Kellogg Specific - Which GMAT score?

Question

So I have these 3 GMAT scores (in order)

710 Q42 V46 IR 6 - was scoring 750's, below expected, retake
740 Q47 V45 IR 2 - bloody nose on IR lead to me running out of time
730 Q48 V42 IR 7 - Computer crashed during Verbal, had to wait in lobby for over an hour, life telling me to move on from GMAT

Any tips on how I should submit one  or two  of these? I imagine schools see the date they were taken so I'm afraid to do the 740 and then 730 and they see I actually went down 10 points (though higher in Q by 1) a month later. Even if it's a negligible amount it's like $0.99 versus $1.00

In general I've gotten more "submit 740" because of overall especially given my low GPA but a few people have suggested the 730 because of the quant score (again I have a non quant background) and it being the better balanced score. I'm asking here specifically because I'm not sure if anyone has an idea that maybe Kellogg is focusing more on GMAT bottom line recently with the massive bump in average score this year or if that's an anomaly?

Any input greatly appreciated thanks.

lnskoog · Answer

I would use your third score. 730 is really good and your quant score is highest there. Good luck!

akshaygup · Answer

What is the percentile breakup?

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redfield · Answer

I can't recall precisely on the Quant/overall unfortunately but I THINK it's around:

710 (92 ish %) Q42 (percentile in 50's I believe) V46 (99%)
740 (96%) Q47 (66%) V45 (99%)
730(96%) Q48 (68%-72%) V42 (96%)

I'm not sure how the 740 and 730 are same percentile but I don't think I got 97% percentile and I know the 730 was 96th so somehow they must've both been 96%.

The Quant percentiles aren't correct according to the current posted percentiles but I don't think the Q48 was 72% I think it was still in the 60's only a few higher than the Q47.

None of these scores have been reported yet which is why I'm having to go off of memory on the percentiles and also part of why this is even a question as to which score to submit.

2 Notes:
 - All my quant grades in undergrad were for the most part B's with 1 A and 1 C (if I reapply next year I'll be retaking that class). Lends itself to the 730 quant
 - My undergrad GPA was 3.13 and thus the 740 I would think helps to mitigate that a little more

Effi · Answer

Go for 730 - you have higher quant score there and overall looks more balanced.

akshaygup · Answer

All the scores are really close. I am no expert but I've heard that some top colleges want a minimum 70% in quant. 99% in verbal is great but 96% is enough to demonstrate your verbal prowess.Overall the break up of 730 is better. Even though schools are not looking at IR at the moment, 2(IR) is below average and could work against you.

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redfield · Answer

Ya the 740 looks better for rankings but only a little and my thinking is that unfortunately the 730 has no questions behind it. The Quant is right at the threshold, the verbal is still solid, the IR is good. Whereas if I roll with the 740 I have to possibly worry more about how they view the quant and then also explain that I got a bloody nose during the IR but have scored well on it previously.

So that was kind of the question for Kellogg specifically I suppose was is that 10 point bump to a 740 worth having to explain the IR of is the 730 balanced enough to be worth taking the 10pt hit overall. Which would Kellogg prefer for someone with my lower GPA but also non-quant background and it seems the 1 point in quant and good IR are enough to potentially outweigh the 10 points in overall in y'alls opinion.

xultima · Answer

Why don't you ask the adcom which set they'd value more?

My guess is if you're allowed to send in multiple scores you SHOULD(2nd and 3rd) and then explain that you felt ill while taking the IR.

The unlisted option is to take the exam AGAIN and hope you get lucky. Not sure if you'd score much higher but there's a chance you could hit 750 and a sane IR.

For what it's worth, when I took the GRE, I did it on a monday. I took half of the preceding Friday off from work and took it easy over the weekend. I did only minimal practice for the exam (because I felt a craving to do practice problems, it'd become a fun obsession) and took 1-2 sleeping pills each night. Got 10 hours of sleep going into Sunday and 5 going into Monday(I was anxious, like the first day of school for a little kid - good thing I slept so much the night before)

As it stands though, you'll definitely be OK with #3 and #2 is medium risk, low return...

fedp · Answer

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but it used to be the case that when you submit the school gets a record of all your scores. Has this changed? If it hasn't, it doesn't matter anyway, and I would throw in the bloody nose about the 2 on IR in the second attempt.

Edit: And if it has changed so they only get the one you select, I would strongly recommend the 730 with higher quant score, the percentiles have gotten so skewed over the last few years that even a Q49 was only 79% for me, and every point will give you large gains in percentile, which many schools do look at.

redfield · Answer

I'm pretty certain that as long as you canceled your scores (which I did) you can reactivate whichever you choose. Though you don't get to see the score/breakdowns until after you reactivate it and need to know which date it was but I took note before cancelling each score. So for me I just reactivate the one score and that should be all they see.

Ya I think xultima said it best in the 740 is a medium risk low return. The IR and Q47 pose a bigger chance as raising a flag than the return on those 10 extra points from the 730 to 740 get so the risk likely outweighs the reward for going with the 740 and like you said with the quant skew as it is and importance of quant to business schools perhaps the Q48 is the real boost compared to the 10 points in overall. Hopefully for me schools actually consider IR this year though I doubt it, can still dream though

redfield · Answer

I know xultima suggested it but for everyone else that suggested just the one score, what about sending the 740 and 730? My concern being that incremental drop in the score having some kind of regression vibe to it though the IR and Quant went up.

lamderson · Answer

While I do also hold the concern that your overall falls between the 2nd and 3rd tries, maybe sending all three wouldn't be a bad option?

The way I see it:
- 710 to 730/740 jump is larger than 740 to 730, so this gives the impression your true scoring ability is between 730-740
- Similarly for IR you have a 2, 6, and 7, making your true IR scoring ability seem between 6-7 (more so than 2 at least)
- There is at least evidence of progression from 710

redfield · Answer

I would just have the fear that sending all 3 makes it look like I just couldn't move on from the process, I mean 710 to 740 is good but then I took it yet again and it went back to 730. That 3 GMAT scores within 30points of each other. Meanwhile if I just send 2 it looks like I had an issue and decided to retake to clarify that's not typically a problem (i.e IR or lower quant).

lamderson · Answer

Do you think if on your second try you had scored your 730 instead, would you still be compelled to take the test a third time? To me it's obvious that the 740 score wasn't satisfactory for you, hence the third try.

If the answer is you'd be fine with your 730 I'd use that. Asking myself the same question I'd use 730 as well.

redfield · Answer

Well obviously the 730 is the better overall score with the IR and Quant. Had I gotten the 730 the second time no I probably would've been done, my range in mocks was 710-750 so that is right in there. But that said, the importance of having a higher composite to offer the school in exchange for my bottom 10% GPA is incredibly important which is why there is this decision.

From a candidate perspective, 730 is just barely above this last years median meanwhile 3.1 GPA is well below. So yes, 730 checks off the IR, composite, and quant (more so at least), the 740 might help them blink more at the GPA. Hence the option of potentially sending both scores, one for my profile one for them to actually submit.

bb · Answer

Kellogg Specific - Which GMAT score?

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