730 - Q47, V44

Question

Hey guys, this is my very first post, but I hope to get some feedback from you.
Here's the thing: I scored 730 on GMAT (96th percentile), but it's not as good as it might seem, because I got V44 (97th percentile), BUT I got Q47 (only 78th percentile). This quantitative percentile is what worries me. What do you think, how negatively is it going to affect my application to some top European b-schools?

As regards my preparation, I used GMAT official review book. I found only last questions in that book in every section tough, but in my mind it's good to get to know the test. After going through that book, I turned to Kaplan Premier Program. That one's, of course, tougher. I've done their 4 CATs that can be found on the CD with the book, and scored: 590, 610, 610, 620.

saruba · Answer

Well congratulations first, it's a great balanced score. 
Although what you say it's true, with that verbal score if you'd scored 49/50 in Quant that would have been a +750 for sure. 
Are you considering retake?

Good luck with your applications

ibdi · Answer

Thanks. I have no idea whether to retake the exam. I mean, I don't have ambitions that go to HBS, Booth, Kellogg, and so on. I'm from Europe, and I thought of applying to Said, LSE, or HEC. So, I'm kind of hoping that I don't need a perfect score for those schools. Nevertheless, that quantitative percentile is really bad :S

maliyeci · Answer

Don' t look at percentiles. It is a very very good score and 47q is not a bad quant score. All of the scholls that you wrote have mean gmat scores at least 25-30 points below the score you got. You can not answer their questions about retake, when you retake. And you do not have a guarantee that you will score higher than this 730.

Aztec · Answer

ibdi,

Great score.

Your point about GMAT scores for European schools is interesting. I'm thinking about applying to Said, Judge or INSEAD. The applicants on gmatclub I've seen have quite variable gmat scores. Anywhere from 550 and up! Seems to be more about a well rounded applicant from what I can see. From a European perspective this makes sense as an MBA is something a lot people do after several years of experience - applicants are bit older etc.

I'm interested to hear peoples opinion on this however.

Aztec

shadow · Answer

That's a great score, regardless of where you're applying. Good luck and (if I were you) don't retake!

boeinz · Answer

I think your score is v. good. u should be able to get into schools of your choice.

ibdi · Answer

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I won't even have time to prepare or take the exam till December, so I will think about it, but most likely, I will not retake, and try to strengthen other parts of the application.

pentex · Answer

This is such a coincidence. I took the GMAT a week ago and I have the exact same score (i.e. 730 Q47 V44). I am disappointed with my Quant score as well. I am intending to apply to the Masters in Finance program with LBS. Do you think I should re-take the GMAT? I am concerned because I think schools would value quantitative skills more for MiF programs.

sfeiner · Answer

Great score. How did you get the Verbal up so high, is it just through kaplan am I missing something?

bb · Answer

Welcome to GMAT Club!
Great score and fantastic Verbal score!

ibdi · Answer

Thanks, guys. Regarding verbal score, I think Kaplan had much tougher questions than the ones on the real exam. I remember doing those Kaplan CATs and freaking out when I was reading those long Reading Comprehension texts. And not to mention how complicated they were. But I think more than that, it was really useful for me as a non-native speaker to have read a lot of books in English as I'm already studying in English, so I think it paid off.

In any case, as I was also thinking about MSc in Finance program, I think I'll have to retake because they really put more emphasis on your quant score there. I feel that the quant score itself is good, but the stupid percentiles...

In any case, as I was also thinking about MSc in Finance program, I think I'll have to retake because they really put more emphasis on your quant score there. I feel that the quant score itself is good, but the stupid percentiles...

bb · Answer

Wow - 44 for a non-native speaker! I found my new hero!

Surprisingly, math is usually easier for international applicants, hence the inflated percentiles. Take a look here before you decide to re-take: should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html

ibdi · Answer

Thanks, bb! A great thread

Do you guys know whether it's possible to take the exam, but not to include any schools for the score report prior to taking the exam. And later, in case one gets a nice score, to include schools separately on your mba . com profile. I realize that might be an expensive strategy, since adding schools later might cost $20 per school if I'm not mistaken, but that way, one can at least avoid sending a potentially low score.

ibdi · Answer

And I just thought of posting some info about GMAT quant score 'requirements' at some European schools:
LBS - it says that they would "not be comfortable if candidates scored less than 30 in the verbal section or less than 40 in the quantitative section of the test, unless there were genuine extenuating circumstances and strong compensating evidence elsewhere (eg an outstanding academic record)"
HEC - I think they just mention 650 as a minimum, but again, in case of outstanding candidates, they may make an exception
LSE - for MSc in Finance and Economics, quant score above 85. percentile is required
LSE - for MSc in Finance there is no mention of any recommendations or requirements

bb · Answer

You can definitely do that, and some follow this strategy, but you may want to check with the school first to see if they care. Most/all MBA programs do not (not sure about PhD). The cost is $28 per score report. For MBA programs, this strategy is not recommended as it wastes money, but people still do it. Also, as an FYI - it takes 27 days vs 20 if you order the reports manually. Just to show off, I put together a thread on this yesterday: gmat-score-guide-to-gmat-scores-score-reports-83890.html

bb · Answer

Thank you. I will bookmark this and add to this thread: international-schools-rankings-class-profiles-and-comparison-83394.html

pentex · Answer

Just to share my GMAT experience on verbal as well since there was a question posed earlier on achieving a high verbal scores. I have used only Kaplan and OG.

I found Kaplan's RC really difficult and was pretty discouraged after doing them. Because I was doing so badly on Kaplan RC, I tried Kaplan's suggested approach of jotting down main points of each para to get a good overall view but I found that that took too much time and generally didn't give substantially higher payoffs. I found note-taking useful only for those scientific passages with lots of unfamiliar terms. The RC on the real test were much shorter and easier to understand. Didn't have to take down any notes at all.

I think working hard for SC gives the highest "ROI" as there are rules (e.g. idioms) one can learn.

On CR, I wasn't initially good with the "bold-faced" sort of questions, but practising and re-doing those questions in the OG will help you to understand what the question is really asking.

I wasn't expecting a high score for verbal at all, so it might very well be a fluke! Though the day before the test, I also managed to obtain a pretty good verbal score for a GMATPrep tests. But I reckon that it was because I had done the GMATPrep test before.

Well, I wished I had learnt of this forum earlier! Would have picked up valuable tips to help my quant scores.

srivas · Answer

Great score.. congrats mate

Tinity417 · Answer

Great score - congrats!

Just for reference - my friend got in MS Finance in LSE with score of 630 and bachelor of honours degree. So, I believe you have all the chances!!!

Good luck with ur application!

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