Are You Done with Your GMAT Yet? Making the "Done" or "Not Done" Decision

After you take the GMAT, you stand at a decision-making crossroads – whether this is the best GMAT score you can achieve, or if you should move on to your next attempt.

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You used to have to make a fairly quick decision to cancel a GMAT score, or risk it appearing on your score report. With the release of the GMAT Focus edition, cancelling the score is unnecessary. The MBA programs to which you apply will not have access to official scores or dates taken unless you choose to send them. You have more control. You even have a preview screen of your score immediately following your exam, and GMAC, the maker of the exam, tries to report the official score within five days.

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GMAC’s more flexible policy is a significant improvement that should ease some of the pressure on test-takers. That said, I urge you to prepare to make an informed decision: Done or Not Done Yet.

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‍1. Know the GMAT score that you are capable of achieving – that means taking at least two full official GMAT practice tests before taking the real exam.

Download GMATPrep, the practice software, from mba.com, and take a full practice test under true exam conditions. Spend two hours and 15 minutes on the test. Don’t cheat with notes or a calculator. Don’t nosh on food, or listen to soothing music. Don’t take extra breaks. Your goal is to achieve a close proximity of what your real GMAT score will be. To state the obvious, if your practice exam scores are not falling in the range of your target MBA programs, you should not waste your time taking the official exam yet.

Knowing your capabilities going into the exam, you will be better able to make an educated decision about your test results.

• If you break 675,  you may be Done, even if you had been scoring higher on your practice tests. If you have time before the MBA deadlines, you can retake the exam, but 675 will put you in the game for top business schools.

• If your score fell slightly below the score you had been achieving on practice tests, you are probably Done. You may retake the GMAT, but this is not your highest priority. Recognize that statistical variations are a part of life: GMAC states that the standard error of measurement is 30 points.

• If your score fell dramatically (60 points or more) from what you were scoring on your practice tests, and you need a higher score for your target schools, you are Not Done Yet. Retake the exam after 16 days. (Leave yourself enough time before your MBA deadlines.)

From my own GMAT students, I have heard a few stories of terrible test days caused by bad news, illness, and in the case of one military officer stationed overseas, warning sirens going off periodically throughout the test. Sometimes, not dwelling on a bad GMAT score and focusing on recovery is the only thing to do.

2. You can't always get what you want. What GMAT score do you need?

If you fall short of the score that you hoped for, you should evaluate whether you have actually achieved a score that still gives you a fighting chance with your target schools. Don't just look at a school's average or median GMAT scores – look at the range of GMAT scores.

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Say that you have been scoring over 655 in GMAT practice tests. On test day, your GMAT score preview comes up, and you are disappointed to see that your score is 645. Are you done with the exam or not done yet?

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Example A

Stanford GSB, which has a very high GMAT average at 689, has scores ranging from 615 to 785. Kellogg, with an average GMAT score of 687, has an even wider range of 515 to 775.

So, you could get into Stanford or Kellogg with a score of 615, or even below, right? Not really. I don't recommend pushing the envelope at the lower end. Realistically, you want to get within a school’s 80% range of GMAT scores. Kellogg’s 80% range is 680 to 770 – that tells you to aim for 680+, ideally above 687. (Stanford does not publish its 80% range.)

In this example, Kellogg's 80% range reveals that a score of 645 would not be competitive for either school. You are not done with your GMAT prep, and must try again.

Example B

Let’s look at two strong regional schools that are based in tech city centers and have growing international reputations. UT Texas McCombs, based in Austin, reports a median GMAT score of 655, with an 80% range of 615 to 695. UNC Kenan-Flagler, based in Raleigh, has an average GMAT score of 652, and an 80% range of 605 to 715.

Your 645 score, though not quite what you expected, still falls within the 80% range of both schools, and it's very close to their average / median scores. You’re now in the game. It's up to you whether you want to attempt a retake.

Example C  – Test Day Disaster

But what if something went wrong on test day, and for reasons that you can only guess, you scored significantly lower? What if you scored a 595? Unfortunately, you are definitely not done with your GMAT.

Go home, consult an expert about that gap between the expected and actual scores, and think realistically about what you can achieve in the time remaining.

3. Know your schools’ application deadlines.

It should go without saying, but if you are taking the GMAT in late December, and your schools’ Round 2 deadlines are in early January, you will most likely have to live with the GMAT score, whatever it is. You may decide to retake the GMAT exam and apply for next year’s MBA classes instead.

4. Be realistic, and have a Plan B.

Make realistic decisions, and avoid the temptation of magical thinking. Everyone hopes to achieve peak performance on test day, but if you scored a 575 on your last official GMAT practice test, don’t expect a magical leap to 675 on test day. And don’t hope to significantly raise your score on a retake within just three weeks without intensive preparation (and possibly an improved strategy).

GMAC is offering you control over what score or scores that any given school will see – take advantage of that to fully consider all of your options.

Hopefully, you have joined the 675 Club, but if you have not, you still have options. You may study for a retake, or you may put away your books and focus on your applications. But with GMAT’s new options, the possibilities have just expanded.