710;700;710. Fourth time?

Hi All,

I don't know what to say besides the fact that I'm crestfallen, and was hoping for some advice here. Just as some background I have been studying for the GMAT since August 2015. I know studying over this long of a time period isn't the best, but I work in consulting and have developed a pretty good reputation as a "go-to" for my superiors; consequently, I work ~80-90 hours a week so my studying was confined to the weekends only. In September I took the GMAT for the first time and scored a 710 (Q 44; V42; IR 8; Essay 6). I was't entirely happy after receiving this score so I scheduled a retake and communicated to my superiors that I needed a little more free time to study, which they tried to oblige with. I made it my effort to study EVERY DAY no matter how late I was at work and took off four days from work preceding the date of the exam to prepare. The result of this second GMAT was 700 (Quant 47; Verbal 40; IR 8; Essay 6). My dream has been to go to Wharton or Columbia so I wanted to get my GMAT score higher. Consequently, I took more time off and took the GMAT for a third time today and scored a 710 again (Q 48, V 40; IR:8, Essay ??). I usually score 41/42 on verbal during my practice tests so these past two scores are on the lower end for me. To make matters worse, on my last three practice tests (MCAT, GMAT Prep, and GMAT Prep) I scored a 740, 710 and 740. This process has been so frustrating for me, I honestly do not feel that I did any better/worse on any of the tests and I feel like my score just seems to come from some black box.

I'm from the Philly area and it's my dream to go back for school, and I've been to Wharton sponsored networking events specific to my field and really liked everyone I met. I've also been to Columbia for similar events and enjoyed the people there, albeit I am not as close to the community yet. Although these two school have occupied most of my thoughts while studying, I looked forward to being done and exploring a majority of the top institutions to find somewhere I fit best based on feel and how their program fits into my plan, not necessarily the ranking. As corny as it sounds, a major driver of my happiness these past two years has been the dream that I will get into one of the top B schools, and the GMAT seems to be what is really going to ding me.

What do you all think, is it worth going at it a fourth time? I've studied for a little over a year and took every precaution I could to make sure this one went right, including taking the time off to get myself in the right mindset, which I do not think I can afford to do again. Additionally, my prep software expires tomorrow so it would be just books going forward if I choose to do this again. How much does having my best score on two separate tests affect my chances vs if they were on one? If I achieved a Q48, V42 on one test, I would have 730/740 which would put me where I need to be. Would taking it a fourth time look bad, especially if I end up with another 710?

In summary, do you think it's worth taking a fourth time. I've gotten a 740 twice before on tests where I simulated the testing environment so I feel like I am capable of getting there, but on the same page it's not like I was doing consistent 740s (going 740, 710, 740 in the past two weeks). I don't feel like I under-performed at all on today's test, as the practice test where I got a 710, I guess it's just a nature of which questions I get randomly given to me. How much would taking it a fourth time help/hurt me if I got a 720 on one (let's say I do Q47, V 41)? Both of these scores would be lower than ones I have gotten in the past on individual tests, but overall it's a higher single score. Thanks, and apologies for the plethora of questions. Unfortunately, the GMAT has really consumed all of my free time and I am starting to think it might be time to move on, but want to know how big of an effect one more test could have.