4-year-old GMAT Scores
Mixed answers on the net. Does anyone know if a 720 from 2007 is worth the same as a 720 from 2011, assuming the school accepts scores in a 5 year range?
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I don't see why a school would have a problem with a 4-year old score. They deemed that 5 years and less is acceptable, so you should be good to go. Not sure how pre- and post- 2012 GMAT changes will be looked at though.
retake it and then decide
First off, do not retake the test. If you score lower (which you probably will unless you study for it again), the admissions teams at the schools you apply to will see this new score on your scoring transcript.
Second, according to official rules at all MBA programs and the GMAC, your score report is good for 5 years. The admissions teams will not "look down" on your score because it is 4 years old. Don't worry about it.
i saw retake it because a 720 isn't that good assuming he is white or asian
There's a 5 year window. Why would you need to retake it? Send in the scores. 720 is a good score.
Hi Croato87,
As long as the GMAT test was taken within the 5 year window, your GMAT score will be considered the same regardless of whether it was taken in 07' or 11'.
Hope this was of help.
Cheers,
Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team
700 GMAT worth taking for a caucasian?
if you got a 720 4 years ago that's the same as a 720 now. If you can raise the score, than that's a different story, but statistically speaking I think most people do better on the exam when they're younger.
If you're a white, indian or asian male it might be worth it to retake, but even then 720 is a pretty good score --- so long as the rest of your profile is solid that's not going to hurt you at all.
GMAT Score - How recent do scores need to be? (Originally Posted: 01/19/2010)
I'm only considering the top 10-20 business programs when I ask these so no need to give advice about smaller programs. Thanks in advance!
5 / No / No
^Agreed.
some european programs only accept scores that are 3 years old.
Need reassurance: GMAT scores last for 5 years? (Originally Posted: 09/03/2007)
I am almost certain they do and most B-school websites indicated they do. But I have a friend older than I who's applying in the Fall and he says they last for 3 years. I respect him greatly and he generally isn't severely misinformed, but can someone re-assure me that B-schools are OK with scores taken 5 years in the past? Do they have some sort of unofficial deadline at 3 years? I find that hard to believe.
Thanks.
GMAT scores are good for 5 years
Some schools might not want your 5-year old GMAT, even if your score is still technically available from ETS. Check the schools you are applying to.
GMAT Score - Timing issue? (Originally Posted: 02/03/2014)
Just wondering whether MBA admission office favors the recently taken gmat score or even sometimes requires you to take it again?
I believe score is valid for 5 years but heard they favor the recent one. I am thinking of taking the GMAT before breaking into banking but…Any idea?
Thanks guys
Did you already take the GMAT? If you did pre-IR, and did fairly well (I'd say 700+), I wouldn't bother retaking for that reason.
As long as it is within the 5 year mark, it is still a valid score. I have heard of school's asking for scores within the last 3 or 4 years but I have not seen it myself.
GMAT Score Question (Originally Posted: 09/18/2011)
A quick question on gmat score. I know that it is valid for 5 years. I took the exam, but am considering going into the EMBA route later on after working for 10+ years instead. I'm fine with having to re-take it when timing is right, but a question came up. Will the GMAT score be eliminated at the schools I asked the score to be sent while taking the GMAT after 5 years? Or will those schools still have my score, but simply have a requirement that I need to re-take it once past 5 years?
Thanks in advance.
theyll have it but you need to retake it
Got it. But then, will the previous scores have any impact on the application in any way?
Very unlikely that it will impact your application. The GMAT itself is changing, and you will grow and change as well in the coming years. It makes historical stuff less and less meaningful.
Value of GMAT score after 3-4 years? (Originally Posted: 11/22/2010)
Hi all,
Really thinking about taking the GMAT this summer right after i graduate. Was hoping for some good advice. So thanks in advance.
Do top business schools differentiate between 750 score 1 year from application vs 4 years from application?
Does it depend on each school?
I realize people might not be knowledgeable about this, but good opinions are welcomed.
Thanks.
They don't care. It expires after 5 years.
I've talked to admissions officers about this. They really don't care. However, if you take it a few years ago, and you order your most recent score report, the percentiles will most likely be lower, espeically in quant. This happens because every 2-3 years they readjust the GMAT percentiles, so your old test will get adjusted accordingly.
Hi bossman,
I agree with the above posts. Admissions teams do not differentiate between a GMAT test that was taken 1 year ago vs. a GMAT test taken 4 years ago.
Best,
Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team
Are there schools that require GMAT scores from last two years instead of its effective duration (five years)? (Originally Posted: 04/28/2014)
I am planning to apply for MBA programs after two years, but plan to take GMAT by upcoming July. Someone told me that MBA schools are becoming more strict about gmat scores. Are there schools that require GMAT scores from last two years? Your answer would be appreciated. Thanks.
I've never heard of that. Every school I applied to would take any valid GMAT taken within the previous 5 years.
That's what I figured out from searching every school's website. I will ask my friend where he heard of such thing. Thanks for the clarification.
I think that perhaps your friend was referring to schools preferring higher and higher gmat scores, not more and more recent ones.
No top school deviates from the 5 year rule, nor would they.
@OpsDude and others. Sloan was actually a four-year requirement this year. GMAT had to be taken after September, 2009 (R1 apps were due September, 2013).
That's really surprising. Any idea why they would do that? When I was a senior, the recommended advice was to take the GMAT then, while you're still in school and know how to study, because its good for 5 years everywhere.
