I just Beat The GMAT!

Hello to all the GMAT-Beaters of BeatTheGMAT! My name is Matt, and I stumbled across this forum when searching for answers to a few questions I suddenly have about the GMAT. I figured I could explain my situation, and you folks could provide a good source of feedback as to what I should do.

Basically, I'm applying for admission to a MAcc program at a small, maybe upper-mid tier private university with decent connections to accounting firms. My undergrad career at said university was "disappointing", in that I had a pretty bad GPA, but squeaked through with an accounting degree. Since then, I've gotten my act together, passed half the CPA exam, re-took a couple of accounting courses and killed 'em, got good again with the faculty, scored some decent-not-great work experience and now figure I'm probably getting in.

I did have to take the GMAT, however. I did a little research on it and since it seemed a lot like the SAT, which I did pretty well on (granted, that was 7 or 8 years ago), I didn't really prepare for it at all. Just stopped in and took it on my way home from work tonight.

Turns out, I did pretty well on it- I scored an unofficial 670 (44Q, 38V). The thing is, although I could generally figure out most of the quantitative problems with enough time, I got too caught up in a few questions that I should have just punted on. I ended up running out of time with between 8 and 10 of the 37 question left unanswered.

This result left me with unanswered questions of my own as well:

1. Roughly how many points might I have left on the table by not answering those 8-10 questions?
2. How difficult is it to jump from a 670 to a 700+? I assume it is more difficult getting that than, say, 640 to a 670, but I don't know for certain.
3. How much could I add to my score if I end up scoring well on the essays?
4. Considering that I'm pretty sure I'm in to the MAcc program at the ol' alma-mater, would getting a higher GMAT score really matter for me? Do employers put much emphasis on it in evaluating prospects?
5. Can an exceptional GMAT score compensate for low grades as an undergrad with MBA schools? If I made an effort to improve my score and was able to get above a 700, what type/tier of B-Schools or MAcc programs could a low undergrad GPA person have a shot at?
6. Is there much value in getting an MBA if you have your CPA license?
7. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Thank you for reading this. I realize it is long, and this is my first post here. I will continue to peruse the forums here, but if you feel like you could provide a little honest insight into my situation or answer a couple of the questions I have, I would really appreciate it. Thanks again, and have a nice weekend!

-Matt

mkries2 wrote:
This result left me with unanswered questions of my own as well:

1. Roughly how many points might I have left on the table by not answering those 8-10 questions?

ALOT. The GMAT is a time management test as much as it is for knowledge. Getting those 8-10 questions wrong is better than not getting to them at all. With some decent prep, you should do pretty well on the quant section.

670 is good, but knowing your time management was horrible, I'd say it's worth taking again.

Let me try and give you a brief run-down to answer some of your questions
1. With 8 to 10 questions left unanswered, there's definitely a significant number of points out there, but since the test adjusts to your performance, there's no real way of telling exactly how many.
2. It's obviously going to be a tougher jump from 670 to 700, but it's all relative. If you had performed well on those questions you didn't have time to answer, you probably wouldn't have had an issue achieving at least a 700.
3. The essays are scored separately, so they don't really add anything to your score. It is arguable how much schools really look at the AWA.
4. Employers are more concerned with your academics and your resume, the GMAT doesn't really factor in to decisions.
5. A high GMAT score can somewhat compensate for a low GPA, if coupled with a solid professional background, extracurriculars, and leadership positions. There are times at which you'll see GPA ranges at top schools start as low as 2.9, or possibly even lower.
6. Sorry, don't know much about an MBA with a CPA.
7. If you think you have a legitimate shot at getting in to the schools you want to apply to, then I'd apply. Again, there are other factors. Make sure that your professional background and other factors like your leadership positions and community involvement are solid enough to compensate for what you see as a low GPA. As for the GMAT score itself, it's quite good, so I wouldn't worry about that. Study the class profiles of the schools you want to apply to, and assess how you'd fit in. If your GMAT score is bothering you that much, look at whether your schools take the highest score or average them. There's no harm in taking the test again if they take the highest score and, with better time management, it looks like you're in pretty good shape to improve.

You're leaving more than 50 points on the table with 8 unanswered questions. At the GMAC conference, an employee said that 1 unanswered question is roughly equivalent to 1 raw score point.