Ashmish
Hi,
This is bothering me a lot.
I scored a 700 (Q49 V35 AWA4.5 IR 1)
on my first attempt in June'16
As i wanted to improve my overall score and specially my IR score, i wrote it again after two months of preparation.
This time around i messed up the timing and scored a 680 (Q48 V35 AWA 5 IR 5)
.
I wanted to apply in early action round to Duke-Fuqua.
My other target schools are ISB, Darden and Tepper.
Will a drop in score make my application weak (for the aforementioned schools) or they will only take the highest score and appreciate the improvement in AWA and IR section?
Do i need to address this in my optional essays?
Thank you!!
Hi
You should still be ok applying to ISB, but the other schools do become a bit iffy. Given the fact that your GMAT attempts weren't very far apart, the other schools would be open to considering your highest score, but given that they are top schools, would suggest you retake and try to move beyond 720 to be more competitive. This is just a broad assessment, as we dont really know your profile parameters apart from your scores.
We dont think you need to address this in your optional essays, should you decide to apply with these scores. They will accommodate the higher score on their own, but they wont mix and match sectional scores from across attempts.