Should I Retake GMAT Thread - Retaking GMAT Strategies

Why only IT males? what is with the gender disparity ;O
I am an Indian female, who received a big disparity on my score in spite of a higher GMATPrep & MGMAT CATs. I received Q49, V28 resulting in 640 I hadn't received anything less than a 33-32 in my Verbal on any of my Practice CATs. I should go ahead and retake it right?

studsar87 - The disparity we have been talking about is regarding admissions and not regarding receiving lower GMAT scores. I don't think there is any disparity / favor that the GMAT exam shows towards any group. The software is unbiased. When we talk about the Indian IT Male, we talk about the adcoms which show a slight bias against the Indian IT Male because of the generally high GMAT that this group scores and the high volume of applications received from this group.

Regarding your question on re-taking, I would just say evaluate the score vis-a-vis the average GMAT score of the colleges that you want to apply. Re-taking, seems to be an easy options but trust me it is not. Going through the same material again and with constant fear of scoring lower than what you scored the first time is not a happy situation to be in.
This is just my opinion, you might have a different experience.

I don't think it will bother anyone but I would think if you could actually get a score higher than 640. So, you are not geopardizing yourself. If you are really concerned about it, you can always choose not to send the scores right away (do not fill out the school names before the test) - that will cost you extra $$ to send the reports later but if you are concerned, it will ease your mind.

Hi,

I have taken GMAT on 19th Jan'13 and got 730(Q-50, VA-39). For US B schools I have till Sep'13 I guess for apps and essays. I was wondering if it makes sense to retake GMAT. I couldn't finish verbal section on time and I feel I can improve my score in verbal.
I have talked to few people but I am not sure what should I do. If I don't go for retake, what should I do for profile building? It would be great if experts can share their views on this.

For reference, Link to my GMAT Debrief: https://gmatclub.com/forum/730-q50-v39-it-s-not-over-till-its-over-146065.html

First of congratulations on a great score. Let me tell you that 730 is a great score.
I guess you are an Indian (I am too!) and are probably thinking of the generally high scores that Indians get. I can understand where you are coming from.

I would just say if you have the energy and time and you are 100% sure that you can improve, then just re-take it. A higher score cannot hurt you, but be sure that you will improve.

As far as schools are concerned, I would say that the decision to re-take depends on the kind of schools you are planning to target. Unless you are applying to the top 5 (Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, Booth and LBS) there is not much to worry about at your score (as long as you have a decent profile). I would advise you to work on your profile, any quick fixes that you can work-upon would be great.

Almost all the schools say that they only look at the highest score, however I think they also do look at the latest one. So, I would say unless you are sure that you are not going to go below 710 or 720 then you can think about re-taking.

Another thing to keep in mind is the time factor. I guess you will need to spend 3-4 months to go from 730 to 750+ which means it will already be May/June when you will start shortlisting the schools, this is assuming that you will have time right-away and your job will allow you time to work on all this stuff.

I would advise you you to first shortlist the schools you want to apply to, look at the class profiles (don't look at the numbers only, take a look at a few example bios also) for those schools and then take a call. You can make a pros and cons list for each of the schools and then decide if you need to have some more points on GMAT to improve your pro list or you are fine.

Regarding your question on profile improvement, a few things that come to my mind are:

1. Develop an interesting hobby or skill that might differentiate you. Just top of my mind: you can start learning a new language
2. Join the CSR team of your organization, else join an NGO which might give you some good exposure
3. Get some leadership experience (in case you don't already have it)
4. You can also get some professional certifications (e.g. CFA, FRM, Six Sigma etc.) depending on your interests and your goals

The best way to identify what you need to improve is by first shortlisting the schools that you want to apply to and then look at their essays and application requirements. You will get a good idea of what these schools want and then you can work backwards to find out where you need to work.

You can also post your brief profile on this forum to know about the areas that might need improvement.

Hope this was helpful.

Hi all
I am v keen on applying to INSEAD and was aiming to apply in R1 for Jan14 intake. However, I gave my GMAT today and got a score of 700 (Q50 90%, V 34 69%). Now, I am v confused as to whether i should give a retake of GMAT since my verbal score percentile at 69% is quite low. Even INSEAD recommends that the score should be between 70-75% in both the Q & V sections.

Now, I am confused as to whether my low verbal give me a huge disadvantage Esp in INSEAD. My profile:
Indian
5 yr Work Experience in Sales and Strategy.
Engg from a top 10 college with good grades

I was planning to apply in R1 with Apr 3rd as deadline, now if I given retest I will need to push my app to R2 which i dont want to. INSEAD is the only college i am keen to apply due to its 1 yr program. Look forward to advice..

My two cents:

I understand your problem. In my opinion, you should re-take.
Had it been any other school I would have advised you not to re-take but this is INSEAD and as far as I understand, they give a lot of importance to the verbal score. Your GMAT needs to be better also because you are from the highly competitive "Indian" pool. I believe there is no point in going in with a half baked package.

Thanks "Indian Express" for your quick reply. I also was slightly inclined towards giving and your reply and reading about other retakes has strengthened my resolve to give it.

I have read your retake brief and after reading it, I have another peculiar thing on which I need advice. R1 for INSEAD ends on 3rd April. I am planning to give the retest on around 15th March since I feel I need to focus on Verbal only specifically from a test timing point of view and not start from scratch all over again. Hence, I feel 1 month should be sufficient to prepare for it. However, I am thinking to apply in R1 itself. This is because my office work is such that unless I have exam/app deadline over my head, I will not be able maintain a consistency of focus. Having mentally prepared to apply in R1, now applying in R2 means waiting with all this tension in my head till mid Jun which I am not too keen. Plus if I now delay applying in R1, I will most likely start studying again in Mar and I will lose my momentum that I have built over the last 2 months.

