Is my GMAT Score Good enough? [Merged]

Question

Hi there. I gave my first attempt at GMAT last Tuesday and got 700. Quant, I got 50 but I screwed Verbal and got a meager 34.

I want to know if this low score in verbal will have any negative outcome on the application. I will be applying to colleges such as Stanford, Booth and LSB (average score being very high in these colleges). Should I take the test again to improve my verbal score, because I think I can do it better.

Please let me know your view on this.

bsd_lover · Answer

krishan - for starters it is LBS (assuming you're talking about London Business School)

Usually schools look at the splits, but as long as you are above the 80%ile in both Q and V, you should be fine. Also, at LBS, the average GMAT was 695 (appx) last year. This score is lower than what you attained. The highest amongst the 3 schools you mentioned is 730 at Stanford. If you really want Stanford then perhaps you should consider retaking, but otherwise, for Booth and LBS your score should be fine. Best.

krishan · Answer

Yeh.. that is LBS :-D

.. thanks for your input..

spgny · Answer

If you think you can improve, and you have the time and motivation, I would try again.......

ashishkumarb · Answer

I have scored 650. My GPA is 3.44/4.0. I have 10+ years of work experience and most of it is in USA/Europe in software industry and currently working as a Technical Manager. 
Can somebody suggest me viable options. I am not sure whether this score is good or bad as I was shooting for 700, but unfortunately ended up with 650.

Thanks

jbanzato · Answer

I was going to post the same thing. Glad I discover your post sooner.

I got the same score last friday (700, 50Q, 34V, AWA 4.5) and I have the same doubt. Should I take the GMAT again?

I Know that some schools do look at the split. For a foreigner engineer (my case), I think I would have trouble in MIT for example (I read it in "How to get into the top MBA programms). One of my favourites is Berkeley, which tends to look for the quant.

I also heard that low verbal score can be offset by a high TOEFL score (I do not know if you are from a non native english country). Is this TOEFL thing true?

I am afraid of doing the GMAT again because on my CATs (mostly Kaplan´s), my verbal scores were almost random: 35, 28, 44, 36, 27... and I am not sure if I can guarantee a 40, for example.

Do you know more schools that look after balance between verbal and quant scores?

bb · Answer

I think you are fine. You are probably on the weaker side of things. The schools you are targeting are not score whores, but with a 680-720 average, you will stand out. If you can get it up to 680, then I think you will be just fine and GMAT will be out of question.

mousymouse · Answer

its not the gmat scores alone that matter but ur whole application and its impact hence why a lot of people are using expert consultants.

from ur list Stanford is the gmat centric one with around 730ish. But there are other schools like LBS, INSEAD, IMD etc that you could also target.

rwgl80 · Answer

Hi everyone, I wrote my GMAT in late 2005 (fairly rushed) and scored 710 (V: 40/91%) (Q: 48/86%) (AWA 4.0). I feel that if I spent 2-3 months now focusing on it, I could increase my score (and definitely my AWA). I am thinking about applying to HBS, Stanford, Wharton. Should I rewrite my score?

Many thanks in advance and much appreciated!

Many thanks in advance and much appreciated!

bb · Answer

I have merged the topics. You can visit this tread: 2009-profiles-w-admit-dings-results-no-discussion-62945.html and see how you fit in - that's the main purpose of that thread to give you an idea how you rank/compare. I think you are fine without wasting 3 months of your life to get 730. The issue is that you will have to restart, but at the same time, you still probably remember quite a bit. If you feel you can get 770 then yes, but only if you have time. I would rather spend time on securing good recommendations and polishing essays (not yet released but probably similar to last years), but that's me.

patrykgb · Answer

I did the GMAT in Feb... scored 720... took about 5-6 (hard 12 hours+) days to prepare... I have been reading experiances of other students. they often talk of weeks or months of preparation (but often do not sepcify the hours taken). if this is true and there is a correlation between prep time and the score (to a point at least) then i feel i should redo the test.

I have some time now (between jobs) to burn... about a month or so... so i am thinking of redoing the test. should i? is this worth my time? I plan to do a PhD (but may have a way in without a too high GMAT)

all your advice will be much appreciated.

bb · Answer

720 is a very good score. Unless you are applying to a PhD program that is very competitive and requires a high GMAT score to clear, I would not bother. That's of course unless you love being locked with books and taking 4 hour tests on weekends.

