to test or not to test: GMAT woes
 

I had registered for the GMAT and had some doubts about my readiness as the date got closer, so I intended to cancel my test appt -- it is this coming Mon.

In all the craziness of Hurricane K (I live in Houston) and (ironically) being so horribly focused on studying, I negelected to cancel the appointment. And now it's too late.

Well not too, too late... I can cancel the appointment, but I have to EAT the entire cost. That's 250 big ones.

Do I take the test? I don't feel ready. I'm going to have to schedule it for a later date either way. I feel like I'm not going to do as well as I want to if I take the test on Monday. That's why I wanted to reschedule it.

If I take the test now and take it later, the schools I send my second results to will also see my first test, regardless of whether I originally sent them the first test results...

Do I cancel the test and eat the money? Everyone keeps telling me to take it and see how I do. I think that's foolish. That's like driving a stick shift on the Autobahn without having first successfully navigated a regular road.

But then I think about the money. That's a lot of money to lose on poor timing.

And no I can't call ETS with some silly sob story about why I missed the deadline for my refund.

Advice?

Cancel it. If there is a chance you won't do well, do you really want any schools to see that score? I know $250 is a large amount of money, but it could mean the difference b/w getting into the school you want or not.

How serious are your doubts about how ready you are? If you're like me and get really stressed out and feel horribly unprepared no matter what, maybe try to ignore that and take the test anyway. Have you done okay on practice tests -- do you score higher on those than you hope to score on the real test? You still have several days to study and get a little more comfortable.

Also, how well do you need/want to do on the test? Is your score vastly important in terms of where you want to go to school? I'm sure that sounds like a dumb question, but if you want to go to a school that doesn't require stellar scores, I wouldn't stress about it so much.

Thanks for the replies so far! Please feel free to weigh in. This is not an easy decision!!!

The score is important. The schools I am considering are all in the Top 50. My undergrad GPA, work experience and community service are all really strong, but I need to hit a solid GMAT for the schools I'm considering. GMAT is not "the only indicator" they're going to be looking at, but if I don't fall within the general range of their accepted applicants, I can kiss those goals goodbye.

I am scoring in the 99th percentile on my verbal in the practice tests, but my math is what is seriously dragging me down-- I know that as my undergrad degree is in advertising and public relations, admissions committees will be looking at my ability to handle quantitative material. I think taking extra time to build my skills will be in my favor in the long run.

This entire experience has me pushing back my applications for another year-- I had hoped to get my apps in for first deadline this fall-- for next fall's admissions-- but I'd rather take some more time to prepare and present as strong a case as possible for admission to those programs. I'm even planning to take a couple classes at a local community college to demonstrate I can handle quantitative material.

I really feel like waiting is the right thing to do... but everyone around me keeps telling me to just take it... but what do they know? My last two practice tests have been a bit more in range... but those haven't been on the official ETS powerprep software-- which is the best indicator of actual score.

I'd say, go for it unless you feel woefully under-prepared. If you don't do well, you can retake it - schools will see both scores, but they'll see the improvement when you take it the second time around, and they'll know that Houston is a crazy place to be right now. And if you do do well, it will be behind you!

Good luck. :)

It sounds like you're anxious about the admissions process and are lacking confidence in your ability to get accepted -- I think that's just normal pre-test nerves.

If you take the test Monday, would you still meet the deadline to start school next fall, or do you have to wait another year no matter what?

I'd still be ok to take the test in early October and get my scores in on time for first round applications... I just think my math is still iffy. And I know they're going to hone in on my math score due to my undergrad and my work experience being so heavy on communication-- they don't expect me to be an expert (one of the reasons I want to go to b-school is to round out my quant skills), but they have to feel some assurance I'll be able to handle the course work.

I know I perform better in the classroom than on standardized tests, but that doesn't mean squat to an admissions committee! The GMAT is the only consistent indicator across the board when you have applicants from such diverse backgrounds and undergrad majors. A 3.0 at Harvard is very different than a 3.0 at UCF, as is an engineering major with a 2.7 vs an education major with a 4.0.

