Can a dismal IR score undo a good GMAT score

[anic]

Hi,

I took GMAT yesterday after 3 weeks of preparation, which only included OG-13 verbal, Verbal workbook, Manhattan SC Guide, MGMAT CAT tests, and GMAT Prep sample tests. Tests were the only method of preparation for Maths.

Looking back, I repent not giving it my best shot. This score of (dismal) 49 in Quant and 41 in Verbal for an overall score of 740 (OK Score) says a lot. Since Maths was never an issue, this 49 quant score can be safely attributed to complacency, coupled with lot of careless mistakes.

I have 2 concerns:
1) At the risk of sounding obsessed, I want to ask whether to retake the GMAT. Same verbal of 41, coupled with a 51 in quant could have handed a handsome 760 (Oh God! Why! Why!). With better preparation, I might be able to push my verbal score up a couple of points.

2) The second question refers to a bigger concern that is giving me shivers. Given my incomplete preparation, I completely overlooked the Essay and IR sections. The chances of getting only 3-4 questions right in the IR and sub 5 score in Essay are quite high. Will this act as a big dampener and force me to retake the GMAT?

Though this is my first post, I appreciate all the generous help and information that is available on this forum. Really need some insights, especially on the IR front.

Thank You,
Anic

[StaceyKoprince]

Do you want to teach for us? Then you need a 760. Otherwise, your 740 is already amazing. :)

Are you applying this year? Most schools are completely ignoring the IR scores this year. (In fact, I haven't heard of a single school that is using IR this year, but I'm still saying "most" because it's always possible that there is one school using IR.)

You can't retake for 31 days anyway, and you'll have your IR and essay scores by then, so wait and see what you actually get. You might be fine. :) Anyway, your verbal score is high enough that you're probably fine even if you did bomb the essay.

Congratulations - enjoy it instead of stressing about it! :)

[anic]

Thanks Stacey!!

Very encouraging words :)

Yes I am applying this year..
After your reply, the GMAT case is closed and this is the starting point of the application process. Now I can work on it with a positive outlook :)

Warm regards,
Anic

[StaceyKoprince]

you are very welcome :)

[anic]

Hi Stacey,
I got 5 in AWA and 2 in IR :'(

Everybody I spoke to told me that the score is very low and is really going to hurt, even if it is not being considered this year.

Does 2 in IR necessitate a retake? I do not want to be rejected because of IR, but, I also do not want to spend time on GMAT since I am applying this year and the deadlines are not very far.

I am afraid the application effort will be derailed if I retake. But if it cannot be avoided then I should move sooner rather than later.

Please share your views.

Best,
Anic

[StaceyKoprince]

That's annoying. At this point, I'd talk to an admissions consultant to see what they say. In particular, I think this really depends on the individual schools. Some have publicly said that they are not even looking at IR this year. Others have said that they're looking at it but not placing too much emphasis on it yet. An admissions consultant might know (better than me, certainly!) whether "your" schools have said anything about IR.

Make sure the consultant knows the full picture - that re-taking the test could mean taking time away from applications, so that trade-off might not be worth it.

[anic]

Thanks Stacey!

Yes I am in process of contacting admission consultants as well as adcoms (though adcoms seldom give anything but diplomatic replies)

My biggest concern is this - is it possible that they reject the applicant based primarily on the IR score, especially when its way below average? My gut says no, but my head always contradicts.

Also, if I happen to finish my application by second week of December and retake GMAT towards the end of December, then, given that AWA and IR scores will arrive after R2 deadlines have passed, will they still consider my new scores?

[StaceyKoprince]

Anything is possible, of course, but this year, I'd be very surprised if a school did that. There just isn't enough data to use the results reliably at this point.

Different schools have different policies about additional info after the deadline has passed. Some say "no way" and some will look as long as they haven't already made a decision about your application. One thing you could do is contact the schools after you've put in your app in order to ask whether they will consider new info if you send it in after the deadline but before they have made their decision.

[kadiribipin]

Hi ,

I think I will also score less on IR.
1) In how many days can I expect the official score report ? Is it actually taking 20 days ?

2)How are you planning to defend your low IR ? Have you applied /discussed the same with any colleges yet and have they said anything regd the same ?

Plz let me know...

[kadiribipin]

Hi Stacy,

Can u plz help me with the above ?

1) How to defend a low IR score ? and

2) Are schools like CMU Tepper, Duke , Emory, NUS, Rottman etc considering IR scores ? If yes to what extent ?

[StaceyKoprince]

Please remember to read the forum guidelines before posting. Please don't "bump" your own post. We respond to all posts in order, oldest first, and the date of your post is based on the date of the last post in the thread, not the first. If you bump your own post, you will wait longer for a response!

Right now, people are still reporting about 20 days to get the score reports, yes. Eventually, we expect this to go back down to about 7 to 10 days (as it was before IR launched), but right now it's still taking about 3 weeks.

Re: your other question, I'm not an admissions consultant so I have no real idea what schools are doing, especially individual schools. :) In general, I know that most schools this year are not considering IR at all. In fact, Stanford actually said so on their own blog. But if you're concerned about specific schools, ask an admissions consultant whether s/he has heard anything.

Also, for next year - we just don't know yet. The schools themselves don't even know. They're still gathering data and figuring out how to use it.