Taking the GMAT can be a challenging experience, and it’s common for test-takers to consider retaking the exam to improve their scores. Deciding whether to retake the GMAT involves several factors, including your current score, target score, and the admissions deadlines of your chosen programs, as well as your personal goals and wellbeing.
This article will explore the reasons for a GMAT retake, the limits on how many times you can take the GMAT, and strategies to improve your score.
Why Consider a GMAT Retake?
There are several reasons why you might consider retaking the GMAT:
Score Improvement
Let’s begin with a general premise: YOU ARE NOT YOUR GMAT SCORE. Despite what some may say, your GMAT score is not the end of all of your life, self-worth, intelligence, or MBA candidacy.
It’s important to keep this fact in mind, and what follows from it. While a strong GMAT score is necessary to demonstrate academic skill and preparedness for an MBA or other graduate program, a strong score is not sufficient, especially if you’re applying to a top-ranked program.
However, if your current score is below the average for your target schools (think less than 30 points below the average), a higher score can enhance your application and improve your chances of admission.
Many people target the average score, and this is wise, but bear in mind that once your score is within the range of acceptable scores, your application will be read seriously. For applicants with significant differentiating achievements, an above average score is not necessary for admittance into top programs.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
One of the most compelling reasons to consider a GMAT retake is the potential for increased scholarships and financial aid. A higher GMAT score can significantly enhance your eligibility to access these financial benefits, making your business school education more affordable and reducing your financial burden – now and in the future.
Here’s how a strong GMAT performance can influence scholarships and financial aid:
Merit-Based Scholarships
Merit-based scholarships are awarded to high-achieving students, and all schools have them. A high GMAT score can set you apart from other applicants by showcasing your academic capabilities and potential for success in a rigorous business program.
Many of these scholarships have minimum GMAT score requirements, and exceeding these thresholds can increase your chances of qualifying for substantial financial awards. Additionally, some schools offer tiered scholarships based on GMAT scores, where a higher score may lead to a more significant scholarship amount.
Financial Aid and Fellowships
In addition to scholarships, business schools offer fellowships and other forms of financial aid that consider GMAT scores as part of the selection process. Fellowships often provide financial support along with professional development, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
A higher GMAT score can enhance your eligibility for these prestigious awards. While need-based financial aid primarily considers your financial situation, some programs also take academic merit, including GMAT scores, into account, making a strong score beneficial for a comprehensive aid package.
External Scholarships
Numerous external organizations and foundations offer scholarships to MBA students based on GMAT scores. Professional organizations often have scholarships for students who demonstrate exceptional potential in their field, and a high GMAT score can enhance your application.
Similarly, corporate scholarships provided by companies to employees or potential hires pursuing an MBA can be more accessible with a strong GMAT score. Various nonprofit foundations also offer scholarships based on academic excellence, leadership potential, and career goals, where a high GMAT score can help you stand out.
Negotiating Financial Aid Packages
A high GMAT score can give you leverage when negotiating financial aid packages with business schools. Schools often compete for top talent, and if you have a high GMAT score, you may be able to negotiate better financial aid packages by presenting offers from other schools as leverage.
If you receive an initial financial aid package that is less favorable, a strong GMAT score can support your request for reconsideration or additional aid, increasing your chances of securing a more generous financial package.
Career Goals
A higher GMAT score can open doors to more prestigious programs and better career opportunities post-graduation.
For those aiming to transition into competitive industries such as consulting, investment banking, or technology, a high GMAT score can be particularly valuable. Top firms in these fields often recruit from the best business schools, and having a strong GMAT score can enhance your profile, making you a more attractive candidate to these employers.
In fact, once your score reaches a certain threshold, it can be a valuable indicator to future employers (especially in consulting) and is deserving of being placed on a resume. Moreover, a study conducted by Apex finds that every additional 10 points on your GMAT equates to roughly an extra $100,000 in lifetime earnings. It seems like a lot, but if you compare the programs and opportunities between two identical candidates, one scoring 605 headed to a mid tier MBA and the other scoring 705 attending an M7 MBA it begins to make sense.
Test Anxiety and Performance Issues
If you experienced significant GMAT test anxiety during your first attempt, or encountered other performance related issues like stamina drain or distractions in the testing center, a retake could allow you to bring your true capabilities to bear on the exam.
