jojoba wrote:
Hi,
I graduated from University 2 years ago and am currently working. I have a bit of free time on my hands and I really want to study and get my GMAT out of the way within the next three months. The issue is that I’m really not planning on starting my GMAT til maybe 2013/2014/ 2015. I know GMAT scores are good for 5 years, but will it reflect badly on my application if I apply so many years later after completing my GMAT? My other concern is the introduction of Integrated Reasoning in June 2012. If I write this year and don’t complete this section, will it reflect badly on my application when other applicants most likely will have completed this section? And my last concern is should I still forward my GMAT scores to Business schools when I go to write my exam, even though I won’t be applying for another 2-4 years? Any thoughts on these issues would be appreciated!
hi jojoba, most would agree that even if you write your GMAT 3 years before you apply, your score will be just as valid and useful as someone who writes the GMAT 5 months before applying. So no, I don't think it will reflect poorly on your part. Your other question has to do with the newly-sectioned Integrated Reasoning that gets introduced in 2012. I wouldn't worry too much about it. All these tests are standardized - meaning that your percentile is weighted toward the highest scoring person, and that your score is better than however many percent indicated on your score sheet. Even with the new GMAT section in 2012, your score is still simply a standardized, weighted percentile. If you score a 700 right now, you will be at 90 percentile (roughly). If you take it in 2013 and score a 700, that 700 will reflect a certain percentile for the students who take it. So in effect, nothing really changes because you're not competing against the dealer, but that you're competing against other applicants. Lastly, you certainly don't have to forward your score to any school yet, but know that each school that you want to send your score to later on will cost you ~$25 per school. I'm not sure how long school holds your score for you when you submit it, but that's something you can find out if you truly want to know. However, it seems to me that you're so early in this process that you can probably just randomly pick 5 schools (unless you know where you might be applying, what your end-goal is) and submit it.