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Should I take the GMAT once again?

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Andreas1990
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Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink] New post   27 Jan 2014, 10:36
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Hi everyone,

I took the GMAT one week ago and get a quite embarrassing score, the total score is to my satisfaction(760 Q51 V41), however, I only get 4.5 for my AWA and 5 for the integrated reasoning, I know the AWA and IR scores are not below average, but they are just not good enough.

I am not a native speaker (I am Chinese), and my target schools are only those ranking top 15, do you think I should take the test once again to pursue better AWA and IR scores? Somebody told me it is absolutely unnecessary since admission council would not take the AWA and IR too seriously.

Honestly, I am not very good at the IR part, because there is too much information to digest for a non-native speaker, if I take the test for another time, the outcome is likely to be T750-780 IR 6-7 and AWA 5-5.5. Although I have never got a score lower than 750 in my prep tests, there is still a chance I would go awry in the next test, here is the risk.

Apart from that, is it advisable to get my AWA rescored? I believe my essay deserve a better score. What is the possibility of an decrease in my score?

One additional question, my undergraduate major is law and I am now working at a prominent PRC law firm, and my major practice area is PE investment, merger and acquisition and some security matters. Just wondering does it look odd for a lawyer to apply to MBA programs? I am not very interested in my work and legal practice in China is not like that in the United States.

Thanks, your replies would be very much appreciated.
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Re: Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink] New post   27 Jan 2014, 11:29
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Andreas1990 wrote:
Hi everyone,

I took the GMAT one week ago and get a quite embarrassing score, the total score is to my satisfaction(760 Q51 V41), however, I only get 4.5 for my AWA and 5 for the integrated reasoning, I know the AWA and IR scores are not below average, but they are just not good enough.

I am not a native speaker (I am Chinese), and my target schools are only those ranking top 15, do you think I should take the test once again to pursue better AWA and IR scores? Somebody told me it is absolutely unnecessary since admission council would not take the AWA and IR too seriously.

Honestly, I am not very good at the IR part, because there is too much information to digest for a non-native speaker, if I take the test for another time, the outcome is likely to be T750-780 IR 6-7 and AWA 5-5.5. Although I have never got a score lower than 750 in my prep tests, there is still a chance I would go awry in the next test, here is the risk.

Apart from that, is it advisable to get my AWA rescored? I believe my essay deserve a better score. What is the possibility of an decrease in my score?

One additional question, my undergraduate major is law and I am now working at a prominent PRC law firm, and my major practice area is PE investment, merger and acquisition and some security matters. Just wondering does it look odd for a lawyer to apply to MBA programs? I am not very interested in my work and legal practice in China is not like that in the United States.

Thanks, your replies would be very much appreciated.

Dear Andreas1990,
I'm happy to respond. :-)

My advice: DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT retake the GMAT. It's true: adcom places far more emphasis on the main GMAT score than it places on IR or AWA. Your IR & AWA scores are adequate --- not so low that they raise a red flag. They're fine as is. My suggestion: rather than worry about getting your AWA rescored, write a stellar application essay that is inspiring and grammatically flawless. All adcom wants to know from AWA is: can you write well? If you can demonstrate this in a solid essay, that gives them all they need to know about your writing.

It doesn't look odd for a lawyer to apply for an MBA. Someone with a background in law is going to understand all sorts of nuances to the business world that other people miss. It makes you look like an intelligent and highly educated person who is ambitious to learn & grow in new ways. There's nothing wrong with that!

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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gambelda
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Re: Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink] New post   29 Jan 2014, 13:20
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mikemcgarry wrote:
Andreas1990 wrote:
Hi everyone,

I took the GMAT one week ago and get a quite embarrassing score, the total score is to my satisfaction(760 Q51 V41), however, I only get 4.5 for my AWA and 5 for the integrated reasoning, I know the AWA and IR scores are not below average, but they are just not good enough.

I am not a native speaker (I am Chinese), and my target schools are only those ranking top 15, do you think I should take the test once again to pursue better AWA and IR scores? Somebody told me it is absolutely unnecessary since admission council would not take the AWA and IR too seriously.

Honestly, I am not very good at the IR part, because there is too much information to digest for a non-native speaker, if I take the test for another time, the outcome is likely to be T750-780 IR 6-7 and AWA 5-5.5. Although I have never got a score lower than 750 in my prep tests, there is still a chance I would go awry in the next test, here is the risk.

Apart from that, is it advisable to get my AWA rescored? I believe my essay deserve a better score. What is the possibility of an decrease in my score?

One additional question, my undergraduate major is law and I am now working at a prominent PRC law firm, and my major practice area is PE investment, merger and acquisition and some security matters. Just wondering does it look odd for a lawyer to apply to MBA programs? I am not very interested in my work and legal practice in China is not like that in the United States.

