Got the Score You Needed? STOP.

Say it's a Tuesday night. You took the Executive Assessment at your kitchen table this morning, logged off, and the number on the screen was 156. Your target was 154. You DID it. And now, a few hours later, you're on the registration page scrolling through dates for next month, because a little voice says 160 would look better.

STOP. Close the tab.

Here's my blunt verdict: if you hit the score you needed, a retake is probably a TERRIBLE IDEA. Not because more points are bad. Because of what those points cost you somewhere else. The good news is that the fix is simple, and you can start it tonight.

The question underneath the question

You think you're asking "should I retake?" The real question is "where do my next 40 free hours do the MOST good for my application?"

Those are very different questions. The first one is about the test. The second one is about getting in. And you're a working professional, so you don't have unlimited hours. You have a job, maybe a family, maybe a boss who already thinks you take too many Fridays off. Every hour you hand back to the EA is an hour you take from something else.

So let me make you choose. What do you want MORE: a score that's a few points higher, or essays that are actually finished and recommenders who actually know what to say about you? You can't max out both. Pick one.

What a few points actually buy

Quick refresher on the test. The EA is 90 minutes long, split into three 30 minute sections: Integrated Reasoning (12 questions where you pull answers out of tables, graphs and multi part info), Verbal Reasoning (14 questions) and Quantitative Reasoning (14 questions). Each section is scored 0 to 20, your total runs from 100 to 200, and all three sections count the same. The test is adaptive section by section, which means it adjusts how hard your questions are based on how you're doing. You can see the full layout on GMAC's assessment structure page.

Now think about what that means. A couple of points on the total is a question here and a question there. Scores bounce around a little from attempt to attempt even when your ability hasn't changed at all. If you've been training for months, you already know this from your practice tests; a small swing up or down means you performed at the same general level. That's why a plateau is part of the plan, not a crisis.

So a retake to go from "hit my target" to "hit my target plus a little" is a gamble. You might go up. You might go down. Either way, you spent the hours.

And here's the wager. Write down every hour you spent prepping for the EA. Then write down every hour you've spent on your essays so far. I'll bet the first number is LARGER. Maybe a lot larger. THAT is the imbalance you should be fixing.

Do the math on what a retake steals

Let's make this concrete with a Problem Solving question, the Quant type where you pick one of five answers. Take notes on paper. Don't do it in your head.

Now look at what that question just showed you. She hit her target, decided to chase a few more points, and cut her essay time by 40%. Her test score might tick up. Her essays just got worse. Which one do you think the admissions committee spends more time reading?

The mistakes I watch people make every week

1. Chasing the class average like it's a cutoff. An average is just the sum divided by the count. Some admits are above it. Some are below it. Hitting a number you set for a real reason doesn't become "not good enough" because a profile page shows a slightly higher one. INSTEAD: Go back to WHY you picked your target. If that reason still holds, you're done with the test.
2. Retaking "just to see." That's not a plan; that's a lottery ticket you pay for in hours. INSTEAD: If you can't name the specific section, the specific skill and the specific training that would raise it, you don't have a retake plan. You have an itch.
3. Letting the essays sit until the test is "done done." I'll bet your essay folder has a document called "draft" that you haven't opened in three weeks. INSTEAD: Treat the score as finished and give the essays the same daily training block you gave the EA.
4. Ghosting your recommenders. A busy manager writing about you with no guidance will write something vague and nice. Vague and nice doesn't get anyone in. INSTEAD: Send each recommender a short list of two or three specific projects and results you want them to speak to.
5. Acting like the score is the whole file. It isn't. Your score is ONE piece of your application, and for Executive MBA programs, your work experience is a huge part of the story. INSTEAD: Spend your hours on the pieces that are still unfinished.

When a retake IS the right call

I'm not saying never retake. I'm saying retake for a REASON. Here are real reasons:

• You're below the number a program you're applying to has told you it wants. Check each program's own page, not a forum post.
• One section came in far below what all of your practice data says you can do, and you can point to WHY (you got sick, your home internet dropped, you blew your pacing in one section). One bad result is one data point, just like one bad practice test means NOTHING on its own.
• Your essays and recommendations are DONE and you still have the time before the deadline.

Notice what's NOT on that list: "I hit my target and want a bigger number." If that's you, the test has given you the score you earned. Bank it and move on.

Your move today

Don't read another post. Don't open the registration page. Do these two things before you go to bed tonight:

1. Open your weakest essay and write 150 new words. Not perfect words. New words.
2. Email one recommender with the two projects you want them to talk about.

That's maybe 45 minutes. I'll bet it moves your application further than any extra points would. Go prove me right.