Just got a 690 on the GMAT, retake?

Question

I know that 690 is not a score that should cause embarrassment. I know that it's actually pretty damn good score. However, I just missed my goal of 700 by a hair. I'm very disappointed with that. I feel like I can definitely improve on my Quant. I completely ran out of time I ended up guessing something like the last 10. I ended up with a 44 or 69th percentile. That's the worst score I've gotten in like 5 tests. I got 41 on Verbal or 92nd percentile. That's actually really good for me. I usually get much lower on verbal. I felt like it was relatively easy though. I don't know if I can duplicate this score. Does a 690 look THAT much worse than a 700? Should I consider retaking it? If so, when? I'm really sick of the GMAT right now and want a break.

GmatNY86 · Answer

BTW, how about this stupidity? I only selected one school to send the score to. I thought that another screen would pop up for my other choices but it turned out that it I had to have the 5 on that screen. Talk about dropping the ball huh? I'm guessing there's no way that I can get the other 4 for free, huh?

mohater · Answer

Remember: The GMAT score is simply the "get on or off the table" with adcomms. You either get in the look at again pile or the scrap pile. It can be part of the final differentiating factor, but up front, it's simply the trash or look at pile. 690 is fine for most tier one schools. If you read the admin/ding threads, you will see people with 780s who got rejected from more places he/she was accepted. Focus on your application and your essays. If you feel that strongly about breaking the 700 mark, go for it. I personally would stick with the 690 and focus to get all my apps in for R2. You should be able to cash in on the included five (5) schools still: https://www.mba.com/mba/TheGMAT/GMATScor ... chools.htm Contact the GMAC if for some reason you can not submit the four remaining score releases. If you recently took the exam (within the last week or two) you should be able to get your five score submissions.

GmatNY86 · Answer

Thanks for your help on both counts, friend. I don't think I feel that strongly about a 700 if it doesn't give that much of an advantage over a 690. Although, I do wonder how my relatively low Quant score (44) will be looked if I go for an MBA in finance. Regarding contacting the GMAC, it's not that I couldn't, it's just that I misunderstood how to. Worth a shot. BTW, I'm having trouble with my 5th choice. From the other forums I got that NYU, Columbia, and University of Chicago have good finance programs, those (as well as Indiana- have family there and know someone that went there) are my top 4 choices. What other schools are good for finance (or accounting)?

mohater · Answer

Finance schools are the BIG names (and what most people gun for).

HBS, Wharton, Booth, NYU, UCLA, etc.

Some of the big Accounting Schools:
Illinois, Indiana, Brigham Young, Texas, Rochester, Iowa, or Notre Dame, etc.

GmatNY86 · Answer

Thanks. I want to go for something a little lower. I think that Columbia and Chicago are my reach picks. How about Duke? That's a bit lower tier. Ross is Marketing, right? I think that HBS and Wharton are out of my league (then again so are Booth and Columbia probably, I don't think they're far behind those schools if at all).

mohater · Answer

Ross isn't a big marketing school. Ross undergrad is big for finance and consulting. MBA is strategy, consulting and some finance. Start up/venture is growing at Toss as well. This thread will probably give you some more info you're looking for: the-pants-pooping-applicant-thread-for-78477.html#p617871

bb · Answer

Congratulations!!! A coulple of quick questions: 1. what was your final Kaplan score before the GMAT? 2. what are you impressions of the Kaplan class? (would help a lot if you can post a new thread about your Kaplan experience) Now about your question - don't waste your time. You have a great score that is just slightly below the average for any school in the universe. The only possible reasons to retake would be a scholarship based on GMAT score or if you were applying to a finance-heavy school (Q44). See this thread: should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html Everyone always feels that they could have done better on the GMAT when they walk out.

GmatNY86 · Answer

Thanks for the congrats.

1) My final Kaplan score was a 650. Though I did have a 710. Kaplan's grading system is screwy if the splits here really reflect the actual GMAT score. I had a Q48 and V45 and only got a 710 on my secodn to last test. I saw someone here who had a Q47 and V44 and got something like 740.

2) I'll share tomorrow when it's not 1AM, lol.

Regarding, finance heavy schools. I was planning on going into finance and try for NYU. Then again I have a friend that got a 710 and had her Quant in the 60s percentile (verbal was 99th percentile though). What bothers me is that I've been getting at least 75th percentile in quant for the last 4 tests. I think I overestimated when I wrote 5. My last 4 quant percentiles were: 88th (49), 75th, 84th (48), and 75th (I don't remember what the scaled score was for 75th percentile probably 46 since I got a 47 for 79th earlier in my studies). I don't think it was a lack of knowledge this time, it was my pacing. While nerves may have not hurt my concentration I think they hurt in that I tried too hard to get questions right or something and ended up with no time left. My verbal was close to that 92nd percentile only twice in all of my tests (both times I got 98th percentile (45), go figure) I got in the 60s otherwise usually. I feel like I got really lucky with easy reading comps giving me a lot of points there and leaving me with a lot of time. So I think that while I may improve my quant I may hurt my verbal. Maybe I'll end up with a lower score.

bb · Answer

Sounds like you are still picking between moving on and retaking.