Test anxiety in particular is a remarkably common challenge for many GMAT test-takers. It can significantly impact your performance, making it difficult to achieve your best possible score. If you experienced test anxiety during your first attempt that meaningfully affected your score, retaking the exam is almost certainly beneficial, especially if you employ strategies to manage and reduce this anxiety.
How Many Times Can You Take the GMAT?
Understanding the limits on how many times you can take the GMAT is crucial for planning your retake strategy. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC):
- You can take the GMAT up to five times in a rolling 12-month period.
- You must wait at least 16 days between attempts.
- You can take the GMAT a maximum of eight times in your lifetime.
These limits ensure that you have ample opportunities to improve your score, but it’s important to plan your attempts strategically to make the most of each opportunity. A candidate with the right preparation and coaching shouldn’t need to use all of their attempts.
Generally, we find that once a client works with us they tend to take the GMAT twice. Many times they achieve their target score on the first attempt, but do a second “might as well” attempt to squeeze another 20-30 points out of their hard won preparation. Other times, text anxiety or calibration issues can affect the first attempt, and are easily addressed on attempt number two. Whichever the case, know that the GMAT should not be a yearlong or multi-year slog.
GMAT Retake Strategy: How to Improve Your Score?
If you decide to retake the GMAT, having a solid strategy to address your shortcomings is essential for improving your score. Here are some tips to help you succeed:
Identifying Weak Areas
The first step in planning your GMAT retake is to thoroughly analyze your previous score report. This is something our Senior Instructors do on our complimentary consultation call. Focus on your subsection scores and timing allocation to identify specific areas where you struggled.
For instance, if your Quantitative score is significantly lower than your Verbal score, it’s clear that you need to concentrate on improving your Quantitative skills. Apex GMAT can be a valuable resource in this process.
We have highly experienced tutors who specialize in GMAT preparation. They have a deep understanding of the test’s structure, question types, and common pitfalls. We offer personalized tutoring sessions tailored to individual needs, focusing on the specific areas where you need the most improvement.
We also provide practice questions that closely mimic the style and difficulty of actual GMAT questions. This realistic practice helps you become familiar with the underlying test structure and improves your ability to evaluate and solve problems under timed conditions.
Learning from Mistakes and Gaps from Your Initial Preparation
Reflect on your initial preparation to identify any gaps in your study plan or places where you’ve inadvertently focused too narrowly on a specific solution path. Consider areas where you could have allocated more time or utilized more appropriate study resources. Learning from your previous experience will help you make better decisions and improve your preparation strategy for the retake.
For example, if you found that you struggled with time constraints, focus on different studying methods that help you manage time more effectively. By no means should you try to do the same thing you’ve been doing “faster”. The GMAT is not a race, and if timing is your issue, it’s more likely than not that inefficient solution paths are to blame.
Book the Retake Sooner Rather Than Later
Deciding on ‘when’ to retake the GMAT can have a huge effect on your ability to succeed in the test. We suggest booking the retake sooner rather than later. This will help set a definite timeline of how long you must study and how you can expect to structure the coming weeks. It also keeps you from losing the momentum of your preparation. One exception to this is in the case of burnout. If it’s all feeling overwhelming, or you’re having a significant emotional reaction to your most recent test attempt, it’s ok to take a week or so off to decompress. Just like riding a bicycle, your skills will be there when you return, and often the rest will have a remarkable impact on your study yield and test performance.
Rushing into a retake without proper preparation is also unlikely to yield significant score improvements. Determine how much time you’ll realistically need to address your weak areas (generally 3-4 weeks), revise concepts, and practice extensively before scheduling your retake. Book your as soon as possible, but allow yourself enough time to prepare adequately.
Focus on Your Weaknesses
After identifying your weak areas, concentrate your efforts on improving them. This doesn’t mean ignoring your strengths entirely, but dedicating the majority of your time to the sections where you scored lowest.
For example, if you struggled with certain quantitative questions or GMAT vocabulary, spend more time on these topics. Also, adapt your study techniques to improve under time pressure.
Consult with Your Network
Whether you recognize it or not, the people around you are important to your mental health and wellbeing. Studying for the GMAT is a mentally taxing venture, so relying on your network can help you get through the most difficult aspects of studying for the GMAT.
