tomstackley wrote:
Let me start off with some context to my question. I graduated from a top 5 US public university (bottom of the Top 30 overall US schools) three years ago. Unfortunately I graduated with only a 3.24 overall GPA with a double major in Economics and Political Science. For my MBA I'm planning on targeting schools in the top 15 (Stern, Ross, Johnson, Darden, Haas). The last one is probably a stretch. As the subject of my post suggests, my questions is should I consider retaking the GMAT?
I took the test yesterday and scored a satisfactory 720 (Q49, V40). However, I had a terrible nights sleep prior to the test and believe I didn't perform near my peak. I also started the quant section ~2 minutes late, which threw off my timing a bit. However, I believe I got slightly lucky with the quant subject matter. As for the verbal, none of it came easily. I was in a complete daze. In particular, my timing was terrible and I had no clarity in my thought. I believe the latter was due to my poor nights sleep.
Is it worth studying for another month and potentially bumping up my score ~20 points? My motivation for considering this is that my GPA is probably a bit on the low side for my target schools. The reason I'm torn is that my score is within the +-30 point error from my practice tests. Accordingly, it's not like this score is entirely unrepresentative of my ability. Yet I think I can do better given a good nights sleep.
I don't plan on applying for to schools for another year so I have time. I also believe I have decent work experience in a desirable industry (biotech) and have a relatively compelling reason for pursuing my MBA.
Should I consider retaking the GMAT? Or does the 720 already do enough to counteract my low GPA? One of the reasons for my thinking is the recent PLoS ONE article about grade inflation. I think everybody has known about the low-challenge high-GPA phenomenon for years, but this brings the subject to the fore.
For reference, I've reproduced below the results of my practice tests over the past few months.
Kaplan CAT1: 610
Kaplan CAT2: 640
Kaplan CAT3: 630
Kaplan CAT4: 670
Kaplan CAT5: 640
Kaplan CAT6: 660
Kaplan CAT1: 720 (Repeat)
Kaplan CAT7: 730
Kaplan CAT8: 720
GMAT Prep1: 740 (Q48, V44) (took on 07/07/13)
GMAT Prep2: 740 (Q48, V42) (took on 07/20/13)
Thanks in advance to everyone for any advice!
My advice would be to forget about GMAT now. Your actual score is not that far from your GMAT Prep score. There can easily be a 20-30 point difference if you take GMAT on consecutive days. With a score above 700, you have proved that you can handle the curriculum. Now only if you work hard toward 780 will it make some difference. A 720 or a 740 are quite equivalent. If you have time, its great. You can invest it in preparing yourself for the hectic days ahead - take some business/economics/finance courses in your local college depending on what interests you. Take active interest in activities at work and outside work. Try to take more responsibility and work on your leadership skills.
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05 Aug 2013, 17:56
