700 (49Q, 37V)- Should I Retake?

[manavkhurana1]

It seems to be a common question in these forums, but since each candidate's profile is a bit different I'm here to ask the same dreaded question- With a 700 (49Q, 37V) in the books, should I retake the GMAT?

A little background info- I went to the University of Maryland for undergrad and fortunately graduated with a 3.87 GPA in Finance and Econ. I'm currently working at a bulge bracket bank and volunteer on the weekends with inner-city high school students. I hope to work for 2 more years and then take a year off and volunteer abroad before going to grad school full-time.

I am definitely delighted to reach the benchmark of 700 (with the help of MGMAT and months of preparation) but I'm right on the cusp and truly don't know what to do.

Of course, as with most others, I am shooting for a top 15 or top 20 school, but I wanted to know if a 700 would give me a good enough chance to get in, or should I retake the test to give me a little buffer in my application?

I'm leaning towards retaking it again, but realistically I'm only capable of getting maybe 20-30 points higher (49Q, 39-40V), just going by what I scored on all my practice tests. So is it really worth it to take the test again for those 20-30 points or should I not risk getting a lower score the second time?

The truth is I've been getting right around 49Q and 37V on almost all of my practice tests so the question is if I am really capable of increasing my verbal and, if so, how to do it in the next 5-6 weeks.


MGMAT 1 (little to no preparation): 580 (46Q, 32V)
MGMAT 2 (prior to recalibration): 680 (45Q, 37V)
MGMAT 3: 640 (43Q, 35V)
MGMAT 4: 660 (44Q, 36V)

GMAT Prep 1: 710 (49Q, 38V)
GMAT Prep 2: 740 (49Q, 40V)


Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks.

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Common question, and yes 700 is on that 'border' of top-notch scores... so that means it becomes an even-more-personal decision. ;) I wouldn't say you NEED to re-take though, because in my view, with your profile, schools will most likely make the decision based upon your other factors and your essays, your story of what you'll contribute to the class and why you need the MBA. Would a 720+ help more? Sure. But I also think that if the rest of your application is outstanding and compelling, then they're not going to reject you for a 700. I know, that probably didn't help a ton... ;) but you're certainly near the average scores at top schools! If you were super confident in your ability to increase a lot, and really wanted to, it doesn't hurt to try... but you may also want to invest that time into your essays! ;)