Advice Please - Another "Should I retake?" thread

Question

Hello,

So, like the thread title says, I was hoping that you guys could help me decide on whether I should retake the GMAT.

I scored a 680 (Q48, V34, AW 4.0, and IR 7).

I realize my AW blows but figured I made the "cutoff" so to speak where the score wouldn't necessarily hurt me.

I honestly believe that I am capable of 700+ but am not sure if retaking is worth the time and risk.

I'd like to go to Columbia, NYU, MIT, Darden, or Cornell and I know my score is ~35 points BELOW their avg GMAT scores (only 25 for Darden and 20 for Cornell).

I'm currently a 25 year old civil engineer working in NYC and my GPA was only a 3.1

I wouldn't plan on applying to B school for ~2 years after getting my PE license.

I know all those schools are top tier, but was wondering if a retake was a must since I saw that the middle 80% range of GMAT scores usually is 680 and up, and middle 80% GPA are typically 3.1 and up.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

-Mike

I wouldn't plan on applying to B school for ~2 years after getting my PE license. I know all those schools are top tier, but was wondering if a retake was a must since I saw that the middle 80% range of GMAT scores usually is 680 and up, and middle 80% GPA are typically 3.1 and up. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. -Mike

tiklis · Answer

Looking at the kind of top tier schools that you are targeting, I really feel you should take another chance at GMAT. The good thing is that you can clearly not go any lower than your current score. Hence, I believe that you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain if you attempt GMAT the second time.

Moreover, going by your confidence that you are actually capable of scoring 700+, there is really no reason for you to settle for a lower score, especially without trying. I also believe that the reason why you should appear for the second time is because there is still time, before most of the colleges that you have mentioned, open up their application cycle.

I also have question for the experts. My understanding is that in view of this new option on GMAT wherein we would get to know our score, based on which we can take the decision whether to accept or reject that score, the incentive to re-take GMAT has actually "increased". The reason being that in the second attempt if the score of a candidate is "lesser" than the score of the candidate in the first attempt, then the candidate will simply cancel that score. Is my understanding correct?

mhostage89 · Answer

I appreciate the response. I'm going to set up a study schedule for the next two months and sign up once I feel that I'm ready. I couldn't agree more with your point that there's no reason for me to settle for a lower score without trying. If I want it enough to get into these school, I will do what it takes.
Thanks again for the reply.

TheEconomistGMATTutor · Answer

Hi Mike,

Concerning whether to take another exam. It is a tough call, but a few things to take into account:

Schools do not normally care if a student takes the exam multiple times. That's ok. Can one apply with less than a 700 or a bit less than the school may ask for? Of course! The application to an MBA or other program will depend on several factors, including the GMAT. Now if a student gets a 350 on the GMAT and needs roughly a 700 then of course a retake is in order but if schools are asking for a 700 and someone gets a 690, I would still say go for it, not because a 690 is not excellent but because if one can get a 690 then when can certainly even jump to a higher level. In fact from one exam to the next scores can vary wildly sometimes. A score can dip from one exam to another even with the same amount of knowledge or the same percentage of correct/incorrect. The GMAT scoring algorithm takes many factors into account including where you make errors (eg making mistakes on 'graded' versus experimental questions, or the 'weight' of the question itself etc), how many mistakes you commit in a row, whether you finish both sections or leave questions out, whether the last few questions of either section seemed like they were guessed at (ie did you spend only a few seconds on the last few questions as opposed to the full time you should have), how you felt on test day - these can all affect score.

From one test to the next you can easily jump +/- 30 points (and even up to 80 or so) depending on where the mistakes are. So you can get the same percentage of right and wrong on two exams with the same amount of knowledge and yet have a score that differs by quite a bit. This is the same as the real GMAT. To illustrate, I can make a mistake every other question in the Quant over 5 exams (ie in every exam my percentage is 50% but have a score range from, say, a 15 to a 35, for example, which is quite insane, but it shows too that where you make mistakes can often be more important than how many. Overall, when a student wants to know where he/she stands, the best way to do so is to take the average after a few exams. This should get you to a fairly close estimation of where you are at. You can also check out our blog for more info on GMAT scoring: https://gmat.economist.com/blog/test-taking-skills...

I do wish to add the following. While I like to encourage students to retake exams if they have the energy and time to do so, in certain circumstances in may not be necessary especially in the context of other application criteria. So altogether a retake is good for students who are both far and close to their GMAT range but this will take dedication and further practice. If you have it in you to do so then go for it! If you have other aspects you need to take care of but are already at your range then I do not see it as all important. The other aspects of the application may carry quite a bit more weight. And finally, you can always ask the school itself whether it is worth doing. Sometimes they actually help in that regard.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth

farhanchaudhary · Answer

Hi Mike,

Speaking from personal experience. I scored a 690 last year and thought of applying to one of my target school and see how it went. I went to the interview stage and was dinged. I was racking my brains why I was dinged since the interview was quite decent. Though maybe I didn't answer few of the questions well. After the dust settled and I asked for the feedback from school. the first question I was asked was What happened with my verbal score(I have a score of 34). It was clear to me that my score was in their 80 percentile but didn't give me an edge over others. If you want GMAT to be a tick criteria then don't re-take but looking at your post you sound really confident of improving it. Also when it comes to academics a lower GPA is usually offset by a higher GMAT score and vice versa. According to my various sessions with school alums and adcom members, GMAT and GPA signifies if you can take the rigor of the course. I see in your post that you have already decided to retake. So will just wish you all the best for the next attempt.

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