I'm very anxious about admissions... I just want to show them I can do this work, excel in it and place into a good position upon graduation.

So would they be averaging the two scores, assuming you take it this time and then don't score well and take it again later? Or would they just take the highest one? I would think that if they just accepted the best one, that you should go ahead and take the test because it wouldn't matter--and you might surprise yourself. On the other hand, if they average them...that might be a different story.

Oh, by the way...I felt horrendously ill-prepared for the GRE (I mean, I can't do math to save my life!!!) but I did OK in the end. So you never know...

Do you really feel that you'll be so much better at the math section that if you put off the test that it will be worth the $250 you're spending anyway?

I kind of think that you should take the test this time around. You'll be able to get a better feel for it and will be more comfortable taking it again if you need to. And unless your two scores are really really drastically different, I don't really think the school will be paying a whole lot of attention to the first score.

Can I ask if there is any specific program or book you're using to prepare for the GMAT? I purchased the Kaplan GMAT book recently, but haven't had much time to look at it (I don't need to take the test until next year anyhow).

I took a prep course (which was wonderful! if not for my math anxiety, I'd be all set!!!!) and I have gone through some books of Word Problems designed for standardized tests. testmagic.com is another good forum (I posted my question over there, too!).

Here's the thing about this test. It's $250. Right, that's a lot of money. But I have major math anxiety-- I start a test and the numbers go fuzzy. I can barely count because I am just getting so anxious, all my preparation flies out of my head and I start to get really upset to the point where I'm on the verge of tears. I mean, how crazy is that? The formulas are written out on scratch paper before I click "start" to begin the test, I have an answer grid marked out, have taken some deep breaths... but the anxiety gets to me so quickly that I just lose it. Hello, crazy much? On the plus side, I definitely think I can work through this-- but I think taking the test now will not go well because this anxiety will drag down my score and once I see how I've done, I'm going to freak out even more.

The odd thing -- I think this test has me more stressed out than my last two cross-country moves combined.

Everyone I've talked to has told me to take the test (well, except for my tutor) because I've already paid for it and I shouldn't waste the money.

I think there's a bigger payoff with more prep time-- and it's wiser of me to just eat the money and own up that I jumped the gun prematurely. $250 lost now and a 650 score later are preferable tradeoffs than taking it now, risking a low score and being really upset. I think if I go in, knowing that I'm as prepared as I can be, that my confidence will help my score and help my math anxiety. I've learned in business that no one remembers if you were off-budget, late or otherwise a screw-up in the long-run---so long as you hit or exceeded your goal and didn't make a big mess. (I'm sure there are plenty of you who disagree with that statement, and that's your opinion. This is mine, based on my experiences.)

I'd much rather the schools see I took the test and hit a score as close to my goal as possible, than a range of scores that are all over the place. I think I just didn't give myself enough time, given my "special" :rolleyes: needs case (the math anxiety). It's a good exercise in patience!

I appreciate the feedback. Against the advice of pretty much everyone, I'm not going to take the test... You all make rational arguments, but I know myself and I need to listen to what's in my heart. I need more prep time.

I'll just give you the straight answer. You can decide if you like it or if you don't.

A business school provides you with no real tangible skills. None. You don't learn leadership in a couple years through classes. You don't learn management until you actually have people working under you for many years and then enter a collaborative learning environment with case-studies. In terms of finance or marketing skills, again, learned on the job - not in class.

So why go to business school? Because it provides you with a nifty little book of alums and a name you can throw out to people. Following that, I simply do not understand why anyone below 30 would pursue an MBA from a non-Top 10 school and pay those ridiculous costs. If you're having this paid for, or if you're more experienced, it's another story.

Given that you will be taking on a very large cost for this non-essential degree, what's another $250 to add on?

-Rudey