeks, see how your scores pan out, and then decide whether to hit submit on your application or not. (im not saying dont hit submit on the GMAT, always say yes when it asks if you want your score, i mean on teh grad school applications themselves). Most are due mid October, so you can always choose to wait till second round.
I'd also say that the difference between, say, a 720 and a 750 isn't really going to make or break your application. I honestly dont think it makes sense to retake exams that are over 700 - no school is going to reject a candidate based on a 710 GMAT score. Particularly with a 3.7 to boot. If they reject, they'll reject based on weak essays or poor recommendations or interview or something else.
Also... It's not entirely true R2 options are bad. Not all schools work on this concept of "there are less slots". Some schools accept an equal number each round, knowing roughly the yield. Other schools do tell you that R2 / R3 rounds are less likely... it really depends on the school.
You should also know that some schools (Chicago GSB for example) allow you to self-report the GMAT score, and then, upon acceptance, you have to provide documentation, so that cuts off some of the "mailing time".