So, that means in the next 45 days, I need to take a retest (by 15th Mar) and complete one application also (by 3rd Apr) ( I am applying only to INSEAD).

My plan for the next 30 days would be work on my application during the 2-3 week days every week ( when i am too tired to study) and work on verbal for GMAT during the rest of the days and weekends. For GMAT, I plan to focus only on completing OG Verbal, GMAT Prep Ques pack, eGMAT course. So, I will get around 20 days of solid study on GMAT and maybe 30 days for application uptp 3rd April.

Do you think, that since there is only 1 application and considering all that I wrote regarding my situation, this is doable and importantly, advisable?

It does sound like a plan provided that you are able to stick to it!
I would just like to add that don't underestimate the application process. It may be only one application but the first one is the most time consuming one.

Hi,

I had taken GMAT in may 2012. but ended up with a disappointing score of 610 (Q49V25).
I plan to take my GMAT again this year in september
Please guide me as to how should I go about this attempt.

Here you go: gmat-study-plan-for-gmat-novices-start-your-gmat-journey-80727.html and you can focus on the verbal: how-to-improve-verbal-from-v30-to-v40-142361.html

Hello,

I am a member since 2007, however did not utilize this forum at my best. Now I think I am sure your help seriously ! I have already taken GMAT 4 times.

1st in 2007 : 560 (Q-48, V-19) (Not valid now!)
2nd in 2010 : 570 (Q-48, V-19)
3rd in Sep’12 : 610 (Q-48, V-25)
4th in 5th Jul’13 : 570 (Q 47, V-21) (I thought of retaking for the last time to increase my score 650+ but miserably failed

Last few month I have been preparing for the last time ( ) thinking that I would surely get 650+. Unfortunately I ended up with the horrible 570 once again. I am now afraid of retaking. I am really blank on my scores. This time I prepared for almost 2.5 months on regular basis and last 2 weeks almost 10 hours a day. My scores in various CATs were as follows.

MGMAT-1 : 520: Q-42, V-20 (1st attempt) 590: Q-45, V-27 (2nd attempt)
MGMAT-2 : 650: Q-41, V-37 (1st attempt) 600: Q-47, V-27 (2nd attempt)
MGMAT-3 : 570: Q-40, V-29 (1st attempt) 660: Q-45, V-35 (2nd attempt)
MGMAT-4 : 610: Q-45, V-30 (1st attempt) 570: Q-42, V-27 (2nd attempt)
MGMAT-5 : 630: Q-39, V-37 (1st attempt) 670: Q-45, V-36 (2nd attempt)
MGMAT-6 : 580: Q-42, V-28 (1st attempt) 670: Q-46, V-35 (2nd attempt)

GMAT Practice Test-1 : 590: Q-48, V-21 (1st attempt) 670: Q-50, V-28 (2nd attempt)
GMAT Practice Test-2 : 610: Q-48, V-25 (1st attempt) 710: Q-50, V-35 (2nd attempt)

I also took Kaplan test but could managed consistently 580-610 in all 4 tests.

Now I am in a serious problem.. and trying to introspect whether I SHOULD retake?? I know my Verbal is very weak, but last few CATs I was getting average 30+, hence I thought its has improve a bit. But after retaking real GMAT finally on 5th July, it seems my status is same. Request Your suggestion on the following :

1) It is advisable to retake GMAT for 5th time?
2) Can I apply with this scores only? I am targeting Indian B schools (ISB, IIMs), Singapore (NUS, INSEAD & Nanyang), Hong Kong (HKUST & CEIBS) and CANADA (Schulich & Rotman). My brief profile given below.
3) If I need to improve my score to 700+, then what I am supposed to do and how?


My brief profile is:

10th : 80%
10+2 : 70%
B.Tech. : 74% (From NITs)
Total Work Exp. : 8+ Years in Manufacturing / automotive industry.
Current Org. : Working as manager with TATA Motors in Strategic & Business Planning.
Field of work : Project management, Planning & Budgeting.
International Exposure: Visited Thailand, Belgium & Netherlands for work purpose ( Total ~ 2 months)

Request your kind help .

Regards,

Prabhat

I can't speak as to whether you will get in with that score - don't know how int'l schools work. With respect to improving your score, it's clear independent studying isn't working on the verbal side. You need a step change on multiple tests in a row to show you have mastered the content. Occasionally getting a 30+ here and there is just luck, and very hard to replicate on test day when you are nervous. It also seems like you are taking far too many practice tests where you should be spending more time on content. Perhaps a private tutor makes sense?

Hi all,

Is there any statistics that if a person has retaken the GMAT exam has increased his score compared to the previous attempts?
If he is able to increase his overall score then what is the mean of the increase?
does anyone knows the statistical figures of retaking GMAT and the revised results?

GMAC has run some numbers on average score improvements, and the data isn't terribly encouraging. About 25% of repeat testers actually see a decline in their score the second time around, and the average overall score improvement is about 33 points... but most of that improvement is enjoyed by test-takers who started below a 600.

GMAC's blog post can be found here: https://officialgmat.mba.com/2012/12/04/ ... t-testing/. There's also a slightly more detailed article available here: https://www.gmac.com/~/media/Files/gmac/ ... at-testing.

But don't let that discourage you. Here, read this if you need some inspiration: 420-570-590-700-harvard-business-school-132221-40.html

Ugh. I retook. I had a 700 44Q, 41V and only jumped to 710 47Q, 40V. I'm not particularly happy with my test performance on the retake (especially for verbal), but I'm applying R1 so I'm just going to suck it up and keep it moving.