Quant v. Verbal

Question

After years of thinking about whether or not I wanted to go to B-school, I finally put my mind to it and signed up for the GMAT 10 days ago. I got cracking and tried my damnedest to focus (which, for me, is pretty tough). I finally sat down to take the GMAT today. After a few grueling hours (and some very quirky test administrators), I got my score... ...and while I achieved my generic goal (breaking 700), I wasn't all that pleased with how my score broke down. For whatever reason (and I'm sure I can come up with several, including the gentleman next to me who kept mumbling while working out his problems!

), I didn't do nearly as well on the math as I did on verbal. This is a little unusual for me, since I typically score pretty evenly on both. This time I came up with Q45 (78%)/ V42 (95%) for a combined 710 (94%). So.... I was wondering if schools typically consider your combined score or focus on the quant over the verbal. Anyone have any insight? The lady at the test center gave me her two cents (in a nutshell: don't take it again), but I'm concerned that my quant score is too low...

nupurgupt · Answer

halahpeno your score is pretty good for any school I would say

I agree with the lady at the test center....you should be qualified for pretty much any school :D

nervousgmat · Answer

Some schools prefer that your verbal and quant score are balanced and above 80%. your 78% in math is very close to 80%, so if you could prep yourself in math a little more, you will be in a safe zone. In addition, taking 2 tests is not treated negatively by admission people. So, if I were you, I would retake. Most people do better on the second try. 
However, at the end of the day, it depends on what schools you want to apply to.

rhyme · Answer

I was a Q45 / V45 -- which sounds balanced but of course it isn't (78% quant) and (99% verbal or maybe 98 i forget) - but it worked out just fine for me... I wouldnt worry about it, especially if you have a few stats courses or calculus courses from your undergrad.

ishcabibble · Answer

I'm actually really glad you asked this question,  halahpeno ! Math is most definitely my weak point and I do very well on the verbal. 

Does anyone think that your major/area of concentration makes a difference as to how they look at your test scores? I have not yet taken the GMAT, but I have done paper practice tests and taken a GMATprep which all confirm that my math sucks, but my verbal skills are great. I plan to focus on Marketing, which I have indicated in my application essay, and so I'm hoping that a less than stellar Q score will be less of a problem than if I was planning to go into finance. Any thoughts?

jonnyjersey · Answer

i'd like to know as well. my guess is that a good balance is optimal. but maybe they just care about the final score??? good question though. i'm definitely better at math than verbal...anybody know for sure?

pelihu · Answer

The top schools tend to care a lot about the Q section. The reason is that the coursework can be really tough and you won't be able to keep up without solid quantitative skills. In fact, many schools require that you show college-level math coursework (college level calculus or something); or take a summer class/math camp before starting in the fall.

I actually think it's particularly important for people that do not have quantitative backgrounds to do well on the Q section of the GMAT. Otherwise, schools will absolutely be wondering whether you can cut the workload.

javed · Answer

There are schools, which will look at the sectional cutt-offs and there are schools, which will look at the overall scores. 

Javed

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