It's not surprising that GMAT scores come up so often when people talk about business school admissions. MBA programs teach people to look at things in terms of numbers, so it makes sense that aspiring students would turn to a numerical measurement as a guide to selecting schools. And GMAT score ranges are a quick, reasonably valid way to compare the class profiles of different schools.

But some people take things too far. They talk about GMAT scores as if they were the one thing that will make or break your chances of getting into an MBA program. They spook themselves (and sometimes other applicants) into taking the test two, three, or even more times, trying to get the 憆ight?number for the schools they want to get into. It's especially sad to see anyone do that now the GMAT costs $250 a pop.

It's time for both a reality and a sanity check.

The Reality Check

The simple fact is that no reputable business school admits or denies applicants solely on the basis of a GMAT score. Admissions committees look at scores in the context of all the information provided in the application. Lower GMAT scores can be ?and are ?offset by factors like great application stories, strong r閟um閟, and glowing recommendation letters. High GMAT scores can be ?and are ?offset by negative factors like poorly-constructed applicant stories that are chock-full of red flags, weak track records at school and work, hedged recommendations, or simply a sense that the candidate, for all their strengths, is a poor fit for the program in question.

I know of cases where Stanford turned down applicants who had perfect GMAT scores but who otherwise struck the admissions committee as being poorly suited for the school. That抯 pretty clear evidence that GMAT scores don抰 matter as much in admissions decisions as some people say they do.

The Sanity Check

When someone asks me what they should do about a low GMAT score, the first thing I ask back is, what do you mean by now??

Let's be honest. There抯 憀ow?in the sense that your score is a bit shy of the bottom end of the GMAT range of students admitted to your targeted school the previous year, and there's now?in the sense that your score would make an insensitive person laugh out loud.

If your score is the second kind of 憀ow,?you need to rethink your business school plans. If you honestly cannot do reasonably well on the GMAT, you may not be happy in a highly-selective business school even if you were accepted. Your problem isn't whether or not your GMAT score limits your admissions chances. Your problem is whether or not the underlying reasons for your low score would sabotage your school performance even if you did get in.

But if your score is the first kind of 憀ow,?above average but not quite in the range that students admitted to your chosen school usually score in, your situation is different. There抯 no need to throw in the towel on your business school plans.

Should You Re-Take the GMAT?

Ask yourself whether your GMAT score genuinely reflects an imperfect grasp of the verbal or math skills that you抣l need in b-school and in your career. If it does, then it may be in your best interests to do some remedial work and re-take the test. That way you should not only gain a better score to submit with your b-school applications, but should also feel more confident about tackling the work you'll be asked to do as an MBA student.

However, if the reason you didn抰 do as well on the GMAT as you might have is more along the lines that you haven抰 taken a standardized test in 5 years and didn抰 have time to review or take practice tests because you were working 70 hours a week, you may not need to retake the test. If the rest of your application is strong ?and if you can persuasively explain the circumstances surrounding your GMAT score ?you might be accepted at your targeted school even without repeating the test. It抯 worth a try, anyway, especially if retaking the GMAT would mean putting your application off to a late round, or by another year.

My general advice is not to retake the GMAT unless you抮e sure you can boost your score by at least 30 points. A smaller improvement won抰 have much impact on your admissions chances. Besides, there抯 no use banging your head against the wall if you抳e hit your personal performance plateau. You抎 be better off putting your time and effort into other things that can strengthen your candidacy.

Remember, the GMAT is just one of several factors that admissions committees use to gauge an applicant抯 academic potential. In fact, academic qualifications (meaning GMAT scores plus undergraduate transcripts) normally account for just 30 to 40 per cent of admissions decisions at the top schools. Things like your personal and professional accomplishments, career goals, leadership potential, and recommendations are often what really makes the difference.

Conclusion

Your GMAT score is important enough to merit a serious effort on your part to prepare for the test and ensure that you get a score that reflects your intellectual abilities. But it's not so important that you should go thousands of dollars into debt taking prep courses, or risk getting fired because you抮e using work time to do practice questions, or put the rest of your life on hold while you study and study and study for the test. And it's certainly not so important that you should let a disappointing GMAT score keep you from applying to a program that you know is perfect for you in every way aside from the GMAT range of admitted students.

good article!