Your support network plays a key role in your preparation. Inform your supportive friends and family about your decision to retake the GMAT and the reasons behind it. They can offer encouragement, keep you motivated, share their experiences with the GMAT or similar high stakes circumstances, and provide valuable advice. Also, letting them know how they can best support you can ease some of the stress associated with extended study periods.
While there’s no substitute for friends, family, and partners, here at Apex we strive to be an additional leg of that social support as well as the best tutors and coaches you can find.
Use High-Quality Study Materials
Invest in reputable GMAT prep resources, including official GMAT practice tests and guides. Apex can provide comprehensive preparation resources, including our online platform, articles, practice questions, GMAT videos, and tips from our expert tutors.
Official GMAT materials are especially valuable because they provide the most accurate representation of the actual exam. These materials are designed to reflect the style, format, and difficulty level of real GMAT questions, helping you become familiar with what to expect on test day.
Practice Time Management
Effective GMAT time management is crucial. Practice answering questions under timed conditions to improve your speed and accuracy. We recommend practice sets of 10 problems under a constraint of 18-20 minutes.
Practicing the skill of knowing when to skip a question or move on by making an educated guess can help ensure you answer correctly as many questions as possible within the allotted time. After each practice test, review your time management and timing decision calibration to identify areas for improvement, adjusting your strategies based on your performance until you find a pacing that works best for you.
Enhancing Test-Taking Skills
Mock tests and practice questions are invaluable tools for improving your GMAT score. Allocate dedicated time for regular practice tests (one every ten days to two weeks, once your initial preparation is complete) to simulate the actual exam environment and track your progress.
Analyze your performance, identify recurring mistakes, and focus on refining your test-taking strategies. Use the feedback from mock tests to fine-tune your time management skills and become familiar with the exam format. Also, don’t forget to take risks and try new things on practice exams. That’s what they’re there for!
Hire a Private Tutor
Hiring a private tutor can provide the guidance and expertise needed to boost your GMAT score. Tutors can offer unique perspectives and solution paths tailored to your needs.
Apex GMAT tutors specialize in helping students achieve high scores, offering personalized strategies and support. A tutor can work within your time frame and skill level to help you reach your goals, whether you have six months or just a few weeks to prepare.
This is what Mike Diamond, co-founder of APEX said about the clients who are retaking the GMAT exam:
“When it comes to our clients taking the exam more than once, generally, if they haven’t performed exceptionally well the first time, there are usually two types of issues that have prevented them from achieving their desired results. The first type of issue is related to extraneous factors that affected their performance on the day of the exam. For example, they may have been sick with the flu or didn’t get enough sleep the night before.
The second type of issue is related to deeper performance problems, such as test anxiety or timing calibration. To help address these challenges, we have a Ph.D. performance coach on staff who specializes in anxiety. Additionally, our instructors have extensive experience helping students overcome common anxiety and other performance issues that can exacerbate and build upon themselves if not addressed properly.
We aim to address these issues throughout the GMAT preparation process, but sometimes there are still kinks that need to be worked out. This is why we have our students take practice exams. However, it’s important to note that the psychological experience of taking a practice exam can be quite different from the actual test day experience. For instance, when you walk into the testing center, your heart rate may elevate, and you may feel nervous, a phenomenon known as “lab coat doctor office syndrome.”
This type of anxiety may not be present during practice exams, making it crucial to develop strategies to manage these feelings on the actual test day.”
Have a Positive Mindset: Maintaining Confidence
Maintain a positive mindset throughout the retake. Believe in your abilities and the efforts you have put into your preparation. Self-doubt and negative thoughts can hinder your performance. Focus on the progress you have made since your initial attempt and trust in your abilities to achieve a better score. Confidence can positively impact your performance on test day.
When Not to Retake the GMAT
While retaking the GMAT can be beneficial, there are a few times when resitting the exam might not be the best option:
Diminishing Returns: If your score is already highly competitive for your target schools, a slight increase might not significantly impact your application.
Application Deadlines: If retaking the GMAT will cause you to miss important application deadlines it might be better to focus on strengthening other parts of your application. Again, this is assuming your score is adequate (less than 30 points below the average GMAT score for your chosen program).
Test Fatigue: If you’ve already taken the GMAT multiple times and are experiencing test fatigue, it might be better to focus on other aspects of your application or consider other standardized tests, like the GRE.