Retake Gmat #3?

[Cu00]

Hello,

The first time I took the Gmat, I scored: 680 Q(44, 69%) & V(39,87%). I decided to retake it. The day of my second test, I wasn't feeling well and decided to take it anyways. I tanked and ended up with a 560.

What should I do? Should I retake it again? I'm hoping to get into a top 15 school (specifically, UCLA or USC). Is my top score sufficient? Or will the admissions committee view my second score as a red flag?

Thanks in advance.

[mbamission]

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. It’s hard to say if your top score will be "sufficient" since schools don’t have minimum GMAT scores - and of course there are people who will be accepted to top 15 schools with a 680 GMAT - and you may be one of them. Schools decide who to accept based on their entire application. However, if you want to put yourself in the best possible position for admission, you might want to try to take it a third time to get a 700 (or better if you can, of course). If you think this is possible for you. I don’t want you to regret not trying to retake the GMAT. What if you apply and don’t get in? You’ll have a nagging feeling that you might have gotten a different outcome if you had tried to retake the test. Of course, a score of 700 alone is no guarantee of admission. But I’d encourage you to seriously consider retaking it if you think that you’ll be able to improve your score by 20 points. This is a very competitive process and I advise people to do whatever they can do to strengthen their candidacy. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Akiba Smith-Francis

MBA Mission
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