Do I have to submit the names of schools?

Question

I'm planning to take my GMAT in around 8 weeks in Nairobi. Has anyone on this forum taken it at this test centre, and know what to expect?

I'm entering my 2nd year of Undergrad in October, but am doing the GMAT now with the clear intention of applying to Business School 4-5 years down the line since the scores last 5 years anyway, but also to strengthen my CV in the short term with a (hopefully) high score.

A retake is likely next summer if I don't get my intended score. The thing is if i'm not applying to Business School now, I'm a bit confused about how the system works in terms of reporting, cancelling scores, and having your scores sent to schools. What are the functions of the different options (i.e. report and cancel) and in what scenarios should I use them. i.e. Do I always select cancel if i'm not satisfied with the score?

What if I don't want to submit my score to any schools now, is that possible? How would I go about doing this when registering for a test appointment and during the day of the exam? And If I choose not to submit my score to schools now can I still submit this score to schools 4 years down the line?

Also as a final question, in terms of materials provided I know everything is provided so I don't have to bring anything. However, are writing materials provided for IR, and Verbal? I know they are for the Quant section, just not sure about the other two. I figure particularly for verbal it could be helpful with tenses and timelines as I am more of a visual guy.

Any clarification appreciated. Thanks.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi MAH,

On Test Day, you have the option to send your score to 5 Business Schools (as part of the $250 Testing fee), BUT you must choose the Schools that day. If you choose not to send those score reports, then that is fine, BUT there will be a fee to send each report later on (the current fee is $28 per score report). If you have MORE than 5 Schools in mind, then you can select 5 of them on Test Day and send the extra score reports later.

At the end of the Exam, you will see your Unofficial Scores (which almost always end up being your Official Scores). If you're not happy with those scores, then you can cancel them and no School will ever know that you took that Test. IF you change your mind about that score later, you can re-instate it (For $100, up to 60 days after you took the GMAT).

You will receive Test-taking materials at the Testing Center and you'll be allowed to use these materials during the entire Test. Most Centers provide a marker and a series of 6 laminated 'sheets' to write on, but you might receive slightly different materials depending on your location.

What is your score goal?
What materials have you been studying with?
How have you been scoring on your practice CATs?

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

MAH · Answer

Ok thanks for clarifying my queries. It's a lot clearer now. Just a couple more questions if you don't mind.

I'm guessing the scores are initially unofficial for every test taker simply because they have to undergo a review? After which they become official once test takers are issued a test score document?

Also, Is this really true?  "If you're not happy with those scores, then you can cancel them and no School will ever know that you took that Test"  I've heard differently, surely one can just keep re-taking the test and cancelling the score until they get their desired score? How would the schools know how many attempts you've had?

I would like to score in the 99th percentile as my strongest GMAT score within the next 4-5 years and give myself as much of a chance for H/S/W. It's probably too idealistic, but i'd like to score a 700+ as my first attempt. I'm ready to delay taking the test until next summer if needs must so that I get more comfortable enough and start scoring higher. I've been using Veritas mostly, some online flash cards and also have the option to use MGMAT.

My language skills are decent i'd say, in the sense that i've always been a strong reader and able to discern what "sounds" right and what doesn't. It wasn't a surprise I didn't really struggle with RC in the diagnostic (scored Q38, V25), got pretty much all right. SC and CR though I can tell will take a bit more time. Surprisingly I did better on CR than SC on the diagnostic even though I studied nothing about it. With SC my fundamentals are not strong, I didn't really learn English by going through the process mechanically (i.e. learning the terminology and some of the rules) so i'm hearing a lot of new terms and little rules. In that sense the SC flash cards should hopefully help. When I reviewed the diagnostic I noticed my raw score could have improved by up to 10, as most SC questions I got wrong I had got the options down to 2 and the correct answer was one I strongly considered but opted against choosing it.

In terms of CR, I'm finding it tougher when I read the books, and am hit and miss when I attempt questions. Just wondering what strategy you'd recommend for Verbal (mostly SC and RC). Should I switch to MGMAT?

With Quant, I'm not done studying but I was always pretty quick as a Math student. I think it's just a case of practicing each type of question (Work/Rate etc) until it becomes second nature and as a consequence improves my speed. And also learning some shortcuts, didn't know the addition rule for divisibles of 3 for instance.

What I also discovered is that with Quant I struggled with timing as well, maybe cause i'm not solving questions quickly enough and my fundamentals aren't rock solid yet. Verbal timing was less worse, had 3 or 4 questions at the end which I had to guess. Contrasted with Quant it was around 10 left. Lastly, for both sections, I got almost all the beginning questions right and a host of questions questions wrong in a row towards the end. This probably also affected my score.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi MAH,

Yes, the Unofficial Scores have to go through a 'review' phase before they are made Official Score. That process normally takes 1-2 weeks, depending on the time of year. Unofficial Scores tends to be accurate though, so you'll know how well you scored.

GMAC changed it's testing rules recently (July 19th), so the rules that you know are probably from before the change. Here is what you need to know going forward:

1) After seeing your Unofficial Scores, you can cancel them (right there, in the Testing Center). You can re-instate them up to 60 days later though (for a $100 fee). Cancelled scores do NOT show up in your record NOR does the fact that you chose to cancel.
2) You only have to wait 16 days to retest (it used to be 31 days).
3) You can take the GMAT up to 5 TIMES in one 12-month period. So the scenario you've described (just keep taking the GMAT and canceling over-and-over until you get the score that you want), has a limitation to it.

These days, the 99th percentile is 750/760+ (700+ is about the 90th percentile). Pacing problems impact many Test Takers, especially early on in their studies, so you're not alone. As you continue to practice, and learn tactics, your pacing should improve.

When it comes to study materials, there are plenty to choose from. If you find that a particular resource isn't helping you, then there's the possibility that you just have not practiced enough with that resource OR you might want to consider changing resources.

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

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