I'd say the only downside of retaking is spending time on the GMAT. Even if you get 610 on the next attempt, that will not impact your admissions since you have 690 already, so the main drawback is time invested into retake - do you realistically have it?

GmatNY86 · Answer

I have it. However, do I want to go through all of that again? No. At least not right now. I don't think that's a good reason , though. lol

GmatNY86 · Answer

bb, so if I want to go to a finance heavy school are you saying that I should retake it? Or do you mean that that's the only way it would make even the slightest sense (well that and a scholarship)?

bb · Answer

Those would be the only potential factors to get it on your radar, but otherwise, I would not even waste time thinking about it. I also PM'ed this guy: gmat-690-when-should-i-retake-63101.html just in case to see where he was now (that's back from 2008).

GmatNY86 · Answer

One difference is that my quant has been decent to good for last few tests. 75th perentile isn't great, but I think it might've gotten me a 700 this time. I also hit 84th and 88th percentile. I hit 79th a while back. Once again though my verbal hasn't been very good there's no guarantees that even if I get a good quant score that my score would improve.

evensder · Answer

First off, congrats on the great score! I was actually in the same boat, scored a 690 the first time and felt I could have done better. I took a break from studying and realized I wanted to take it again, so I cracked the GMAT books and 7 months later I went in and scored a 710. Not a huge difference, but breaking the 700 barrier I think will make a big difference. If you feel you can do better on Quant, I would recommend taking it again, but set a goal for yourself and set a date now. I found that I was very un-motivated until I actually scheduled the date and paid the $250.

Look at the pros and cons: Pros - Most top schools let you choose your best score to use, so if you do worse, then at least you have a 690 to fall back on. Also, you get a second chance to send all scores to 5 schools (since all scores are reported the second time around), so that'll make up for not sending the 690 out the first time. Lastly, if you do break 700, it will show schools that you are determined to improve and compete to get into a great program. Cons - more GMAT studying

Best of luck whatever you do! I know what you mean by being done with GMAT studying!

GmatNY86 · Answer

Thanks. My only problem is, while optimistically I feel like I can improve the quant, I don't know about the verbal. I did well twice in verbal in practice. Outside of those 2 tests I haven't been doing that great in verbal. It may not matter though, if I get a lower score.

TXGirlWantsAnMBA · Answer

Wow, this post is so timely. Thanks, GmatNY86! :-D

I just recently took the GMAT and I scored a 680 (Q42 V40), so I've been going through the "re-take debate" as well. I took a VeritasPrep class and topped out around 710 on my last couple Veritas Simulator tests. I never got above 44 on either section, so even with a re-take, I'm looking to gain a max of 30 points. I was also aiming for that 700 but can't decide if the whole ordeal is worth another go, especially with Round2 apps looming. I come from what I THINK is a somewhat non-traditional background (??) -- undergrad degree was in Journalism and have worked in Web marketing for the past few years since grad -- so I felt like I needed this score to show I could keep pace in school (esp. quant). I work as a Web analyst now, but that doesn't seem sufficient. I'll be curious to hear if you decide to re-take the test.

plxcrackthegmat · Answer

It's one year later, and a new GMAT taker (me) is in the same situation. I took the GMAT last Thursday and got 690 (V41, Q43). In terms of percentile, it's 92% for verbal and 65% for quant.

So I am wondering what the 690 scorers ended up deciding on doing. I am not sure if I can repeat my verbal score either because it is definitely on the higher end of all my practice test scores. As for quants, I ran out of time at the end so I ended up clicking thru the last 5 questions and accidentally left the last question blank when the time was up.

I plan to apply this year so time is an important factor for me. If I retake the GMAT in a month (1st day I can retake the test is on 10/18), I will have to take time out to study versus spending the time to write the essays. Also, my #1 choice is MIT Sloan, the Round 1 deadline for Sloan is 10/26. If I retake the GMAT, that will leave me little to no time to prepare for my essays. I am looking at other Finance schools as well (HBS, Booth, etc). Does having a low quant score affect my chances with the top-tier Finance schools?

Also, I do need a high GMAT score because I have a lower-than-average GPA. But on the other hand, I already work in the financial industry so my quant skill has been "tested" in a way. I can't decide. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

lbsgmat2012 · Answer

to take the test again awould be penny wise , pound foolish...

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