I just took my GMAT for the first time today

Question

And I scored a 690. I'm happy but I wanted a 700 so badly. My breakdown was 47Q/38V

I'm considering retaking it, but I'm also terrified of my score going down. Is this likely to happen? I felt like the Quant questions were particularly easy, and I was also strangely enough scoring lower in my practice exams than I did in the real exam. The 690 was the highest score I've gotten so far!

I know if I retake it, I'll have an ample amount of time to improve all of my skills. But what if that day something goes wrong, like the questions are harder than they were today. Especially because my practice scores were even worse, and maybe I just got lucky today. I'm just scared of something going wrong, and if it's even worth it for an extra 10 points.

Thank you for any advice

EDIT: Also, just to show how crazily inconsistent my practice scores were, 5 days ago I got a 660 on the practice. Yesterday morning, I scored a 590 (but I think that was because of some other factors) even though I took it seriously.

broall · Answer

If you want 700 badly, go for it. Scoring a 690 isn't something called lucky, or easier questions than usual, or something else. Just take a credit that you have done the best job :-D

Also, when you saw the score on the screen, you would know what your weaknesses are and have other strategy to fix them. Dont be scared that you could take a lower score on 2nd chance, because this scare will eat you up :-D

It's better to focus on the next strategy and plan a schedule to achieve a 700+ more efficiently.

gillyelephant · Answer

Appreciate your words, I'm gonna go for it!

A question: if I choose to keep this score and I get a 700+ in the future, will this score hurt my application because it's on my record? Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

broall · Answer

Quite confused about your question. In case that you get higher score, this score will boost up your application, because the score changed from 690 to 700+ means that you have tried your best to achieve these scores and get better results. Unfortunately, in case you get lower score, this lower score will somewhat hurt your application. However, if you retake the test and get a lower score, I bet that you do want to retake the test again :-D

So, I think you should plan a schedule effectively and focus on it, to gain a higher score :-D

Good luck

mvictor · Answer

Hi mate, there's no problem in retaking the test and scoring low...unless you have sufficient funds to spend on GMAT

You can cancel your score after you take the test. No one will know that you took the test, what the score was, and even when you took it.

broall · Answer

Hey gillyelephant, I think you could find sth useful in this post :-D

Never give up friend

never-say-never-gmat-4th-attempt-730-q50-v38-170499.html

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gillyelephant,

First off, a 690/Q47 is a fantastic score (it's right around the 85th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

There's certainly no harm in retaking the GMAT; Business Schools generally don't care if you retest. In a prior post though, you stated that you would be applying to Business School immediately after completing this attempt at the GMAT. Has your timeline (or plans) changed?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Skywalker18 · Answer

Hi  gillyelephant  ,
In my opinion , you should retake if you can dedicate time and improve on your weak areas . There is no harm in taking another shot at the GMAT .
In case if you score lower , then you always have the option to cancel the score at the end of the exam or can cancel the score within 72 hours by paying an additional fee .

Hope this helps!!

BrazilianPhD · Answer

People have different experiences with practice exams. I always score a lot less in practice exams than in real ones. Maybe it's the same for you.

Getting harder questions is a good sign. It usually means that you're doing pretty well in you exam, since GMAT will show not many harder questions to those who are doing poorly in the test. Do not be afraid of hard questions, they are your friends to achive a higher score.

gillyelephant · Answer

Thanks everyone for the encouraging words. It's official; I'm signed up to take the test on 12/02 :shock:

(a little over 2 weeks from now) I just received my ESR for the test and I was really surprised by my Verbal breakdown. I was in the 99th percentile for SC, the 67th percentile for CR, and the 51st percentile for RC. I didn't prepare for RC at all, besides watching some videos detailing question approaches. The other issue I think I have in that department is that I don't read at all. I skim things, I reddit, and I get bored by long blocks of text. I think I'm going to have to buckle down these next 2 weeks and only limit myself to reading smart, developed, well-written articles, but that is a big turn-off for me. I'd much rather grind some SC and PS problems :-D

Time to go off the grid again and hunker down in my apartment for 2 weeks.

Conquergmat5 · Answer

Hi Gillyelephant, Congratulations for the great score!! I am hoping to get around 680 on the test myself in the next few days!! Your practice scores are similar to mine...so I would appreciate if you give me your take on the difficulty level of the actual exam..would you say the exam difficulty level was similar to the OG and Review Guides' medium and hard questions? I think I have spent a LOT of time on verbal but not much on Quant and now feel like kicking myself for it...Your inputs on the difficulty level will be greatly appreciated. And this may be asking for a lot but if you can let me know roughly how many questions you got incorrect on both sections, it will help me decide how many questions I can guess if I get stuck on the actual exam. And ALL THE BEST for the retake on Dec 2

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