I took the GMAT last month and got 710. I've scheduled an exam a few days from now, and have decided that I am not prepared enough. I am debating the merits of writing the exam (and using it as a practice) and canceling the score. I know that universities can see the cancellation - Is a canceled score typically viewed negatively?

Thanks
Melina

My opinion...

I don't think any schools would care unless there's a pattern of careless test taking. Normally most people say that unless you think you can improve by 50 pts or more you shouldn't bother re-taking the GMAT. Intuitively this makes sense since the standard deviation of the GMAT is 30pts. You're at 710 so you don't have a lot of headroom. You're definitely in the middle 80% for every top MBA program in the world. That being said, there might be some special circumstances that would warrant a re-take (low Quant score, AWA below 4.0).

How confident are you that your pattern of test taking would look like:

710->canceled score->760+
vs.
710->canceled score->730?

What if on your 3rd re-take there is a disaster at the test center (construction outside, computer issue) and you end up having:

710->canceled score->690
or
710->canceled score->canceled score

In reality, since you've already taken the test once before and have a feel for the test center environment you're really not going to gain anything by taking the test for practice. If you cancel, you won't see your score or get to review what you got wrong so you're not going to learn much from the experience. I would rather let the $250 go and have the adcoms see: 710->760 or just take the 710 and roll with it.

I think the above advice is good. With a 710 already, you aren't going to gain anything by doing another "practice run" on the test. And while schools might not care that you cancelled an exam, I don't think it's worth the risk.

Also, I'll second the question that was raised above: why are you retaking the test, anyway? 710 is good enough for any top program. Anything that high will get your application serious consideration; in other words, if you get rejected, it won't be because your GMAT score was too low. At some point (say, over 700), the rest of your application becomes a lot more important than your GMAT score.

My experience with students retaking the exam has been that the vast majority don't do much better, and some even get worse. If you put in serious study the first time around, and you're already at 700+, I don't see any reason to take the test again. Just my two cents...

Hope this helps!