Well, first and foremost, let me thank this wonderful website which I used during my gmat prep and it did help me a lot.
Guys, I need your sincere help in helping me take the decision of whether to retake or not.
I took the Gmat yesterday and following are my unofficial scores :
Overall : 740 (97 percentile)
Quant : 51 (99 percentile)
Verbal : 39 (87 percentile)
Yeah.. Am not really satisfied with the 740 that I have got. Though it is more than the average scores at almost all the top Business Schools, I feel it doesnt truly reflect my preparation. There was a genuine reason for me getting screwed up in the main exam.
Let me explain.
I am 25/Male/Indian IT(software)/Working in one of the biggest software makers in the world/3 years experience till date.
I had prepared for ~3 months with verbal as my main focus, as quant was truly never a problem.
I had perfected my verbal to a very good extent. My mock exam scores were just rocking.
MGMAT 1 : 720
GMATPrep 1 : 720
GMATPrep 2 : 720
MGMAT 2 : 740
MGMAT 3 : 740
MGMAT 4 : 760
MGMAT 5 : 760
MGMAT 6 : 780
MGMAT 1A(after resetting MGMAT exams) : 780
MGMAT 2A(after resetting MGMAT exams) : 780
GMATPrep 1 and GMATPrep2(repeat) : 760
I was very confident of hitting a 760-780 with the level of my preparation and there is just no way that my score can get below a 760 if I take the exam in my right senses.
Night before the exam, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I couldnt sleep. Didnt get the time to sleep for even 2-3 hours. Ended up buying 2 redbulls and gulping one before Quant and one before Verbal. Quant, as I said was a breeze for me. But, during Verbal, just couldnt focus at all. Yeah, the red bulls just didnt work. Did not even apply a single grammar rule to any of the SCs or any of the premise, conclusion blah blah to CR. I was like, just get over with this exam. Basically, my brain had stopped functioning totally. Finished verbal in about 50 mins, as was just not able to sustain.
I aim to apply to the best of the best schools only : Insead, Wharton, Stanford, LBS etc. because I really think that I deserve those. Have a fantastic work profile to show with awards, leadership skills, fast career progression in a short 3 years at my workplace. Have already skipped some of the best schools in India where I got a final admit call : IIM L, IIM I, MDI, XLRI because I want to do an international MBA at a top school only.
I truly believe that I deserve more than a 740 and am confident of hitting a 760 even if I write just now. But, unfortunately I will have to wait for 31 days.
Now, am in a dilemma on whether this can have a negative effect on my application. Suppose if I improve my score from 740-760, do schools take it in a negative way i.e. do they consider that this guy is wasting resources despite having a great score? I know that it is a great score, but there are few things which are going through my mind:
1) Am an Indian/IT Male(Lot of competition from this segment). A 740, I think is just around the average in India given that many people hit a 51 on Maths.
2) In my assessment, my scores arent balanced. A 99% in quant, and an 87% in verbal.
3) I know I can get atleast another 20 easily without even preparing anything extra. Just have to revise the verbal stuff a week before the exam.
4) I do have time for preparing on my applications as most of the R1 applications will start in Sept end/Oct first week i.e. will have 3 full months for my applications.
5) Have read on some sites, that schools do take it negatively if you already have a great score and improve my just ~20-30.
I know, I need to take the final decision of whether to retake or not, but would really really appreciate if you guys can help me out in assessing the pros and cons keeping in mind the above 5 points.
Thanks in Advance!!!!!
Hi
Well i think you are stressing too much on the GMAT score.
It is just an exam.
Please bear in mind that schools look for all round performance. Since you said that your academic and extracurricular are great i think you should not face any issues with admissions.
Obviously how good you write your essays will also be a factor.
So moral of the story dont only think GMAT. Think the whole application process.
I have many Guys with 750+ Score who couldnt make it to the best Business Schools
