I'm in a quite competitive pool - an Indian with top grades in a good school in India, with six years of international IT experience in the U.S.

I'm going to apply to some top tier MBA programs in the US and I took the GMAT earlier this year, scoring 660.

Should I retake it? The schools I'm looking at have median scores above 660, and I know there are a lot of other Indian IT guys that I'm competing against.

Do you think you could score significantly higher if you took it again? I would take a bunch of practice tests and see if you get higher scores. If so, then it might be worth it to take it again. But if you take it a second time and only get 670 then there's not much point.

It also depends on the schools you're applying to and how much weight they give to the GMAT. A lot of schools consider it sort of a benchmark. If you get more than 600 it means you're a capable person, basically, and they will judge you based on other qualifications. (At least this is what one admission officer told me during an interview!) Of course where the cutoff is would be different for different schools.

If your score is below the median, you should really make the rest of your application shine by writing excellent essays that showcase what a unique individual you are and how good your communication/writing skills are in English. (Actually, you should do this regardless!) You should also make contact with admission offers through e-mails, phone calls, and in-person meetings if possible. That way they have a personality to attach to your application, which makes a big difference. It also shows them that you are serious about wanting to attend their school, and not just throwing applications out there.

While a higher GMAT would likely help you, I don't think it's a make-or-break you sort of thing.. your score is high enough that you can impress admissions staff with your other accomplishments and your personality/ambition.

I actually don't think a higher GMAT would do as much to make you stand apart from other Indian applicants as some good American-style schmoozing would ;)

Thanks for that. I'm not sure if I could do better on the GMAT. I've taken some practice tests but my results have ranged, anywhere from 560 to 700. I guess I'm not consistent. What happens if I retake it and score lower? Can I still use my 660 score?

Hello Kabir,

If you re-take the test, all your scores from the past 5 years will be sent to the schools that you have indicated as 'score recipients'. Schools, in general, will consider the higher score out of the multiple scores that they receive.

However, you must be aware of the fact that GMAT score is not the only factor that top tier universities consider before they call you for an interview or offer you a place in the program. So you can work on the other aspects of the application 'package' to create an impression.

Hope this info was of help to you. Furthermore, I am coming up with a web portal which would help MBA aspirants like you to be better informed and be equipped with all the relevant info which will help them to make it to their dream B-Schools. For that I am conducting a small survey which takes just 2 mins to complete. Can you please go to the following link and take the survey? This will help me design the portal for the benefit of fellow MBA aspirants.

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TWO of the highly ranked programs I have applied to have now told me that 600 is their benchmark.. seems like a trend.. I was in an online info session for IE madrid and they said they only consider applications with GMAT score above 600.. after that, they look at the whole package...

I wouldn't stress too much about the GMAT, and maybe focus more on making the rest of your application really great.

If you do take the GMAT again, like the other person said, the school will be able to see both scores but will generally consider the higher one.