energies wrote:
Is it worth retaking, for scholarship purposes? I'm looking at the top programs - HBS, Columbia, Wharton, Stanford, etc. and I want to know if an extra few points will really be that important.
Taken the GMAT Three times now. On the first time scored a 690. The second time I scored a 730, and at that point was reaching out for Scholarships, and trying anything to strengthen my application, which I was concerned that altogether may not come across as all that strong for the schools I hope to apply to. The third time I scored a 750. Looking back, I wish I had cancelled my first two scores, but at the time couldn’t have known I would end up performing better. Looking at this post from GMATclub, my improvement was only a little better than normal for those who take the exam a second and third time. I am at the point where I am tired of taking the exam and don’t plan to take it again, but I do want to take it and know that it would be possible to score better a second time. I have 72 hours to cancel the score this time, and if I plan to retake again want to make sure to cancel. Here is my breakdown:
40V 45Q 690
41V 48Q 730
41V 50Q 750
Is there any reason to take the GMAT again? I am only considering taking it again, because I’m just competitive, and know that a score increase can’t hurt me if I cancel this exam. I also don’t see myself retaking the exam and then performing worse, especially as I was feeling sick this third time around. Anyone know resources that point to if it is beneficial to perform better for the sake of scholarships? It will be winter break for me during school, so if I decide to make the time to prepare and take again I can. I have been reaching for a 780, should I just call it quits on that goal?
Whether you take the exam again or not,
let the 750 remain on your record. Yes, a 780 should help when it comes to scholarships, but as
bb pointed out, there are a lot of other things that need your attention, and they might contribute more to the admissions decision than a 30 point increase in your GMAT score. As for "my improvement was only a little better than normal for those who take the exam a second and third time", keep in mind that you are currently in a
very small group of people (750=98%) and that by definition, it cannot be "normal" for people to improve that much.
Also, you sound like you're suffering from burnout. If I were you, I'd wait a bit (to recover) and then I'd take the exam again, without putting everything into that fourth attempt (I'd focus more on the other aspects of my application).
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12 Dec 2017, 06:04