I have absolutely no idea. My guess is that if you contacted them and said that you had a test from June 2009 that they would have accepted it, but who knows. I just know that my Admissions Consultant contacted me a couple weeks before apps were due and asked when I took my GMAT because she/others had just stumbled across this.
Seemed very strange to me though.
Taking GMAT Now, Applying for MBA in 5 Yrs, Send Scores? (Originally Posted: 04/03/2011)
If I'm taking the GMAT now but won't be applying to schools for another 4 years, should I just pick 5 schools I might be interested in down the line? Or, would it be better to wait until I'm actually ready to apply?
It'd be nice to save ~$140, but are there any drawback to sending scores now?
What year are you?
Ok apparently you're a first year analyst. I'd say wait. If you were an underclassman in college, I'd say go for and if you scored well it would be an impressive thing to add to an application.
I don't understand the downside to sending scores now for free. Just take a stab at the schools you'll be interested in down the road and send them. You might save some cash, or you might not - but why wouldn't you send them?
If you bomb the exam and have to retake it, your old scores will stay on record with GMAC, so it's not like you can hide a bad score for the next 5 years.
Ok cool that's what I was wondering. Thanks.
If anything, showing a significantly improved score your second or third time around demonstrates grit and resilience. Just don't send scores if you plan on taking the GMAT more than three times. A fourth attempt at getting a decent score just makes you look desperate and unwilling to own up to your deficiencies.
Yeah you should definitely take the GMAT just in case.
Tons of people take the GMAT just in case -- just in case they decide to go to bschool, just in case they want that promotion, just in case their career messes up and they hate their job and want to switch. If you've already taken the GMAT, it becomes an "option" to go to business school.
Without that option, you're stuck in your career wondering whether or not it's too late to start taking your GMAT...uhoh! Take it now.
How fast does a given GMAT score devalue? (Originally Posted: 01/02/2014)
I've taken the GMAT this June and scored 760 (balanced V/Q, perfect AWA and IR). At the moment this is the 99th percentile, and would probably stand out on the application - however since the average score is rising pretty rapidly, the corresponding percentile three years from now is likely going to be less than it is today.
Also, I do know that the score is valid for 5 years, but I'm not sure if the adcom is going to discount a score that is 3-4 years old (as in - what if you got dumber over these years lol).
I'm currently a college senior (non-US), and planning to get an MBA after 2-3 years of full-time work experience, hopefully at the MBB where I am currently interning. Gunning for an H/S.
The reason I'm asking is because I'm contemplating applying for a deferred admission right now, but it would really require me to go out of my way for it. Especially the HBS, which would require me to fly out to the US for an interview (afaik they do not do alumni interviews for the 2+2) with all associated expenses and Visa issues.
A 760 is a 760.. don't worry about it getting devalued with rising averages (isn't the average still somewhere in the 520-540 range?).
As for the 5 year issue, doesn't matter at all. School give equal weight to a 760 from 4-5 years ago as they do to a 760 0-1 years ago, as long as it is still valid. I applied to MBA programs the very last year my gmat score was valid, and had zero issues with it.
I think you should take it again and score higher if you can. I don't think it is worth the risk of the 760 devaluing in the future. I'd aim for an 820 to be on the safe side.
An 820 will really only cut if you're an URM or a nontraditional applicant.
For anyone else, retake.
I used a 4.5 year old gmat score and had no problems with H/S/W apps. Also, most of the apps require you to include your percentile along with score for each section and cumulative so that really shouldn't be a worry.
I'm pretty sure this is the not the first year admissions committees exist so call me crazy but my guess, and it's a wild one, they have seen this before and you probably shouldn't worry about it.
Good to know about oldish scores not being valued at a discount!
I'm just wondering if 760 is going to be the new average by that time lol. It is a bit surprising how fast the mean score is rising - I thought the difficulty of the test is supposed to be adjusted with each season.
Taking the GMAT (Originally Posted: 01/20/2015)
Will business schools ding me if I took the GMAT 4 years before I applied?
No. The score lasts 5 years.
Why would they ding you for such a silly reason?
I wasn't sure if it would be deemed as "not as relevant" or something absurd like that. Thank you!
Any Cause For Worry Using GMAT Scores Later?? (Originally Posted: 02/01/2018)
The GMAT website states that scores can be used for applications within a 5 year time period. If I plan to take the GMAT this year, but don't apply for any programs until 2022/2023, how will admissions feel about the time lapse between my score and application submission?
Any insight is appreciated, thanks.
bump
Admissions won't care. I took mine 3 years prior to application. One thing to note is the trend in rising GMAT averages, so you may end up feeling compelled to retake in 2022.
Thanks for your insight!
Not a big deal. As long as the score is competitive in 2022/23 and still valid, they don't care.
Thanks for your help Linda!
Are there any downsides to writing the GMAT ~3 years before matriculation? (Originally Posted: 08/08/2016)
Hello all,
I have seen a few people mention that it is bad to write your GMAT too far behind your matriculation, and that adcoms prefer to see a more recent gmat score. Is this actually true?
I was planning to write the GMAT in January or February of 2017 but would not be applying for MBA programs until Fall 2019 or 2020 (Matriculation in 2020 or 2021, 3.5-4.5 years after GMAT). Should I postpone my writing of the GMAT to writing it closer to my application/matriculation dates, or is it not worth it and should I write it now when I have more spare time and can score higher?
Thank you
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