2nd GMAT score was lower than 1st

[Sir Dancelot]

My first GMAT was a 730 (Q45 V45). I wanted to bring my Q up, so I retook. 2nd attempt was a 710 (Q48 V42).

Is this a red flag? What should I do? Does it hurt my chances at top 10 b schools?

[mbamissionjenK]

Not a problem generally; schools take your HIGHEST score and the main one they first look at is self-reported on your applications (just verified later/separately from GMAC).

There could be some argument to consider the higher quant score at specific schools (Wharton).... that said your score report will show all tests, so if nothing else they could also see the higher quant result so that could be a plus. But you'd still report your highest score-- that helps their overall average. ;)