Expert's opinion needed!! Low GMAT Score

MBA
1

HI ALL, I just gave my gmat yesterday… got unbelievebly low score :: … could have thought in my dreams…:whatthat: :x:shock: well to tell abt me… I prepered well thru OG, princeton and K-800 … well gave practice test … My powerprep…

2

HI ALL,
I just gave my gmat yesterday.. got unbelievebly low score .. could have thought in my dreams.....:whatthat: :x:shock: well to tell abt me.. I prepered well thru OG, princeton and K-800 ...
well gave practice test ..
My powerprep scores were 670 and 710...
well thnking of giving GMAT again..is it advisable????
what about the B-schools like ISB and AIM...where i was aiming for sent scores to them..
do they consider best of ones Gmat score?

Well i hope i ll get my ans.. i m now clueless.......

3
HI ALL,
I just gave my gmat yesterday.. got unbelievebly low score .. could have thought in my dreams.....:whatthat: :x:shock: well to tell abt me.. I prepered well thru OG, princeton and K-800 ...
well gave practice test ..
My powerprep scores were 670 and 710...
well thnking of giving GMAT again..is it advisable????
what about the B-schools like ISB and AIM...where i was aiming for sent scores to them..
do they consider best of ones Gmat score?

Well i hope i ll get my ans.. i m now clueless.......


And I am clueless about your post. Because have not mentioned your score. Maybe you got a 520 or maybe you got a 620. No one can advice you until you take some time and draft out an articulate post which talks about (a) your back ground (b) what you want to do and (c) what your problem is (possibly in achieving that goal)

Arun
4
And I am clueless about your post. Because have not mentioned your score. Maybe you got a 520 or maybe you got a 620. No one can advice you until you take some time and draft out an articulate post which talks about (a) your back ground (b) what you want to do and (c) what your problem is (possibly in achieving that goal)

Arun


i agree. there isn`t really anything like an absolute "low" or "high" score. it`s all relative. a 650 might be considered as an excellent score by a university for someone who has 10 years work ex, while an applicant with the same score could be rejected by the same university for a low score if he has low work ex and poor undergrad acads.

You might be hesitant in disclosing your "low score" but relax...screw-ups happen! we`re not here to judge you anyways, we dont even know u!
5
Yup,
I shld have elaborated it...well ant my backround I have done my engg..from good engg college..acads avg...
exp i worked with couple of mnc.. for almost 4 yrs ..one of them is in fortune 50..big brand name... as Territory manager...
And abt my score.. its no hesitancy..its hard fact from which i can not run away.. well my score is 500..which by any stads....considering my powerprep 670 and 710 scores........
but it was shocker or i would say it was just not my day...
I hope u can assess the situation in a betterway..
well abt my goals.. was doing mba frm premium institutes..preferebly frm india isb..or something like aim, nsu...
Ok guys thanks for looking into matter...
looking for valuable inputs...
6
Yup,
I shld have elaborated it...well ant my backround I have done my engg..from good engg college..acads avg...
exp i worked with couple of mnc.. for almost 4 yrs ..one of them is in fortune 50..big brand name... as Territory manager...
And abt my score.. its no hesitancy..its hard fact from which i can not run away.. well my score is 500..which by any stads....considering my powerprep 670 and 710 scores........
but it was shocker or i would say it was just not my day...
I hope u can assess the situation in a betterway..
well abt my goals.. was doing mba frm premium institutes..preferebly frm india isb..or something like aim, nsu...
Ok guys thanks for looking into matter...
looking for valuable inputs...


Its a no-brainer

With a 500, you need to retake the GMAT. Period.

Better book a date as soon as possible so that you take the one set for ETS. A known devil, as they say, is better than an unknown angel !!

Arun
7
Yup,
I shld have elaborated it...well ant my backround I have done my engg..from good engg college..acads avg...
exp i worked with couple of mnc.. for almost 4 yrs ..one of them is in fortune 50..big brand name... as Territory manager...
And abt my score.. its no hesitancy..its hard fact from which i can not run away.. well my score is 500..which by any stads....considering my powerprep 670 and 710 scores........
but it was shocker or i would say it was just not my day...
I hope u can assess the situation in a betterway..
well abt my goals.. was doing mba frm premium institutes..preferebly frm india isb..or something like aim, nsu...
Ok guys thanks for looking into matter...
looking for valuable inputs...


ok, this isnt exactly "expert advice" but just a humble opinion based on my own research, if you could call it that! 😃

your work experience seems really good on the face of it. 4-5 years is pretty much the average work ex in most good b-schools abroad as well as in ISB, and you`ve been in a mangerial position too, as opposed to a technical position, which works against most indian applicants (Read: IT guys!). make sure u present yourself well in the essays. you`ve got good brand value behind ur work ex too, so you`re pretty neat on the work-ex side i feel.

doing an mba from a premier institute cant really be called a goal! i think what psycho meant by "goals" was ur career objectives. your choice of schools and applications depeneds largely on your career goals. if u`re vague about that in ur essays, u`ll not make a very good impression.

okay and u REALLY need to retake the gmat. might sound bad, but u arent gonna get much consideration with a 500. most schools would take your highest score, so you could wash that 500 off with a whopper and put it all behind u, and perhaps even explain the circumstances of the first attempt in your application. All the best!
8

free and frank advice retake the test unless you are related to ambanis or tatas or birlas ( then also it might be difficult).

have known a lot of people who fared poorly in the first attempt but scored above 700 in the second attempt. there is still time and you had already prepared before. therefore retake.

