Got a 690. Should I retake?

Question

Hi guys!

I studied for like 4-5 months and took the Gmat last Tuesday at the test center for the first time and scored a 690. (Q46 V38)
My scores on the official practice tests were 700 (q47 v40) and 680 (q49 v33) , so it was pretty accurate with what I experienced during test day. 
My question is wether should I retake and aim for breaking the 700 or stay with the 690.

I will apply to IESE and ESADE. These schools have averages Gmat scores of 690 and 660 for what I saw. I want to apply to both on the first round in September and October respectively, so I would have a month to prepare and retake Gmat at the end of April at most before continuing with Toefl, essays, etc. 
my plan if I retake would be to buy the Gmat club tests and use them for this month to improve my math. Is that a good plan?

I would like to apply for a scholarship, but I don’t know if the current score will be enough. 
Should I spend an extra month studying and retake and then have 3 months left for the rest of the application or should I skip Gmat and focus on the application for the next four months?

Time constrain is what makes me doubt about it, wether 3 months will be enough for essays, Toefl, etc.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks

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GMATaxe001 · Answer

690 is enough to get you into ESADE AND IESE, with atleast some scholarship. Go for a retake only if u can aim for 720+. Then your chances of scholarship and amount of scholarship will increase. By the way, can you please also share with the forum that how you prepared?

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jistel · Answer

Sure.
I used the magoosh app almost exclusively for most of the time. Watched the videos 2 times while using the Qbank in between. Always kept an error log with the quant questions I found most difficult and got wrong to check once in a while. 
After being confident in most of the topics I took some free mock exams from university web pages (LBS, Hult, Esade, etc) and one from magoosh and another from Veritas Prep. The ones from universities are easier, I scored 680, 710 and 730. On the magoosh and veritas I scored 640 on both.

Finally the month before the real test I took the official mock and scored 700. After that I just reviewed areas where I felt weaker (RC and Combinatronics) while still solving some random questions from the Qbank to stay fresh on all subjects. I also found useful to attend some of the free webinars provided by e-Gmat to enhance my strategy on my weak areas. 
2 days before the exam I took the second official mock exam and got a 680. Reviewed my errors and then tackled a couple IR questions from Gmac free sample. 
 on the last day I just used the Flashcards apps from magoosh as I find them good to have the basics fresh and don’t consume much time and just reviewed some guidelines for AWA. After 4pm I rested to be fresh on test day.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi jistel,

First off, congrats on your GMAT. 690 is a very nice score! Regarding your plan forward, I agree that if you could score 720+ on a retake, then it would be worth giving the GMAT one more shot. Also, to get some more opinions you could reach out to one of the many admissions consultants here on GMAT Club. If you end up taking another crack at the GMAT and need additional advice, feel free to reach back out.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jistel,

First off, a 690/Q46 is a strong Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Since you know the specific Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

bb · Answer

690 is a solid score. It seems it was consistent with your performance and that’s great. For admissions, do you want to use the time wisely and see where you could make the most difference in your application. It may be bumping up your score or it may be doing something at work or perhaps writing essays.

Officially, if your score is around the average and especially slightly above, usually people say your score is good enough. At the same time, if your Gmail score is meaningfully higher, you become an asset for the business school or rather your score becomes an asset because it elevates the average. It could also indicate a higher caliber of a candidate even though it’s really not a good measure of that.

Well nobody can guarantee admission or scholarship, chances of you getting both of those how much higher if your score is overpowered. I would say and that probably is worth retaking the test to be able to get 30 or 60 or 120,000 in tuition cost savings.

Again, no one can guarantee your promise you that admissions committee will consider you attractive. They’re way too many variables involved but usually if your score is 50 points higher than the average, yeah scholarship chance look a lot better. Also, Scholarships are given based on manufactures and not just the GMAT. It’s possible to even get them with a bad score but a lot harder.

I would say that if you don’t have a lot to do with your applications in the next two months, see if you can bump your calls and gargle by a couple porn siege. It won’t hurt and did you have a chance to save tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Got a 690. Should I retake?

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