At the same time, if you think that you may have a chance at a better program with a higher GMAT Score, then by all means, put another month into it and see if you can get higher. When I took my GMAT - i felt I could do better if i studied a few topics that evidently were lacking when i took the GMAT, but I did not as there was not enough time and it was crunch time for applications.

bhagirathgaonkar · Answer

I got a 750 in GMAT May '09....
Qaunt 48( 84%ile) Verbal 44(97%ile)
98 %ile overall....

Average Academics.... pretty good extra curriculars...... good community sevice too
I will have 3 years work exp by fall 2010.... 
Applied to Stanford, MIT Sloan, HBS, Yale and Columbia....

What are my chances for fall 2010???

bb · Answer

Great score and stats. I think pretty good though keep in mind the top 10 schools are not as score hungry as others. Besides this thread 2009-profiles-w-admit-dings-results-no-discussion-62945.html, I would also recommend that you take a look at this one for your options - this is the Zero Admit Club - a fun group of people

https://gmatclub.com/blog/2009/05/reject ... admission/ OR 2008-zero-admits-where-are-they-now-77761.html#p590247

Catbert · Answer

710 40Q 47V AW 5.0

I've noticed that most everyone seems to have better Q scores that V scores. Is my 58th percentile Q score going to be an issue? I am looking at the UW Foster full time program.

3.78 out of 4.0 from top 30 university...

bb · Answer

This is a pretty common concern for high Verbal scorers. V47 is very impressive! Should not be a major issue unless you are planning to major in finance, but post the question in the profile review forum. See what you get.

gandacel · Answer

Hi,
I need advice about how to proceed further with my grad school application. I'm an international 24-year-old female. I just got my GMAT and i have 680 (a bit disappointing, because i expected 700)
I'm aiming at HBS and MIT Sloan for an MBA in 2010. I would like to know if i have chances to be accepted with this gmat score or i should retake the exam. My profile is the following:
Undergraduate GPA: 3.96
double major- Business Administration and Economics from the American University in Bulgaria. 
I studied one semester at the University of Maine, GPA there 4.00
By the time I start my master i will have 2 years of work experience in one of the multinational audit companies.
I think i have good extra curricular activities - internship at a bank, Phi Beta Delta, student clubs and some volunteer work.
Does this profile give me a chance at HBS or MIT? 
Thank you in advance for your advice.

bb · Answer

It is hard to tell. Your undergrad will not be "valued" very high. As a rule the schools you picked don't care about GMAT.
See this post: 2009-profiles-w-admit-dings-results-no-discussion-62945.html

the picture you are painting is OK, but not great - you will need to improve your pitch or save $$$ for a consultant to help improve it.

kchatterjee · Answer

I scored a 690 (88 percentile) 48 Q and 35 V, 6.0 AWA. Looking for a good marketing school. 
Kellogg, Haas, Fisher. Smeal is my safety.
Also considering: Leeds (U Colorado, Boulder), INSEAD, Hult, MIT 9 month supply chain. 
3 years work ex in Consumer Product/ Food-Beverage-Biotech industry (tech manager). 6 yrs of research experience. BS and MS. Lots of extracurricular experience including volunteer work, honor societies, team leading etc.

What are my chances? Any other schools I should look at?

Thanks.

oompm · Answer

I got the same doubt. I got 700 (Q50,V34) twice! This score seems to be popular here.
At first, I was happy with this score 
but later I found out that my score was actually below the mean of all my dream schools. 
Therefore, I decided to retake the test, although my friends told me that I was crazy.
Then I got 700 again! T_T I thought it was such a waste of effort, money, time and my precious annual leaves. 
However, I eventually retook the test again! and surprisingly got 760 (Q51,V41)

My reasons for the third attempt
- I always got more than 720 when I took practice tests at home
- My 2.5y of WE was clearly not my selling point, so I figured I had better get one
- My genius friend told me that this score can actually help us Asian
- Seriously, I like GMAT. I prefer GMAT to CPA exam. (I took these tests in parallel)

But my third attempt would be my last attempt even I had got 700 again. That's enough.
Anyway, lots of people here could get in with 600+, so if other parts of your applications are strong enough then you don't need GMAT to be your selling point.

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