one more attempt

[manish]

hi,

i am manish and taken gmat 4 times but dint get the score that i wanted.i kwon where is my problem and i am working on it. i want to that is it useless to sit for 5th attempt as i really want to take it once more and get a decent score, i always get a lot less in the real exam than in my practice tests.plz advise me on attempt i want to apply this yr and have 2.5 yrs of work ex. and want to join a decent school in us(in top 50).
can i justify my attempts by saying that i have a low gpa and i dint get the scores i was expecting and i am keen to do mba next yr.

[Christian]

It would be useful to know what scores are you getting. Reason I say this is that if you are aiming at US top 50 schools I would think that you can you can get into some schools having a GMAt score in the low range of 560-600. Now if you are not in this range with the background you mention 2.5yrs work experience and below 3.0 GPA I would think you'll really have to shine in essays, recommendations, and interviews to get admitted.

For what it is worth, I'll share my personal experience so you get a feel of what the GMAT score played in my application. I haven't received my "you have been admitted" letter but there's a 99% chance of getting it as I was told during my Interview with the Admissions Director that the match between my interests and those of their prgram was perfect, etc.

I only applied to 1 MBA program, it is the #4 Ranked Public B-School in the US in regards to ROI (source: BusinessWeek). Here are my application factors:

I'm from Guatemala, born and raised. Moved to US 2 years ago.
Current job: Marketing - Brand Manager
GMAT Score - 590 (my 1st score and only one)
GPA - 3.4
Work experience - 5 yrs (3 abroad and 2 in U.S.)
Undergrad degree - Business administration from University abroad.
2 Essays
3 Letters of reccomentation from 2 VPs and President od our Division.
Interview with Admissions Director.

Therefore, you can see my GMAT plays just a compliance role in my application and that is how I saw it. So every piece other piece of the application was focused on my strengths and abilities and how I was gonna be a valuable asset for their program. From the interview I can see that they were positively impacted by my application and credentials.

I'll let this forum know once I am admitted, and I will also be posting this on my own thread just to share my experience with everyone as I think this really helps. It might have encouraged me if I saw anything like this.

[StaceyKoprince]

Christian is right that the GMAT score is only one part of the entire application - don't spend so much time on the GMAT that other parts of your application suffer.

Have you researched the specific schools to which you want to apply? Top 50 means we're talking about 50 different schools! Find out what the average scores are for the specific few schools to which you want to apply, and also find out what the average undergrade GPAs are for they students they admit. This will allow you to see how competitive you might be (just on those two attributes, of course - there are many others to consider, too!).

If your first 4 times were fairly recent (within the last 1.5 to 2 years), then the school might view a fifth attempt negatively. Or it might not - it really depends on the school. Once you've figured out which schools you want to apply to, you can ask the admissions department how they view 4 vs. 5 attempts. You can also ask the admissions consultants in the admissions consulting thread (though, again, you'll need to name the specific schools, as all schools can set their own policies on this issue).

[manish]

hi,

thanks for ur advice guys, i really appreciate ur response. my best score was my second attempt(540) after that my score decreased.i want to kwon that i have gone through many school's websites and they say that we only consider ur best score.i am sure that i can explain my multiple attempts so do i have a chance.
the schools i am appling have avg 600-670 score and i don't want to compromise on that list.

thanks.

[Christian]

Manish,

Personally, there's no reason to retake the test. Unless you're practice tests start showing upper 600 or low 700s, there's very limited chances that you will take that 540 to 600 on the real test any given day, as I said without major practice rituals.

The way I see it: GMAT tests your ability to understand and think fast, i.e. underpressure, and the CAT methodology adapts to your skill. If you have taken it 4 times and 540 is your top score I can anticipate that you are just average according the latest GMAT scoring tables. Having said that, you should move forward and look into admission advisors for guidance, so you can craft a masterpiece - application.

I imagine there should be tons of sites that give this kind of help.

Good luck.

[Guest]

Manish,

I'd have to disagree with the latest post on this thread by Christian. You probably have not corrected your mistakes and pinpointed what your weak areas are. You do still have a good shot at scoring high - above 700. A colleague of mine scored a 720 on her 5th attempt. Do not settle for an average score. You can do it. Do and redo OG problems, use MGMAT's SGs and Q Banks to solidify your conceptual knowledge, review your wrong answers to the OG questions and redo those problems again again.

Then, take a practice test.

[manish]

hi there,

thanks for ur response, i am talking about the guest response that one of ur friend got 720 on 5th attempt but did ur friend got into the school he/she wanted.
i am really confused on this multiple attempts theory- i feel either it is right or it is not(i mean if ur allowed to take the test second time so why not 5 time)and if it is not right to take 5 attempt then i think pearson should not allow it.
i know what gmat measures and i think person who scores 700+ in his first attempt is no suppirior to 5th attempter. :roll:
if i am getting really good scores in my practice tests(650-760) prior to my attempts i think i can score in my 5th attempt given that i work on reasons (what happened and why on that day).

thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

You are allowed to take the test 5 times in a calendar year. The scores are officially valid. (And, in case you care to know, Pearson simply administers the test - they have nothing to do with any test-taking or test-making policies. That's GMAC.)

BUT schools can interpret the scores any way they want and some schools (not all, but some) choose to "downgrade" their assessment of a tester's GMAT score if s/he has taken it more than X number of times (X can also vary - 3, 4, 5...). Some schools don't do this at all - they only look at your highest score. An admissions department can choose to look at any part of your application however it wants. You can contact the admissions departments of the schools to which you'd like to reply to ask how they view X number of tests.

Also, a GMAT score will never actually get you admitted to a school. You could get an 800 and still be rejected. The GMAT score is typically used as a "threshold" indicator - does the school think you can handle the work there? If so, then they'll assess the rest of your application (essays, recommendations, etc) and typically make the yes/no decision based upon that stuff. Don't get sucked into thinking that if you can just get the best GMAT score, you'll definitely get in - that's not the case.

Finally, re: improving, it is certainly the case that people can improve significantly from the 4th to the 5th administration of a test. It is statistically much less likely than improving significantly between, say, the first and the second, but people can (and have) done it. The one thing to keep in mind: if a tester continues to do things the same way, then it's unlikely s/he will see much improvement. If whatever you have been doing hasn't gotten you the score you want so far, then you need a new method of approach.

[manish]

hi all,

thanks stacy for ur advise and info on this matter.i really appreciate this forum, you r right that i have to change my action plan in a positive way and i am working on it, hope to get more help fr this forum and share my prep and exp.
JUST one more thing if on school's website it is mentioned that we only consider ur highest score does that mean they would not have any problems with multiple attempts or i hv to approch them.


thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

I would still ask them. Most people take the test either once or twice. Taking it 4 or 5 times is an unusual circumstance, and unusual circumstances usually aren't addressed on the web site - the web site usually just addresses the most common scenarios.