Thanks, your replies would be very much appreciated.

Dear Andreas1990,
I'm happy to respond. :-)

My advice: DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT retake the GMAT. It's true: adcom places far more emphasis on the main GMAT score than it places on IR or AWA. Your IR & AWA scores are adequate --- not so low that they raise a red flag. They're fine as is. My suggestion: rather than worry about getting your AWA rescored, write a stellar application essay that is inspiring and grammatically flawless. All adcom wants to know from AWA is: can you write well? If you can demonstrate this in a solid essay, that gives them all they need to know about your writing.

It doesn't look odd for a lawyer to apply for an MBA. Someone with a background in law is going to understand all sorts of nuances to the business world that other people miss. It makes you look like an intelligent and highly educated person who is ambitious to learn & grow in new ways. There's nothing wrong with that!

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)


You got a 760 and you go to a public forum to tell people how upset you are with it? :roll: :roll: :roll:
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Andreas1990
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Re: Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink] New post   29 Jan 2014, 18:42
gambelda wrote:
mikemcgarry wrote:
Andreas1990 wrote:
Hi everyone,

I took the GMAT one week ago and get a quite embarrassing score, the total score is to my satisfaction(760 Q51 V41), however, I only get 4.5 for my AWA and 5 for the integrated reasoning, I know the AWA and IR scores are not below average, but they are just not good enough.

I am not a native speaker (I am Chinese), and my target schools are only those ranking top 15, do you think I should take the test once again to pursue better AWA and IR scores? Somebody told me it is absolutely unnecessary since admission council would not take the AWA and IR too seriously.

Honestly, I am not very good at the IR part, because there is too much information to digest for a non-native speaker, if I take the test for another time, the outcome is likely to be T750-780 IR 6-7 and AWA 5-5.5. Although I have never got a score lower than 750 in my prep tests, there is still a chance I would go awry in the next test, here is the risk.

Apart from that, is it advisable to get my AWA rescored? I believe my essay deserve a better score. What is the possibility of an decrease in my score?

One additional question, my undergraduate major is law and I am now working at a prominent PRC law firm, and my major practice area is PE investment, merger and acquisition and some security matters. Just wondering does it look odd for a lawyer to apply to MBA programs? I am not very interested in my work and legal practice in China is not like that in the United States.

Thanks, your replies would be very much appreciated.

Dear Andreas1990,
I'm happy to respond. :-)

My advice: DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT retake the GMAT. It's true: adcom places far more emphasis on the main GMAT score than it places on IR or AWA. Your IR & AWA scores are adequate --- not so low that they raise a red flag. They're fine as is. My suggestion: rather than worry about getting your AWA rescored, write a stellar application essay that is inspiring and grammatically flawless. All adcom wants to know from AWA is: can you write well? If you can demonstrate this in a solid essay, that gives them all they need to know about your writing.

It doesn't look odd for a lawyer to apply for an MBA. Someone with a background in law is going to understand all sorts of nuances to the business world that other people miss. It makes you look like an intelligent and highly educated person who is ambitious to learn & grow in new ways. There's nothing wrong with that!

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)


You got a 760 and you go to a public forum to tell people how upset you are with it? :roll: :roll: :roll:


As I said, the main score is fairly satisfactory, I am just wondering whether I should retake GMAT for better AWA and IR scores, as you can see, my scores in these two sections are merely at the average level. No intention to make a show.
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chromium73
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Re: Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink] New post   29 Jan 2014, 22:05
Anything less than an 800 is wildly unacceptable and you will be doomed to an online MBA program
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Re: Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink] New post   30 Jan 2014, 06:34
Okay, guys. With the exception of mikemcgarry's excellent reply, I sense some negative energy going on here. Let's try to actually help Andreas1990 and, if necessary, provide constructive criticism.

First and foremost, Andreas1990, congratulations on your wonderful performance. I think that your overall score is great and there is no compelling reason for a retake. The risks, at least in my opinion, outweigh the benefits. It would probably be better to invest what remaining time and energy that you have on the rest of the application process.
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GMarc
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Re: Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink] New post   30 Jan 2014, 06:59
If you retake the GMAT it will most probably harm you candidature. Your AWA and IR scores are not that important and are still quite good. What will be way more important is the essay you write and what you have to say during the interview so get focus on these parts which will be at least 10 times more important than your AWA and IR scores. If you retake it and (it is not even sure) you get an even better score, then they will just think you don't know what the priorities and cannot make coherent decisions in the time you invest in your application between all the different equally important part of the application
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Black5tar
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Re: Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink] New post   13 Jan 2016, 20:21
Like Andreas1990, I am a Chinese as well. Unfortunately there is a stereotype about our facility with the English language and we do need to use extra effort to overturn this perception.
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Re: Should I take the GMAT once again? [#permalink]
13 Jan 2016, 20:21

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