Should I retake my gmat and apply in round 4 instead of round 3?

Question

Hi everyone,

I scored a 645 on the GMAT Focus today. Given that my mock average was 695, I feel I definitely underperformed. I rushed through the test and ended up with 10 minutes remaining in both the Quant and Verbal sections. I didn't find the content particularly difficult, which makes the result more frustrating.

I am now weighing two options: retake the exam to aim for a 685+ and apply in Round 4, which I am confident that I can achived, or apply immediately with my current 645. My targets are the MiF programs at LBS, Imperial, and LSE.

Because I have a limited quantitative background (I studied Sports Management while playing football professionally), I believe a high GMAT score is crucial for my profile. However, I am concerned that applying in the final round will significantly decrease my chances of admission.

I would appreciate any advice on which path to take.

Note: I know that I shoule have done this much earlier, but I began my prep in January due to personal circumstances, so I am looking for the best strategy given my current timeline.

ExpertsGlobal · Answer

Hi  Qwerwwwqa ,

You will never have a very straightforward answer here because there is a hypothetical scenario involved here. However, if you had a 695 on the mocks, this is a sign for you to retake and apply with a perfect quant score. The 645 (while no low) is an average score if you consider schools such as LBS and LSE; so, there are chances you might get rejected for this in the current round itself.

Take the test as soon as you can (of course, when chances of an improvement are the highest as that is the whole point of the retake).

Should you feel the need to discuss this in greater detail, please feel free to schedule a  free strategy session  with us. Do not worry about enrolling, even if we are able to give you some good feedback, we will be happy.

All the best!

Experts' Global

admitStreet · Answer

Qwerwwwqa - some more details can help assess your overall profile better e.g. undergrad college/ pedigree, GPA, work experience (company, role, progressions), extracurriculars, etc. Having said that, if you believe you can improve the score (going by your mocks), a retake would be prudent. I'd also suggest reaching out to the AdComs of your target programs if you've not already done so, to get a pulse check of your profile, and let them know why you'd potentially be applying in the final round. This can minimize the risk of your application being perceived as rushed up in the last minute. The optional essay is also an opportunity to share some context on this. Ofcourse, if your circumstances permit, applying in Round 1 for the next intake would be ideal, so you'd have time to retake, and also be in the early round. Regards, Arvind Founder, admitStreet | Request a free profile evaluation W: https://admitstreet.com | LinkedIn | E: arvindk@admitstreet.com

naveeng15 · Answer

try to apply with this score and aim for higher score later - have a backup (admit)

JatinBhandari1 · Answer

I think you are absolutely right — the chances in the final round are significantly lower than what you experienced in the first and second round. In the first and second round, schools normally will have accepted a lot of people with similar profiles. So even if they don't reject you because of your background, they might end up rejecting you because they have already accepted similar profiles in the first two rounds.
So I think the right thing to do — if you are an international, and this is advice that I give to all internationals where you need a visa from the country of the school you are planning to attend, and you already know that they will have picked up people of similar profiles from your demographic — then I would wait for a year, retake my GMAT, get the right GMAT score without pressure, and then apply in Round 1. I would not recommend doing a hasty application and getting rejected — that will also have a negative impact on your chances of getting into these programs in Round 1 next year. So given that the number of programs that you are keen on applying to are very limited, like three to four, do not waste your chances with them by taking a hasty shot. Take it easy, work on your GMAT, and apply with the right score in the first round.

I want to tell you one thing from personal experience — once you start your program, it will become old news in three to four months. You might just regret later saying, "You know what, why did I not give it my best shot?" Because getting into a top school — getting into an MBA program or MS program or Masters in Finance program — that news becomes old in three to four months, and then you start thinking, "Hey, I could have gone to a better school. Why did I not try? Why did I rush through all of this?" So if you are doing okay at your job right now, and if you think you can afford to wait for one more year — which I am assuming most people can — then just wait and apply next year.

Of course, if I knew more about your work experience and what it is that you do, I could give a slightly more specific answer. But knowing what I know now, I would not recommend internationals applying to any of the business schools in the fourth round. I have been doing this for almost two decades now, and the kind of results that we have seen, the kind of scholarships we have seen — we have never done Round 3 or Round 4. Right after Round 2, we start telling people to come in the Round 1s of next year. The chances go up significantly.

The only time I have done Round 3 or Round 4 is when somebody had a very different, exceptional profile and I knew that this is the kind of demographic that the school would definitely want — or if somebody had a genuinely urgent situation, like they had to be in that program in that country this year because of some very personal reasons. That made the application feel like an emergency even though it was not one. But for any such personal reason, if they absolutely had to go — those are the only cases. Otherwise, I have always recommended people to apply in Round 1 or Round 2. Round 3 and Round 4 are not meant for internationals. They are not favoured by the schools for internationals, although schools officially don't say this because they also want to maximise the number of applications coming in. But I think it is only Round 1 and Round 2 that people should be looking at.

AdmitExpert · Answer

Considering the situation, we advise you to retake the GMAT and apply to business school in the next R1 intake.

Since you don’t come from a quantitative background, the GMAT becomes an important indicator for admissions teams to assess your readiness for the MiF curriculum at schools such as London Business School, Imperial College Business School, and the London School of Economics. A better GMAT score would not only help you to show your aptitude and quant abilities, resulting in better chances of admission, but applying in R1 with a better score and application (as you'd get more time to work on your applications) would also increase your chances of getting a good scholarship.

While 645 GMAT FE is a decent score for most MiF programs, we would also need to understand your undergrad institution and individual subject scores, along with your overall narrative for the applications.

Please feel free to connect with our team for a    1:1 detailed evaluation of your profile and chances of admission    by experienced admissions consultants with successful admits to top b-schools globally. We also offer mock interviews with alumni from your target schools.

Should I retake my gmat and apply in round 4 instead of round 3?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards