690 (Q43, V41) - Should I take again??

[michael.david.faulkner]

Took the GMAT for the third time this morning and received a 690 (Q43, V41). This was my third attempt.

I obtained a 620 (Q39, V37) on my first attempt last November. This attempt was a terrible experience given that I was handed a used dry-erase book during the quant section. Pages 4-8 were not cleaned off and already had writing them. I did not figure this out until half way through the quant portion--when I ran out of notebook was unable to find a proctor to obtain a new notebook for several minutes. After writing a letter to the GMAC they allowed me to take the test again free of charge--however, they refused to cancel my score.

Then in January I took the GMAT again and scored a 640 (Q43, V 34). I was fairly devastated with my score, especially the verbal section.

So for the past four months I switched to the MGMT program (books only, no course) and began feeling much more confident in both my quant and verbal skills. Using MGMT's CATs, which I have cycled through twice now, my scores have ranged consistently from 680-760. This is usually with a quant level of 45-50 and verbal level of 36-41. I also took both MBA.com’s official prep CATs twice each during the past two weeks. On these my scores were the following:

700 (V35, Q50)
680 (V35, Q48)
700 (V38, Q48)
710 (V38, Q49)

As you could imagine, from the above results I was quite nervous about my verbal score going into today's test.

Before today I would have been content with a minimum of a 690, as I was confident that if I were to achieve a score of a 690 or higher that it would be a more even breakdown. However, when I saw the score pop up on the screen this morning: 690 (Q43, V41) I was quite shocked and still don't know what to think of it. I'm obviously extremely satisfied with my verbal score, but I'm pretty disappointed with my quant score.

So let me explain a bit about my background before I ask for advice...

I graduated from undergrad 1 year ago with a BS in Selling & Sales Management from a Purdue University with a 3.58GPA-note: I took 5 years to graduate as I switched majors a couple times during my first two years. My course load was not very quant heavy (i.e. no calculus), however, I did receive A’s in nearly all of the quant courses that I did take. I’ve been working for the past year at a small business in B2B sales. It’s a very demanding job, and despite not being a big name company, I think the my projects and overall experience will look good on my b-school application. Furthermore, I also started my own company that has the sole distribution rights in my region for a solid product that I believe will have some truly major potential. I am also very actively involved in my community, fulfilling three leadership volunteer roles.

I don’t plan on applying to to B-school until I have at least another 2 years of work experience (total of 3). The schools I am targeting are: Columbia, Northwestern, University of Chicago, and Yale.

So my questions/concerns are:
-Is a 690 with a Q43 good enough for these schools in regards to my experience above?
-How detrimental would it be to take the GMAT again (4+ times)?

Any analysis of my potential acceptance to these schools given my above credentials would be much appreciated. I am so incredibly sick of studying for the GMAT, I want nothing more than to be done studying for good. But as I’ve said, I am just not sure if a Q43 is high enough to stop my pursuit.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

[mbamission]

Hi -

I know the GMAT can be frustrating!

A score of 690 is very respectable. I don't think taking the test again would be detribmental but since you have already taken it three times, it's hard to imaging your score would improve dramatically on a fourth try. At this point, it sounds like you should put it behind you and focus on your story, getting to know your target schools, and putting together a compelling application package. The GMAT is just one part of the overall picture and it sounds like you have a good candicacy in the works.

I hope this helps.
Best,

Erin Schuhmacher
mbaMission

[jchoumas]

Hi,

I took the GMAT this morning and also scored a 690:

Quant: 42
Verbal: 42

This put me in the 95th percentile for verbal and just the 62ndish for quant. I studied MIS and Finance in my undergrad and consider myself much more analytical - I was shocked by these results. I have been consulting at a top firm for two years now with intentions to apply this fall.

My target schools are HBS or MIT.

How vital is it to take the GMAT again and how detrimental would it be if I scored lower? I find it VERY unlikely to get such a high verbal score again.

This was my first test.

[michael.david.faulkner]

Hi,

I took the GMAT this morning and also scored a 690:

Quant: 42
Verbal: 42

This put me in the 95th percentile for verbal and just the 62ndish for quant. I studied MIS and Finance in my undergrad and consider myself much more analytical - I was shocked by these results. I have been consulting at a top firm for two years now with intentions to apply this fall.

My target schools are HBS or MIT.

How vital is it to take the GMAT again and how detrimental would it be if I scored lower? I find it VERY unlikely to get such a high verbal score again.

This was my first test.

Sounds like the same situation that I'm in. More or less mixed emotions--I'm thrilled with my verbal score, but disappointed with my quant. But at the same time, I'm not sure if I could pull off a 41 in verbal again given that it has been a weakness of mine.

After doing quite a bit of research on the topic of retakes, I concluded that multiple GMAT scores should not be detrimental to your application for 99% of b-schools. Most all schools only take into account your highest score--and one of the biggest reasons behind this comes from the fact that if any score besides an applicant's highest score was taken into account, it would damage the school's average GMAT score statistics. Therefore, by taking into consideration only an applicant's highest score, it can ensure that the school's average GMAT score statistic for that class is maximized.