Should I take the test?

[slitorbt]

I signed up to take the GMAT this Saturday but do not feel like I am prepared to do as well as I would like. I am also outside of the seven day window GMAC gives you to postpone the test without incurring a major penalty.

Since schools get to see your test scores, would it be detrimental to me if/when admissions sees a not-so-great score for the first time taking the test? Should I just not take the test this Saturday and reschedule for a time when I am completely prepared?

Thank you.

[pwrbrker2000]

You can always cancel your score at the end. The problem is you won't know what you get. Figure it might be additional practice. Just a thought

[StaceyKoprince]

Here are the various scenarios:

You cancel the test in advance, losing the $250 you already paid, but there's no record that you were even scheduled to take the test that day. The schools won't know.

You take the test, cancel your scores at the end, and then there is a record that you took the test that day but cancelled your scores. The schools will know, but they mostly won't care.

You take the test, accept your scores at the end, and don't like the scores. The schools will see these scores along with any other scores you have when you apply. Most schools look at only one test administration (your highest one, naturally), so again, they mostly won't care.

So, either cancel entirely, or take it and accept your scores, UNLESS you are applying to one of the few schools that will average your scores from multiple tests. If you aren't sure whether any of the schools to which you're planning to apply will average the scores, go check out their websites today. If you can't find where they specify this info, do a Google search, call or email the admissions department, etc. (But most schools will tell you this somewhere in the admissions portion of the website).

In terms of whether to cancel entirely or take it, ask yourself:
Are you the type of person who can go in and take the real thing just for practice and not get demoralized or depressed if you don't get the score you want? And are you the type of person who will do better next time if you already know exactly what to expect from the whole process? If so, maybe it's worth it to try.

If you may get demoralized / depressed / down on yourself, though, then it might not be worth the risk.