Retaking 700 score

Hi jomregan,

Thanks for reaching out and congrats on your admissions offer! I think there are a few questions you need to consider...

First and foremost, have you already committed to Darden? If so, then there are potential consquences of reneging on that commitment. At a minimum losing any deposits you put down.

Second, how likely is it that you'll increase your score? (Were you practicing higher? Did you feel like you left points on the table? If yes, then I'd be more tempted to go for a retake, but if you're talking about a big effort to get 20 points, not sure it's worth it).

Third, are there other ways you could improve your profile? I'm not sure that a 20 point increase alone would be enough for a top school like Booth/Kellogg, but with other improvements, it could be.

Lastly, I think you do raise a good point about the scholarships, as it seems that Darden considers you for scholarships both when you apply and when you matriculate. I would reach out to someone at Darden and see what they think. They likely can't give you a definite answer but they might give you a sense of how heavily GMAT is weighted in those decisions. It's also worth thinking about your post-MBA career goals. In certain fields like consulting/banking, GMAT scores are sometimes used to initially screen students for internship interviews, so a higher score could help on that front too. Again, I would check with Darden on this, and see if you can chat with someone in career services.

Hope that helps as you consider what to do next!
Kate