Bombed IR... grounds for a retake?

Question

Hi there -

So... I retook the GMAT earlier this month and choked at the testing center. Consequently, I completely tanked the IR section. While I was able to pull myself together somewhat later the results speak for themselves:

6 AWA (90%)
47 Q (73%)
41 V (93%)
2 IR (not a typo) (as in 17%)

I admit to not having studied much for that particular section, but that is really really bad. Do you think this is grounds for a GMAT retake? For reference it is currently July 31st... I am not sure how re-taking the GMAT might impact the rest of my timeline. Otherwise (prior to seeing this official score report) I was considering just taking my test score as it is, accepting that my score is "in the range" but not a point of distinction, and focusing on other parts of my application.

Advice would be certainly be appreciated.

Thanks

KapTeacherEli · Answer

Hi Determined,

Where are you applying, what are their typical scores, and when are their deadlines?

Also, have you taken any practice tests with IR sections? Clearly, it's not worth retaking unless you know you'll do better the second time around!

Regards,

DeterminedMBA2012 · Answer

I plan to apply to several sweet 16 schools (of the Ross, Johnson, Fuqua, Darden, Haas variety) and possibly one or two top-8 programs if I feel I stand a chance.

All told the GMAT was about a 710, which was about right (my MGMAT CAT's were about 700 and my GMATPREP scores were around 730). The only reason I am feeling panic-y is because I scored a 2 on the Integrated Reasoning, which is listed as the 17 percentile. On the GMAT Prep Integrated Reasoning section I scored 7's which is why this came as a surprise (and was almost certainly due to early morning panic). I'm hoping that, given the fact that I scored a 710 when I took the GMAT 2 years ago with the exact same scaled verbal and quantitative scores, that they won't look down too harshly on my dismal performance on the new IR section.

Do we know which schools will be ignoring the new IR section and which will be considering it? At best, I could probably get another 10 - 20 points on the GMAT. Regardless of the school, a 710 puts me within the middle 80% of any top 20 school. Given the amount of effort that it would take to get there (which might otherwise be applied to my essays), it doesn't seem that the cost-benefit pays off...

... then again if the low IR score will be viewed as a negative.... perhaps it will be worthwhile after all?

KapTeacherEli · Answer

Unfortunately, there is still a lot of guesswork involved here--we still don't know how heavily different schools will way the IR. One thing to consider is this: if you are asked in an interview, "I see that you did very well on the GMAT, but it looks like you had some trouble with the IR section. What do you think happened?" How would you answer the interviewer?

DeterminedMBA2012 · Answer

At best, I could probably offer up an excuse relating to the fact that the testing center was a bit on the crowded side, and that a combination of anxiety and disruptions during the opening minutes of the exam shook me up a bit - which manifested itself here. Fortunately, I was able to refocus and recovered from what got off to a bit of a rocky start.

I had hoped that, given that i have 2 exams with similar results (both 710's, 2 years apart, similar quantitative and verbal splits, 6 on the AWA) that they might not take the 2 on the IR for one of the exams into consideration.

Ultimately, however, it seems as though you are suggesting that I retake the exam in order to cover my bases.

bb · Answer

I think you could have a good explanation in that it is still a very new section and schools have no clue how to use it (they are not the fast paced orgs). So you probably have a good chance of it not dinging your profile but definitely something that will require you to provide an explanation one way or another. It will draw attention - i.e. why did this guy score so much less than most of our other applicants - is that a weakness or a glitch or an indication of something wrong with IR/Applicant/etc. Not necessarily negative but one strategy on the application is to minimize the areas that can flag you. It sounds like it is yet pretty early to say if this will.

DeterminedMBA2012 · Answer

Truth be told, I had scheduled my exam for prior to June 5th, but had to reschedule it due to unforeseen circumstances. I hadn't planned on having to take the section which certainly contributed.

It sounds like you are saying that, should I not choose to retake the exam, I should at the very least use the optional essay to mention it.

KapTeacherEli · Answer

Absolutely. It's perfectly reasonable to explain what you did here, and I think most schools will take it at face value--after all, a 710 isn't easy to come by!

