If you are applying to an MBA program, you will be required to take the GMAT. The GMAT is one part of your application and it is used in conjunction with your GPA to see if you can handle a rigorous academic program.
If your GMAT is more than 30 points below your target school’s average GMAT, it could place you at a disadvantage and force the rest of your application to work overtime. You would have to present something most compelling to overcome that kind of GMAT deficit at a competitive top school. You may want to consider to retake it. Most schools do not have a minimum requirement for a GMAT score. They will usually take the highest score and the score is generally good for five years. Most schools publish their GMAT average as well as the middle 80 percentile range.
If you have a weaker GMAT score, there is not really much room for additional weaknesses. You really need to make up for it everywhere else. You need to mitigate that weakness by standing out in all other areas. The GMAT is critical when you are applying with a below average GPA. In that case, it is helpful if you have a few post-college A’s and a high GMAT to show that you have the intellectual ability and self discipline for a demanding MBA program.
Business schools are generally more concerned with the quant score but they really do prefer a balanced strong score. The top schools use the 80th percentile as a guidance for both verbal and quant. While international applicants do get a little slack verbal it is still important. You want to try to take the GMAT once and then do a self diagnosis to determine if you would be best served by a tutor, prep course or self study. This choice depends on your particular learning style.
For your self diagnosis you should ask yourself, what areas would I need to improve on most? Do I have the resources and time to spend improving these independently or do I need some outside help? What study techniques work that I used when initially studying for the test? What methods have the least successful outcomes? How does my target score compare to my current score? Do I feel that I can devote an adequate amount of time and effort into reaching that target score?
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