Hi all,

I have taken the GMAT exam for four times and my scores are as following:

09/2008 V-26 , Q-49 , total score: 610 , AWA: 4.0
10/2008 V-19 , Q-50 , total score: 570 , AWA: 4.5
12/2008 V-26 , Q-50 , total score: 640 , AWA: 4.0

These are my real exam scores. On the manhattan practice tests I was getting scores around (710 - 730). After my third GMAT exam I gave a break for my study on the exam and 1 year later I took my last GMAT exam with only 3 days of preparation and my score was:

03/2010 V-35 , Q-49, Total Score: 690 , AWA: 4.0

It was surprising to see the improvement on my score since I only studied in the last 3 days before the exam. I only took 1 manhattan pactice exam and I got V-36, Q - 48 and in total 690 on that practice exam. So my real exam performance revealed the same score that I got in my manhattan practice exam.

I think my performance was better compared to my previous exams because I had a better time management and less stress although I did not prepared for the exam.

Now with that score on hand, I wonder whether I should prepare for the test and try improve my score over 700 or is it enough for Stanford, Kellog, Wharton, Sloan or Chicago.

My GPA is 3.53 and my major is Industrial Engineering

In total I have 9 years of work experience , 5 year is in private sector and and 4 year in public sector. My work experience in public sector is focused on feasibility analysis, project finance and project management.

Considering my score and background, could you please give me an advice on what should I do?

Thank you for your help.

Hi and thank you for your inquiry. Congratulations on improving your score so much - sometimes a bit of a break and some perspective can make a huge difference!

As long as your % scores (V/Q) are fairly balanced and close to 80%, I don't think you need to take the score again. Raising it by 10 or 20 points is really not going to make a material change to your profile. However, if your V/Q % breakdown is very unbalanced and you believe you could bring them into more alignment by taking the GMAT once more, then you could consider it.

But unless they're drastically unbalanced, I think your time is better spent working on your essays, focusing on community activity, refining your goals, and getting to know your target schools better.

Best,

Jessica Shklar
mbaMission

Hi Jessica,

I would like to thank you very much for your reply. I think I should focus my efforts on application rather than GMAT. The percentiles seem to be around Q-89% and V-75% . So as you said the other aspects of the application becomes more important at this point.

Thank for the nice advices.

My best regards,

mkutlu

You're welcome! Best of luck.