KarishmaB · Answer

Normally, I wouldn't recommend people to retake to reset the IR score, but a 2 is a red flag. A mediocre or high IR score would probably hold no value but a low one could raise eyebrows (it may have no effect finally but the schools have many qualified candidates and a bad score anywhere is a risk). No one can do anything about bad school grades but GMAT scores can be improved. I know you wouldn't like to hear it but if possible, you can consider retaking. You can take it as late as first week of Sept and still apply in the first round (most of the schools would have their first deadlines in Oct). Of course you need to start working on your application simultaneously. No way can you put that on the back burner. 
But again, it is a lot of effort for something that may have no effect on your application so it would be understandable if you decide not to retake.

sameer9797 · Answer

I am on the same boat. I got a 640 in GMAT ( Q:47 ; V: 30 ; AWA : 5.5 ) . Now here is the the part where I goofed up. I got 1 on IR ( thats a 0 Percentile!). I am really not sure how that happened.

Now here is some more information about myself :

1) IT - 4years Exp with an MNC

2) I cant go above 650 in GMAT, that's pretty much what I can get ( Not sounding pessimistic here, Its just that I realize my strengths and my weaknesses too very well ) . So even If I retake , I dont think I can improve the GMAT score ( there are chances that I may get lower as well !!)

3) I think my AWA score is decent and there is no necessity for improving that.

So should i retake the GMAT ONLY for the sake of IR ? I keep reading on the internet that the IR is not important atleast for this years admission. And I read the blog where one of the top B school in US ( I think it was stanford, im not very sure) said that it is not going to weigh the IR section.

Any update from the DeterminedMBA2012 ?

Sachin9 · Answer

determined mba, any update ? did u take the gmat again?

wouldbecrazy · Answer

Ignore the IR in case you are applying in current or next year. IR is still in beta!! GMAC does not have enough data point to establish a proper grading.

IR is still immature and in testing phase and any school giving any importance to current IR score is doing a major mistake. I took GMAT twice. First time I took the IR seriously and wasted a bit of energy. Second time I deliberately took AWA and IR casually, just blindly selected something. OMG, second time I scored better than first time!! So probably, time to finish GMAT is also scored!!

The point is, IR does not matter, GMAT score matters!! You should not waste your energy in IR. Save your energy for what really matters in GMAT. If any school ask me to explain my IR score, I will have an honest answer.

Sachin9 · Answer

hi.. how much did you score in IR in both attempts?

Sachin9 · Answer

True but if you could share that , we could follow the same strategy if all seems well.

cazza53 · Answer

I know this post is a bit old, but I wanted to ask what your decision was in the end. Did you end up retaking to improve your IR score or did you apply without retaking and you were able to get into one of your favoured schools?

I ask because I just had a similar experience. I got 2 in the IR section and 730 in the GMAT. I didn't focus too much on IR during my preparation since I was consistently getting 8 or 9 out of 12 correct in practice tests and I also work day to day on similar stuff. I don't know what happened. I got thrown by a few of the beginning questions and that ruined my concentration for the rest of that section. I just kept thinking "focus as much as you can, but don't stress yourself too much because the Quant and Verbal parts are worth more".

My concern here is that since the IR section has now been out for a few years then it might have more of an impact on applications. Would anyone say it is worth retaking if IR is now a firm factor in the assessment of an application? I am tentative to retake for the following reasons:
1. 730 is a still good score for the Q and R part of the GMAT.
2. I am about to move countries in 6 weeks and don't have the time to continue studying. 
3. Studying with work was incredibly difficult and something I would prefer not to do again. It was quite a drain doing that for the one month.

At the end of the day I can offer up a somewhat OK explanation why I did poorly. If the rest of the application and my explanation are enough to get me to interview round then that might be good enough.

KarishmaB · Answer

I can see that this is not what you want to hear but IR 2 is a red flag. 730 is certainly a good score and something that puts adcom at ease about your ability to handle the rigors of the program. As such, IR 2 is not an indication of anything lacking in your profile but sometimes it comes down to comparison. If I have two applications which look equally good to me but if I can pick only one of them, I will pick the clean one i.e. the one with no red flags. If you have an eye popping profile, there may be no comparison and hence IR 2 may play no role at all (after all, a few people get in Harvard even with a 600!)

So all in all, I would advice you to either objectively self reflect (will involve substantial research) or get a consultant to figure out how good your profile is. Depending on that, take a call on whether a retake is needed.

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Bombed IR... grounds for a retake?

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