Hi all,
Let me first clarify what's disappointing about a 730: the score itself is okay - it's the lowest score I was willing to apply with, so no big complaint there. However, the balance of the scores is quite terrible; I scored a 44V (98%) but only a 46Q (68%).
This is especially disheartening because I have studied for the last 3 months for about 25 hours per week - and I ONLY studied for Quant, often skipping the Verbal section in prep books and on tests. On practice tests, I scored between 48 and 51 on the Quant section and 43-45 on Verbal (Total: 740-780), so I can't wrap my head around what went wrong on test day and I can't imagine doing worse on another try. I studied using the official guide and Manhattan Quant fundamentals guides.
Some background: I am only applying to Harvard and Stanford, so my GMAT score is going to have to be very competitive. I am an American white male, so a member of the most overpopulated applicant pool. Despite having a 3.9 GPA, I went to a VERY low-tier undergrad school (rank ~150 in U.S. News). The low Quant score is also disappointing because I have been a quant jock my entire life (math contest champion in high school, dual quantitative major in undergrad, quantitative master's degree, current job in mathematical modeling & optimization for F100 company).
With 5 weeks left before the HBS round 1 deadline, is it worth it to retake the GMAT?
I think that not only will I need to improve, but craft a strong application as well, so I may be entirely limited by time here...![:|]( "Neutral")
![:|]( "Neutral")
![:|]( "Neutral")
![:|]( "Neutral")
Let me first clarify what's disappointing about a 730: the score itself is okay - it's the lowest score I was willing to apply with, so no big complaint there. However, the balance of the scores is quite terrible; I scored a 44V (98%) but only a 46Q (68%).
This is especially disheartening because I have studied for the last 3 months for about 25 hours per week - and I ONLY studied for Quant, often skipping the Verbal section in prep books and on tests. On practice tests, I scored between 48 and 51 on the Quant section and 43-45 on Verbal (Total: 740-780), so I can't wrap my head around what went wrong on test day and I can't imagine doing worse on another try. I studied using the official guide and Manhattan Quant fundamentals guides.
Some background: I am only applying to Harvard and Stanford, so my GMAT score is going to have to be very competitive. I am an American white male, so a member of the most overpopulated applicant pool. Despite having a 3.9 GPA, I went to a VERY low-tier undergrad school (rank ~150 in U.S. News). The low Quant score is also disappointing because I have been a quant jock my entire life (math contest champion in high school, dual quantitative major in undergrad, quantitative master's degree, current job in mathematical modeling & optimization for F100 company).
With 5 weeks left before the HBS round 1 deadline, is it worth it to retake the GMAT?
I think that not only will I need to improve, but craft a strong application as well, so I may be entirely limited by time here...
