Should I cancel my score on Tuesday if lower?

Question

Hi, I've taken the GMAT twice so far. I am taking the GMAT on Tuesday, with the goal of hitting 700. My question to you guys is what I should do if I score lower overall, but score higher in Quant? Can you give me situations of when I should cancel, and when I shouldn't?

For example, what if I score 670 with a Q > 46 ?

What about 650 with a Q > 46?

Test 1: 580 (Q37,V32)

Test 2: 680 (Q46,V38)

I have no reason to believe I will score lower in Verbal. I am currently scoring at about 88% for Verbal, but I want to know just in case.

Since I am already here, I guess I should ask what the key is to get my Quant score to 73rd percentile in my last 2 days. I am leaning towards making sure I get the more commonly tested concepts down pat, rather than focusing on OG questions that are considered "hard" (last 30 questions of OG and 2nd Edition quant)

Thanks

kvazar · Answer

I am a bit confused. I'm pretty sure you can cancel your score only immediately after taking the test BEFORE you proceed to the score screen.
Do the allow to see your score before cancelling now?

Porkbun123 · Answer

I would say that it is unnecessary to cancel even if you score lower, as schools only look at the highest score. If you look at Columbia's app, you only get to input your highest score and number of attempts. HOWEVER...

You should be aware that the GMAT will not show cancelled scores for score reports sent after July 19th. So theoretically, you can bomb the test and cancel an infinite number of times, and none of those attempts will even show up in your score report.

https://www.mba.com/us/the-gmat-blog-hub ... m-features

How many times have you taken the GMAT? If you taken the GMAT twice, and are at your "3" GMAT limit, if I were you I would cancel the score unless it is something that I am absolutely satisfied with. Again, this is to take advantage of the new rule. In order for this to work, since your GMAT test date is before July 19th, I would not select any schools to send my score reports to, in order to take advantage of this new feature.

bluepulaski1 · Answer

Well I won't be sending them out to anyone. I won't be applying for 3 years. But what I am trying to ask is whether I should keep a score that is UNDER 680 if my QUANT is higher? The reasoning for this would be that for some schools, I can show my highest quant and my highest verbal. I know this isn't the case for many schools, but I want to weigh the costs of receiving a lower OVERALL score for a higher QUANT score.

Also, the policy is retroactive, so no matter what, a cancelled score will not be reported at all. But obviously, a score that is kept will still show up on the report.

Also, the policy is retroactive, so no matter what, a cancelled score will not be reported at all. But obviously, a score that is kept will still show up on the report.

Porkbun123 · Answer

I think Tuck is the only elite school that formally combines verbal and quant from separate scores. For schools that don't combine verbal and quant, I don't think it matters. They're basically looking for a score to report to the rankings. They aren't thinking: "oh he scored higher on verbal for test 1 and higher on quant for test 2. That means he is well rounded." They take the highest score and report that, and look at the splits for that. In general, any score over 600+ will show that you can handle the b-school curriculum quite well. If you are insistent on a number though, I would say Q49 (80 percentile) would be a good score to keep if your overall score is lower than 680 on your retake.

Yes, that policy is retroactive but only for reports sent after July 19th. For reports sent before July 19th, the cancelled score will still show as "cancelled."

Yes, that policy is retroactive but only for reports sent after July 19th. For reports sent before July 19th, the cancelled score will still show as "cancelled."

Porkbun123 · Answer

As an aside though, I think worrying about the negative consequences right before the test is just bad mojo. I have faith that you won't even have to worry about this dilemma because you'll score higher. You'll kill it dude, dont sweat it.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi bluepulaski1,

I agree that you shouldn't try to overthink this. Your 680/Q46 is already competitive, so you can apply to any Schools that interest you. If you're thinking about applying to any Top Finance Programs or other Specialty Programs, then a higher Quant score would probably help you out (so that would be something to look for in your score results). Otherwise, you can keep or cancel the score as you see fit. Business School Admissions Officers are savvy - they're going to look at your OVERALL application and judge you on that (and a third part-higher/part-lower GMAT score won't really make a difference).

Kvazar, to answer your question - you're describing the "old" GMAT policy. The current policy is that you can see your Unofficial Scores BEFORE you choose whether to cancel them or keep them.

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

bluepulaski1 · Answer

Thanks for the feedback. I'd have to think that since Tuck considers highest of each (even though you can't combine them to equal a 700), it would be smart to keep a lower score with a higher Q if that happens. But as you said, I am probably over thinking it. I have consistently hit the 84-88% in Verbal for the past 6 weeks or so. Just doing some final tuning up over the next two days.

bluepulaski1 · Answer

GOT 700!!! Unfortunately a big-time imbalance even though I spent the last 3 weeks primarily studying Quant. I got a 700 (Q44, V41). quant was only 57th percentile, while verbal was 94th. I also got my highest IR score (7). Hopefully I don't have to re-take for better balance. Start work on Thursday.

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Should I cancel my score on Tuesday if lower?

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