Solid Q/V + Low IR

[menggg]

Dear Manhattan GMAT Consultants,

I wrote GMAT for twice and here are my scores:
1. 640 IR=7, AWA = 6
2. 740 IR=3, AWA still waiting for the official

I have 3 years of experiences in strategy consulting and financial services and I'm targeting top 10 MBA programs (applying this year, 2nd round)

My questions are:
1. Would the low IR for the 2nd time affect my application?
2. If it does, would the schools (top 10) consider the fact that I got a decent IR score the first time I wrote it?
3. Any advices to make up for the low IR score without retaking GMAT?

Thanks a ton!

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Congrats on the 740, excellent job! Generally the policy is that schools take the highest score, and they have the full score report so would see the higher IR performance as well. I would not stress over the situation, since for one thing, the IR is still fairly new and schools are still finalizing how they'll assess it etc (though as time goes on it is being looked at more closely); and secondly you did score higher previously (better than solely scoring a 3 on it).

Not sure if you have any clue WHY the steep drop in IR the 2nd time around; there's always the chance you could be asked about it on an interview, but I wouldn't think it would be a deal-breaker if the rest of your application is strong.

Good luck!