Should I retake after a 680 ?

[pancake]

Hello,

MGMAT CAT and forums really helped during my preparation but unfortunately, I didn't get the score I wanted. That's why I'd like the advices from people here.

I took the test 3 days ago and I got 680, q44 and v38.

I am really disappointed since I was aiming 700+ and got several 720 during my preparation.
I'm wondering whether I should retake and I'd like to hear any advices. Here are severals elements about my situation :

-First, I want to highlight that GMAT became a sort of challenge to me. I started at 580 in December and I knew I needed a 700+. I've been studying for the last 4 months and I just can't accept the truth. I'm not a 680 guy. I've studied too hard to fail so close to my target. I'm not even sure my sadness and anger are about compromising my application. They may be related to the fact I didn't get what I prepared for.

-I'm a european student (non english speaking country) and I'm applying in european program for which the average GMAT is around 650 (no official figures are given). However, my GPA is not amazing and some students from the program strongly advised me to aim 700+ with a high quantitative score. I know, people here would say not to retake since I'm already above the average in a non-english speaking country which is not so familiar to GMAT. However, my grades at school are not amazing and the GMAT was supposed to help me compensate and show that I have quantitatives skills which will help me succeed even though my grades could say the contrary. Also, the recruiting process is not as demanding as the one for business schools. We don't have to write essays, seek for long recommandations, etc... My point is that I won't sacrifice other parts of my application file by studying GMAT for a few more weeks.

-Because of the application deadline, I need to retake soon. Probably at the end of April. If I decide to do so, I think I will take a week to relax and I will go back on GMAT tracks for 3 intense weeks. I bought the gmat club tests but I didn't have time to use them so I still have 10 tests to do. I'm not sure it is enough. However, I will probably need good verbal materials.

-The last few days before G-day were quiet stressful. I took the TOEFL on friday, had to work with a tight deadline on a project for school and I got a job interview on monday's night. Then, I took the GMAT on tuesday morning. However, the hours right before the GMAT were really : I was not stressed, and the AWA and IR were like a warmup. I was really in a good mood at the beginning of the quantitative part and I managed to stay focused until the end of the exam. I never try to estimate my score.

-I feel really bad because I really have the feeling I did everything well. I worked hard, I used good prep materials, I was not too stressed but still, the score is not the one I want.

-Here are the scores I got during my preparation :

I want to mention that my last gmatprep is not so much inflated. I didn't get that many repeat questions. I made an effort to copy the exam condition and I was really confortable. I even had more time than needed during quant and verbal parts. Maybe the last MGMAT, where I got 640, shouLd have warn me that something was going wrong... I don't know...

Thanks a lot for reading.

[RonPurewal]

-First, I want to highlight that GMAT became a sort of challenge to me. I started at 580 in December and I knew I needed a 700+. I've been studying for the last 4 months and I just can't accept the truth. I'm not a 680 guy. I've studied too hard to fail so close to my target. I'm not even sure my sadness and anger are about compromising my application. They may be related to the fact I didn't get what I prepared for.

well, it sounds as though you've already made up your mind here.

remember one option: you can always re-take the test, and then just decide not to submit the updated scores if you aren't happy with them. (schools will not get automatic updates.) so, in that sense, there's essentially no risk.
it's really just a question of whether you want to let the test weigh on your mind for another month.

-I'm a european student (non english speaking country) and I'm applying in european program for which the average GMAT is around 650 (no official figures are given). However, my GPA is not amazing and some students from the program strongly advised me to aim 700+ with a high quantitative score. I know, people here would say not to retake since I'm already above the average in a non-english speaking country which is not so familiar to GMAT. However, my grades at school are not amazing and the GMAT was supposed to help me compensate and show that I have quantitatives skills which will help me succeed even though my grades could say the contrary. Also, the recruiting process is not as demanding as the one for business schools. We don't have to write essays, seek for long recommandations, etc... My point is that I won't sacrifice other parts of my application file by studying GMAT for a few more weeks.

for questions like this, you should post in the "Ask an Admissions Consultant" folder. they help with these kinds of issues for a living; we're just the test guys.

-Because of the application deadline, I need to retake soon. Probably at the end of April. If I decide to do so, I think I will take a week to relax and I will go back on GMAT tracks for 3 intense weeks. I bought the gmat club tests but I didn't have time to use them so I still have 10 tests to do. I'm not sure it is enough. However, I will probably need good verbal materials.

if you are "not sure [10 tests are] enough", then that may be the problem right there - you're putting WAY too much emphasis on practice tests.
remember that practice tests are not a tool for improvement -- i.e., you will not get any better at this exam by taking practice tests. (similarly, you don't get faster at running by running races, and so on; it's the training.)
really, there are only 2 reasons to take practice tests: (1) diagnosis; (2) timing practice.

as for #1, diagnosis, that's only something you need, at most, every couple of weeks. your strengths and weaknesses are not going to change overnight, so there's no sense in taking diagnostic tests very often. 1-2 tests a month for this purpose.

#2 here is really the only good justification for taking more frequent practice tests.
i.e., if you have timing issues, take a few practice tests. if you don't, don't.
if your timing is already good and you spend all your time taking practice tests, you're basically just wasting that time.

I want to mention that my last gmatprep is not so much inflated. I didn't get that many repeat questions.

even seeing 4-5 repeated questions can potentially inflate your score by as much as 50 points.
it can be worthwhile to take repeated gmat prep tests, as long as you totally ignore the scores on the repeated tests - they are essentially meaningless - and focus on how the test questions work.

in any case - as far as your admissions questions, please direct those to the admissions folder, as suggested above. as for your decision about whether to re-take, consider the fact that you are under no obligation to send out any updated reports if you don't want to.

[pancake]

Hello Ron,

First, thank you for these insights about practice tests. I may have made some mistakes during my preparation. I have started prepared a bit this week, I think I'm going for a retake...

About the updated score report, are you saying I could retake and decide later wether to send the first or the second official score report ? Isn't it a bit dishonest ? And is it even legal ?

Thank you again :).

[RonPurewal]

Hello Ron,

First, thank you for these insights about practice tests. I may have made some mistakes during my preparation. I have started prepared a bit this week, I think I'm going for a retake...

ok

About the updated score report, are you saying I could retake and decide later wether to send the first or the second official score report ?

No, you can't decide between the first and the second. A score report will always contain ALL the tests from the last five years.

However, if you've already sent the first report, then my understanding is that an update will not be automatically sent when you re-take the exam. So then it's up to you.
If you have a stake in this situation, I would suggest calling GMAC and verifying that this is the case; I have only secondhand information about this stuff, and so I place no guarantee on whether my understanding is accurate.

Isn't it a bit dishonest ?

This is a GMAT board, not an ethics board.
I have my own beliefs about the ethics of this situation, but, obviously, my personal beliefs are irrelevant here.

Also, this is only common sense"”especially for a future businessperson"”but there's a decently big gap between "honesty" and "full disclosure".

And is it even legal ?

Thankfully, the law is uninvolved in these things. And an omission is not a lie.
Again, the ethical decision is yours, not mine or anyone else's.