720 GMAT, low quant % -> retake?
Got 720 on the GMAT. Serviceable score, but with a nasty split: 95th percentile verbal, 75th quant. Planning to pursue IB post-MBA, and will likely present this story at MBA interviews. If that's the case, I'll probably want a higher quant score.
I have no problem with math, just didn't spend that much time studying. I could spend a couple months in the summer beefing up my maths to hopefully bring it up to 85th or so, but I'm trying to decide if it's worth it. I figure I need to be at or above 85th percentile in math for it not to be held against me, especially given my wanting to get into finance story. But then, maybe a 720 overall is a good enough score to clear the GMAT hurdle, even with the slightly below-par math. Advice? Thanks in advance.
def retake.
I think that is fine. Most of the top schools look fr you to be in the 80th percentile on each, but I don't think that 75 is so low that you need to worry. Do you have other things that will demonstrate quant ablity? work experience? quant courses on undergrad transcripts? etc? The GMAT is only one piece of the puzzle. i wouldn't waste time taking it again I would focus on other parts of the application going forward. Just my opinion.
Thanks for the comments.
I have good grades in quant-heavy courses in college (Econometrics, Calc, etc), but not much quant work experience. A comparatively higher verbal fits with my story, actually, but I still feel the low quant will not do me any favors
I was asking about this with respect to MBA admissions, not post-MBA hiring. However, you're right in pointing out that it will be a factor in post-MBA hiring; my GMAT is bound to come up, and a 75th percentile quant score will need some explaining at finance interviews - even if it's a good MBA program.
I feel I can do better on the quant if I drill problems for a couple of months this summer, so I'll probably give it a shot. If other stuff takes priority, hey, I'll go for it with the score as is.
Thanks again.
if you go to a good mba, who cares about whether your gmat was 720 or 740? your original question was about the effect of the gmat post-mba, right? (as opposed to its effects on your chances of getting a good mba admission).
Retaking 720 GMAT for LSE (Originally Posted: 11/28/2012)
Hi, I took the GMAT yesterday and ended up with a 720. However, I only scored 46 on the quantitative section. My main goal is to get into LSE, preferably the Msc Finance and Economics. I am wondering whether I should retake the GMAT to get a better quantitative score?
I really only had one week of preparation for the test, so I am sure I could get a better quant score the next time. However, if my previous score could get me accepted I'd rather not spend the time and money on a new test. My undergraduate degree has a significant portion of mathematical subjects, which should show that my quantitative skills are better than the GMAT score suggests.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Since there are other factors at play, (ie: GPA) it's hard to say what you need. If you have shitty grades, you should probably shoot for 750+, but if you have good grades from a good school, you should be fine.
Isn't the average like 680?
a 720 will put you in the competitive stack at LSE, so stop panicking and focus on other stuff pertaining to your app. You cleared the GMAT hurdle.
This.
OP, what's your background?
Hi, thanks for the replies. My undergraduate degree is in business and economics from the leading business school in one of the nordic countries. I have a 3.7 GPA with a 4.0 GPA in finance and economics courses. I don't have any relevant internships, though I will most likely have one for this summer by the time I send my application.
if you think you can score higher in quant, then retake. But yes, GMAT score seems to be used more for narrowing down pool of candidates, so other aspects of your application start becoming more important then. 720 will probably get your application looked at for just about any b school. But obviously, having a more balanced scoring or higher scoring will have some marginal benefits.
720 GMAT - Worth Retaking or Not? (Originally Posted: 03/06/2015)
I just took the GMAT and scored a 720 (Q48 V40), but I'm not sure if I should sit on it or retake and try to get a higher score. Is the marginal difference of a 730-750 vs a 720 large enough to warrant retaking?
For context, I am planning to matriculate with 2 years of MM IB experience and 2 years in PE. Ideally, I would like to end up at H/S/W, Booth, or Columbia. I have a good undergrad gpa (3.6+) too. Just curious to see if I would be crazy to retake the GMAT...
Honestly, probably not unless you were consistently scoring like 740+ on your practice tests.
You'll definitely be competitive at all of those schools with your background and a 720 gmat score. Your personal statement and references will matter significantly more than a minor score increase
agreed with seinund - really depends what you were getting on your practices and where you think you can realistically be. i think a 760+ could help given you're in a super competitive bucket in finance but going from a 720 to a 730/740 prob won't move the needle much. That said, you have tons of time until apps are due so there's not much downside in taking it again.
Depends how seriously you want Harvard/Stanford.
With a PE background, 720 probably won't be high enough - It's below their average GMAT, and in general, finance people are above average on the GMAT (you're compared to other finance people - they put people in buckets). You should be fine for Booth and Columbia though.
