Retake? 720; 41V/47Q; 8IR, 5AW

Question

Hi All,

I applied R2 to HBS and was rejected with no interview. I am going to reapply R1 next year, but I was wondering if anyone thinks it is necessary to retake the GMAT. I will be working over the summer, but I do not mind carving out some study time to boost my score if it is necessary. I am currently a 1L at HLS, so I'm really only willing to apply to the JD/MBA at Harvard for this reason. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

u1983 · Answer

Hello AccountsPlay174 .... welcome to the community. Congratulations on such a steller score

In my limited knowledge I am definitely not eligible to say anything .... still in my opinion ... Your profile looks abolute gem !! I think the ad-consultants would be able to provide more perspective. The link below has a list of them ..... you can post your query at their pages. https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/ Otherwise ... I would go the HBS forum and PM (cold mail) some admits with my queries ... I am sure someone ( may be more !! )would reply. Remember to spread your selection through years . https://gmatclub.com/forum/harvard-184/ ... acker.html The link above has 2021... make sure to mail some guys from 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017... etc Hope this helps !!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi AccountsPlay174,

First off, a 720/Q47 is an outstanding score, so if you were rejected outright, then it likely was NOT because of that Score. With highly-competitive Programs, every aspect of your application tends to be 'nitpicked', so you need a strong OVERALL application and you need to properly 'market yourself' to each individual Program that you apply to. This is likely more of an Admissions-based issue, so you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

AjiteshArun · Answer

You don't  need  to take the exam again.

That said, I'd take the exam again if I were you, especially if this was my first attempt or if I had better scores on the GMATPrep practice tests.

akela · Answer

Hi  AccountsPlay174 ,

Welcome to gmatclub!

Also check this thread:
 Everything you wanted to know about retaking GMAT. Not Happy with your GMAT Score? Not sure if it is good enough?

Hope this helps!

cfc198 · Answer

720 is a fantastic score and I would recommend to focus on other areas of the application process. However, if you feel that you can do better than a 720 then it won't hurt to give it another shot. The Q47 could easily be improved to a Q49-51 with disciplined practice.

Best wishes!:)

AccountsPlay174 · Answer

Thanks for the replies! I will post my question to the admissions forum in the coming days. I'm still undecided on whether I will retake, but I don't see it being too taxing to carve out a few hours in the morning before work and after work over the summer. Regardless, I'd be starting the studies back up around June 1 in hopes of taking mid/late July or in August if need be.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi AccountsPlay174,

If you do decide to retake the GMAT, feel free to reach back out. I’d be happy to help.

Good luck!

ss57 · Answer

very interested into what you end up doing--i myself got same 720   after cram prepping for a week (see my retake thread entitled "720 after 8 days prep, where to go from here for a 740+?" from about a month ago), and also hope to do a JD/MBA but at Cornell sans work experience. been casually prepping over the last month by completing then rewatching all the magoosh videos and doing kaplan adaptive q bank questions. if you do retake, please share/message what approach you're going with, i'm interested to see what others in somewhat similar situations think/do.

also, if you're looking for a fitting MBA consultant i highly suggest Katherine Lewis at MBA Mission--she's a top-of-her-class JD/MBA both from Harvard and all around affable lady i really enjoyed conversing with as compared to other consultants i considered. if i were you i would contact her about the 30min free initial consult and see what she has to say.

ps: if you're looking to talk test strategy/approaches/materials/etc. get at me in the messages. congrats on HLS, g'luck.

Sobes4life · Answer

Why do you want to do an MBA if you are already at HLS? Just curious

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Retake? 720; 41V/47Q; 8IR, 5AW

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