690 (36Q 47V) -> 730 (44Q 47V) -> disappointed. advice?

So I last posted on here in August 2008, after taking the GMAT with little preparation and scoring a 690 (36Q, 47V). Given that my quant score was in the 48th percentile, I figured I could do far better with some more preparation, so I decided to retake the test.

I first took a couple month break from the GMAT, and then started studying in earnest in mid-January (two months ago). I got a GMAT tutor who specializes in helping students through the quantitative section, and started meeting with him for 2 hours every week. He assigned problem sets that I would complete, and then we would go over the answers together during our sessions. He was very knowledgeable, and helped me to understand how to approach the quant problems. After 7 or 8 sessions with him, I took a GMAT prep test and scored a 48 on the quant section, and then took two GMAT focus tests and scored in the 44-49 range on both. I was still struggling to finish the test within the allotted time, and on the last 4-5 questions I consistently found that my only choices were either to guess or leave them unanswered. In order to address this issue, I did some speed work, trying to do a lot of questions under timed conditions, so that I could get a sense of how long I had for each question, and noticed a considerable improvement. I signed up for the test yesterday, and went in to take it this morning, thinking that I was all set to get a great score.

I just returned from the test center, and I am disappointed. I got a 730 (44Q, 47V), which is a good score. However, I am not happy with the score for a number of reasons. First, I feel I could have done much better on the quant section. I left the last 4-5 questions unanswered, which I've heard means a pretty stiff score penalty. I also didn't feel very "on" during the test. Second, a 44 on the quant section would put me in the 70th percentile. Considering that I'm aiming for top business schools (top choice Stanford), this does not seem too impressive, especially given that I've heard that business schools look more closely at the quant score. Third, I was really hoping to hit the GMAT out of the park because my undergraduate GPA is not the best (3.2, Harvard), my work experience is limited (just graduated in June 08) and I know I need to compensate for those weaknesses.

Now I'm wondering what to do, and am hoping for some advice from all you seasoned GMAT-ers.

- Should I retake the test? How do schools view retakes? If I were to take the test again, that would be my third attempt. What score would I need to get for it to make a difference in the eyes of admissions committees?
- What's the consensus on leaving questions blank? Did I sabotage my score by leaving those last few questions unanswered?
- What are my chances at getting into a top business school (e.g. Stanford) with my profile (730 GMAT, 1 yr work experience, 3.2 GPA at Harvard, black female)? Of course, I know that grad school competition is stiff this year, that getting into top b-schools is always difficult, that more work experience would be desirable, that my low undergraduate GPA will hurt me, etc. Given all of those things, I'm wondering what my strategy should be. Is it worth putting in the effort to apply now? Do I even have a chance? Or should I wait a couple of years to give myself a chance to build more work experience? (That option sounds rather unappealing as the job market is not too hot right now, don't know if you've heard.)
- Will applying to a school and not being accepted hurt my chances of being accepted if I apply the following year?

Any other thoughts anyone might offer would also be much appreciated. Thanks for reading!