Took my first GMAT today and made 560 which I know is pretty average. I felt released when I saw my score because I was super nervous and expected the worst.
I had been studying for only one month but put A LOT of time in during these last 5 weeks. I studied daily, 7 days a week for several hours each day, using the
OG, and verbal and quantitative review plus a Math book from Manhattan.
I did much better on my verbal section than on my quantitative section although I am a non-native English speaker. They didn't give me a score for the Integrated Reasoning section today and I think I totally failed that. I actually thought IR was the hardest. It seemed like there was just not enough time to answer these 12 questions. I needed more time to think things though which I didn't have and felt very pressured.
So after reading several of your all's GMAT stories I have come to the conclusion that most of you would consider a 560 a terrible score. My score today, however, was much better than the ones I got on the practice tests. (490 and 530)
I do not plan to apply to one of the top ten business schools, in fact I am looking at part time programs only. The university where I got my undergraduate degree at offers a nice MBA program, but is not even listed in the top 100 business schools. The average GMAT score of all MBA students at this university is 550. I am guessing I would get into the program if I applied there.
So I also understand that the GMAT is only one part of the application How important are work experience and undergraduate GPA? I received a perfect 4.0 for my BA and have 10 years of international work experience.
What would you guys do if you were in my shoes? Retake the GMAT? I am really not sure if I want to go through all this stress again and I am wondering how big my chances are to get into a good program with my picture perfect GPA and my professional background, but a relatively low GMAT score?
Any ideas?