Retake with 710?
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20 Mar 2013, 15:01
Hello all,
This is my first time visiting this site. Wish I had known about this resource prior to taking my test.
I am a 2012 grad from U of M business school (Ross) with a 3.3. After graduation, I signed up for a Kaplan online course to take the GMAT prior to starting my job. I scored a 620 on diagnostic test with a goal of scoring 720. I started to make some improvements and was scoring in the ~670 range. However, I was easily distracted and ended up putting off serious studying for a few months. Kaplan offered me the chance to retake my course, and I did so soon after getting settled into my current position.
This time around, I retook the diagnostic and scored a 720. After a few months of steady preparation and varying scores (720, 730, 700, 740, 720, GMATPrep1 680, 730), I was scheduled for my Kaplan test day experience at the test center (scored a 720). I was scoring very high in the quantitative portion of the test >95% and average in the verbal ~82%. However, I managed to mess up my quant section on my GMATPrep test, which had me slightly nervous heading into my test.
Of course, on test day my worst fear came true and the first question had me stumped as I was over thinking something that was pretty simple. I ended up guessing after 4 minutes and moving on, but I never felt comfortable during the quant section. I knew that I had to do my best on verbal to make up for it and managed to score well above my averages. With that said, I ended up with a 83%/49 Q and a 89%/39 V for a total 710. I was not sure whether or not I wanted to retake given that I knew my Kaplan math scores were higher (granted my verbal lower) and my "goal" was a 720. In fact, before the test I said to myself -- anything above 710, I am not retaking, and anything below, I will retake.
Most people that I have spoken to say that it is not worth it to retake for a 10-20 point bump, but that I should focus on other aspects of application. Hearing that, I was satisfied knowing that my score would not hold me back from the top schools even though I am slightly below their averages (I plan to apply to the likes of HBS, Booth, Kellogg, Wharton, CBS, MIT, Fuqua, etc). Then I had a free 30-minute consultation with an MBA application consultant, who recommended I take it again to try to bump up my score. I was going to focus on other parts of my application prior to applying in 3-4 years(i.e., volunteer, community outreach, career oriented growth, and a unique foreign experience), but I am now conflicted on what should be next step. Granted I am not applying for a few years, I do not know whether or not it is worth it to study up and take it again in a few months. I have also exhausted all of my Kaplan resources, so I would need to buy more materials.
What do you all think? Is it worth retaking? If so, what should I do about my Kaplan quant scores being so much higher than my GMATprep and my actual GMAT?
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