You don’t necessarily need to decide on Test Day whether you want to cancel.
This post is an unusual take on landing your best score; here I will update you on the ins and outs of canceling a GMAT score.
Will business schools know if I cancel my GMAT score?
Historically, GMAT takers had to decide on Test Day whether to cancel their score before even seeing it, and the “C” of cancellation appeared in your permanent record submitted to business schools. Fortunately, in 2015 the GMAC changed its score cancellation policy to make the decision to cancel a GMAT score—or to reinstate it—much easier.
On Test Day, you will see your unofficial score as soon as you complete the exam. If you are unhappy with your score and feel that you have the time, motivation, and prep plan to raise your score if you retake the GMAT, you can cancel your score immediately, at no additional charge.* Now, cancelling a GMAT score erases it from your record entirely. It’s as if you never even took it; business schools do not see any indication that you cancelled a score.
If you do not cancel your GMAT score at the test center, but decide within 72 hours of the test start time that you would like to, you can still cancel it, for a small fee.
Also, if you DO cancel (whether at the test center or during the 72 hours after you started the test) and then decide later that you shouldn’t have done so, you have the option of reinstating the cancelled score, for another fee.
What are good reasons for cancelling or reinstating?
Here are some sample scenarios:
- Janice takes the GMAT, sees her score, and feels confident that with the help of a Self-Paced Kaplan prep course she will be able to improve her score enough to be satisfied. She decided to cancel the score immediately, for no additional charge. On her future score reports there is no indication she took the GMAT on this date.
- Robert takes the GMAT, sees his score, and accepts it—although he feels frustrated that it wasn’t higher. The next day he decides he would like to cancel the score. He can do so for a fee, provided he does so within 72 hours of his Test Day appointment time.
- Andrea takes the exam, sees her GMAT score, and cancels it because she is disappointed and feels she can do better. However, she later realizes that she does not have the time to properly prepare to retake the exam and decides to reinstate that cancelled score. She can do so, for a fee, at any time within four years and 11 months of her testing date.
Another bonus of the GMAC policy is that schools will not see any indication that you cancelled or reinstated one or more scores. This takes a lot of stress off the test-taker and allows schools to only see the GMAT scores you want to share.
*If you do not have time, motivation, or a proper prep plan to improve your score, think long and hard about whether you should cancel the score. Remember that Kaplan guarantees a higher GMAT score if you prep with us.
Concerned about underperforming? Sign up for a free GMAT practice test and review to see how you would actually score on Test Day.
The post Land Your GMAT Score—or Cancel It appeared first on Business School Insider.