9

And abt my score.. its no hesitancy..its hard fact from which i can not run away.. well my score is 500..which by any stads....considering my powerprep 670 and 710 scores........
Tell me how much u scored in Kaplan. PP is nothing but ETS book ka photocopy. Tell me how much u scored in other softwares. Also, wether u took PP tests after going thru OG or before. Definately take the GMAT again. But be realistic abt ur goals. I hv heared even the Princeton's new software is damn good. Take a look at it too.
10

HI,
Same problem as De1palli. I'm one one small step ahead of her.
I scored a 620 in the GMAT. I had scored 680, 700 in powerprep, around 670-690 in Princeton review and 540-590 in Kaplan. 680-690 in Cambridge.
I decided i definitely could score more and registered for it again.
I am a software engineer with 2+ yrs of exp. And recently (past 5 months) I've been working more closely with pre-sales and marketing. Not core pre-sales and marketing ...but the technical side of it. I do interact quite a bit with those guys. And this is when i made this serious decision on what i want to do with my career...and where.

[ FYI, I made a sudden decision because, i did not want to be another fish in the ocean (of software engineers). I feel my current job is not bringing out the best in me. And I know i want to study general business management.]

I'm aiming for schools with rankings ranging from 10/15 to 30.
Basically, McCombs, Fisher, Smith, Mays, Kelley, Marshal.

Please do suggest
1) If it was a good idea to give the test again.
2) My re-test is scheduled for Dec 5th. I hope it's not too late. Actually I've done my research and for some B-schools (of my choice), the second deadline is Dec 31st / Jan 15th.
3) What do i do if i score less than 650 again? Do i apply and cross my fingers? Or do i wait for another year?

11
HI,
Same problem as De1palli. I'm one one small step ahead of her.
I scored a 620 in the GMAT. I had scored 680, 700 in powerprep, around 670-690 in Princeton review and 540-590 in Kaplan. 680-690 in Cambridge.
I decided i definitely could score more and registered for it again.
I am a software engineer with 2+ yrs of exp. And recently (past 5 months) I've been working more closely with pre-sales and marketing.

I'm aiming for schools with rankings ranging from 10/15 to 30.
Basically, McCombs, Fisher, Smith, Mays, Kelley, Marshal.

Please do suggest
1) If it was a good idea to give the test again.
2) My re-test is scheduled for Dec 5th. I hope it's not too late. Actually I've done my research and for some B-schools (of my choice), the second deadline is Dec 31st / Jan 15th.
3) What do i do if i score less than 650 again? Do i apply and cross my fingers? Or do i wait for another year?


1] YES. for a person with 2-3 years experience, the GMAT score does have a significant weightage. A 620 might have been just fine for a person with 5-10 yrs experience or with some super-achievement under his belt.

Also, despite your sales and marketing experience, you broadly belong to the indian-male-20something-software pool, which is a demographical disadvantage. there might be hundreds of such techies applying to these schools and they generally tend to have scores ranging from 670-730. Without a good score, you not only fall into a disadvantaged category, but are also a low scorer within that category. And that`s bad on both counts.

2] im taking the GMAT (first attempt!) on december 8th, so stop freeking me out with such questions!!! i think if you (WE!) work on the essays and recos in advance and keep them ready, we can still make it thru the round 2 deadlines.

3] Scoring below 650 is not even an option. It will only serve to CONFIRM to the admission guys that you actually ARE capable of scoring only in that range. in fact, you shouldnt even be thinking of less than 680. If you DO score below 650, u wont have an option but to wait for another year coz you`ll miss the round 2 deadlines...and getting thru round 3 with less than 650 is extremely difficult.

Sorry to put it across in an intimidating manner, just wated you to know the hard facts. 😃
12

Hi,

Sort of in the same boat.Have 3.5 work ex with an MNC,having in the quality team there,after completing B.Com-Fin specialisation.Got a 650 on the GMAT,and very apprehensive on chances I stand,while applying to the ISB for '06.Applying to the GLIM-Chennai and NUS,Nanyang as well.

Can anyone let me know whether it would be a safer bet to write this again,or continue with applying with this score?

Warm Regards,
Nanditha.

13

NO problem crashtest. In fact that's exactly how i've been feeling. Was, in a way, encouraging. I'm serious.
And yes, I wish you all the best for your test on the 8th.


Yes, I have been aiming for a 700+. In fact, i really thought i could pull it off the previous time. But I probably either got tensed...or my head stopped working during the verbal section. Coz that's where i really really lost out.
In that section i was begining to get a headache and my eyes were burning.
A friend of mine had asked me to take something to eat during the breaks. I now feel i should have listened to him. It probably does help.
Also one tip that io found on GMATTUTOR.COM seems to make sense. "Learn to breathe."

So, my learnings were,
1) eat and drink healthy during the breaks. Something which u can in 2 mins. The other 3 mins is for going to the loo and signing back in.
2) All through the test, learn to rest your eyes.
3) when u have time, close your eyes, breathe and relax.