There is no need to retake the GMAT. You hit the important milestones: (i) 700+ overall and (ii) balanced Verbal/Math scores. If you scored 720 with a poor math score (e.g., Q45 and a high verbal) or scored 50+ on quant and sub-40 on verbal, then maybe it would make sense to retake. You are golden on the GMAT portion.
Don't underestimate how important your essays and other aspects of your application will be. You need to craft your story and know it inside and out, so that your goals come through genuinely during your interviews… just like when you interviewed for your first jobs out of undergrad.
Good luck on the applications.
I'd say it depends on your practice test scores. If you were doing significantly better on practice tests, then you should be ready for a retake with a bit more studying and working to make sure that you are calm on the day of the test. If you hit around your target range, then I wouldn't retake unless you did not put in much studying. For the GMAT, I think it gets exponentially tougher to inc score after a certain amount of studying. I started to plateau at 30 or so and felt as though even a 10 pt increase would have taken exponentially more studying by the time I hit 50, so I just took the test. If you put in a lot of study hours and hit around your target scores, it's going to take a whole lot more to increase significantly.
If you could hit 750 it would really help at those schools. Especially Wharton and Booth. They just don't care about a 720. It's a big deal at NYU though.
If you could hit 750 it would really help at those schools. Especially Wharton and Booth. They just don't care about a 720. It's a big deal at NYU though.
If you can do better, then take it again.
720 is roughly the average at the M7 schools. So if you're an asian/white male coming from finance, then a 720 is below average. Are you comfortable enough with the rest of your application to have a gmat score below competing applications? Use the official practice tests as a gauge for where you should have topped out score-wise.
Keep in mind that your GMAT score not only matters for getting into these schools but also for applying for jobs once you get in.
This is a very good point, too. If OP doesn't have significant ECs he/she could get priced out of the market by finance ppl with more prestigious similar backgrounds and better stats. I'd imagine still good at lower side of M7 and would be close to a lock at Stern/Yale/etc. with good execution. However, OP should aim for M7 presuming that he/she wants to return to PE unless interested in a boutique/small local firm.
I pretty much maxed out my score, at least to the point where I think breaking 730+ would require a significant investment. I put in roughly 40-50 hours of prep initially, and that led to an increase from 640 to 710 on my practice CATs. Not sure that it would be worth my time to continue studying in hopes of increasing my score only 10-20 points.
Is there any data to support the claim that successful applicants coming from an IB+PE background have gmat scores well above the average at the M7 schools? I've seen that suggested repeatedly here.
You should focus on enhancing other aspects of your candidacy then if you feel as though additional points will be hard-won. B-schools do not release granular enough data to be able to show that high finance background had higher scores on average - it is more of a common sense conclusion. However, I agree with you that it'd be nice to see the actual data. I actually have a suspicion that the degree to which US finance applicants outperform here is overstated, and that international students bring up the average. US is ~15th in the world in avg gmat score, and I did some number crunching using the GMATPrep demographic tool and concluded that only a few hundred US applicants score in the 99th percentile every year (the tool rounded to the nearest percentile so unfortunately my confidence interval yielded a possible range of 100 or so). A large number of these are likely tutors as well.
I suspect @"YoshiIsAwesome" is correct about international students bringing up school's GMAT averages. Have a look at Wharton's class of '16 class profile-- http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/class-profile.cfm
Wharton's mean GMAT is 728, and the FAQ section states "Our median GMAT score for recent entering classes is approximately 720", so we'll assume the median GMAT is 720, which is what @"thebernanke" scored.
720 is a certainly a very impressive score and median; Harvard, Stanford, and Booth are probably the only schools with a median of 720 or better (Harvard states their median is 730). However, 31% of Wharton's class are international students, who, on average, probably have a GMAT score higher than their US-citizen counterparts. The OP never mentioned his nationality, but if he's a US citizen, I don't see how a 720 would hurt him at a school like Wharton-- given his background he'd have no difficulty landing a great job out of that program.
No there isn't. You're getting a lot of bad advise on this thread. I would listen to devoutcapitalist.
At 720, it all boils down to networking and luck, unless you get an 800 or maybe 790.
Unless your cv and personality stinks there's no need to retake...
Retake: 720 GMAT below (Originally Posted: 08/15/2015)
Hi there, I am Salve from New Zealand. I finished college in the US and prefer to get my MBA course here. I have been working in an investment company since after graduation in college and I believe it is the right time to push through with my plans. I took my GMAT and got a 620 score. I am not confident with it so I would like to ask some of your opinions if I need to retake.
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