710 in GMAT attempt 1, should I consider a retake?

Question

Profile:
Female IT Graduate 
3 years work-ex in a major Electronics firm 
GMAT 1: 710 (Q50 V37) IR 5/8
Target Colleges:
1. UCLA Anderson
2. Carnegie Mellon Tepper
3. UCB Haas
4. UT Austin McCombs
5. ISB Hyderabad
6. XLRI Jamshedpur (Business Management)

Took my GMAT 2 days back, I am not really happy with the score, as being from the over-represented competitive IT pool, I don't feel this would count as a great score. I believe that putting in another month of effort into english shall take me to V40 , but I am not sure if I should focus on improving the score or work harder on the applications. Considering that I want to get into tech consulting post MBA , are these colleges in my reach :D or would it be better if I give it another shot? Kindly suggest

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi charu1990,

With a 710/Q50, you have an outstanding score and you can apply to any School that you'd like. Since you've named some specific programs, you might want to discuss your overall application plans with an Admissions Expert. They'll be better able to offer pointed advice about how you should proceed. There's a forum full of those Advisors here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

charu1990 · Answer

Dear Rich, Thankyou very much for your feedback and the suggestion

will discuss it with admission consultants :idea:

KarishmaB · Answer

IT pool is highly competitive, female IT - not so much. A score of 710 should not be a problem. That said, the apps are not going to be out for another 2 months. You can use that time to improve your Verbal score. Many IT people score well in Quant, but struggle with Verbal. A strong score in both will give you an edge.

charu1990 · Answer

Dear Karishma,

Thankyou for the valuable feedback. I will definitely work on improving my verbal for the next 1-2 months and take the GMAT once again. 
Also, in the meantime I feel I should start working on my LORs. 
Would you suggest me to join any NGOs for the weekends?
I also had a small query- do colleges change their essays each year? In order to understand my goals well, I plan to start writing essays at the earliest. If the essay topics remain the same, then I can start working on them as well.

OptimusPrep · Answer

Hello,

how much hours did you study to score 710? In case you did not study a lot and think that you can improve easily you should maybe re-take.

Check out this helpful link regarding re-taking: ultimate-gmat-re-taking-guide-by-optimus-prep-guaranteed-results-193972.html

RichEconomistGMAT · Answer

Hi charu1990,

I'd also like to know what your study plan looked like prior to your exam. 710 is an excellent score, so if you achieved that with minimal prep, there's no doubt in my mind that you can get the boost you're looking for in Verbal.

Best,
Rich

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi charu1990,

Most MBA application essay prompts fall into a handful of general categories (typically involving future goals, your plans to be a leader, challenges that you've faced, etc.) although sometimes Schools have additional/optional prompts. You should plan to craft each essay to each of the specific Schools that you apply to and allow for 1-2 months of writing and re-writing so that you can craft the perfect essays. In many cases, working with an Admissions Expert can help to make sure that you're crafting the proper 'messages' and presenting your ideas in the most effective ways possible.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

charu1990 · Answer

So I had studied for about 1.5 months, and my prep included the following resources: 1. Powerscore CR , Manhattan CR, RC, SC 2. OG 13 Complete 3. GMAT Question Pack 1 (404 practice questions) 4. Kaplan 800 (I found most questions pretty difficult.. but this book seems like a great resource for the tough ones) Took GMAT Prep tests on every weekend Scores: Manhattan CAT 1: 670 Manhattan CAT 2: 650 Manhattan CAT 3: 670 I really found Manhattan CATs to be pretty difficult, so switched onto GMAT Prep tests thereafter. GMAT Prep Test 1: 710 GMAT Prep Test 2: 730 GMAT Prep Test 3: 710 GMAT Prep Test 4: 680 (Quant was a decent 50 on each, but Verbal kept varying from 32 to 40) I took the last prep test only 2 days before my GMAT Exam day, and having scored a dismal 680, I was already pretty disappointed. The thought of postponing the test crossed my mind like a thousand times

, but still gave the test thinking of it as yet another Mock Test, that would help me realize my shortcomings, and test my anxiety. As expected, on the exam day , I floundered in the Sentence Correction questions. My prep for SC mostly included OG Questions(unfortunately I got most of them correct, so didn't bother to study much Grammar thereafter). Consequently, I felt a bit distracted on the CR questions too. Since I have sort-of exhausted all the prep books, I was thinking of taking some online courses, that will help me enhance my verbal score.

KarishmaB · Answer

I think it's too late to join an NGO now (from B-school admission perspective). Of course, if you want to join an NGO to support social causes and personal growth, it's never too late. Colleges do change their essays from year to year but the core is the same "career goals", "why MBA", "challenges", "achievements" etc. What you can do is check out some essay topics of last year and start thinking on main ideas. Think back on the last few years and what you expect from the next few years.
Thereafter, once the apps are out, you will need to put in way less effort. At that time, you can think about getting help from school specific consultants to fine tune your essays according to school.

710 in GMAT attempt 1, should I consider a retake?

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