Should I retake the GMAT?

At the beginning of your studies, assume you will take the GMAT™ twice and build that time into your plans. But you’re going to make the real decision later in your studies—and, in this article, we’ll discuss how to decide whether you should retake the GMAT.

Why should you plan to take it twice? Your goal schools might accept a GMAT Superscore (where your best individual section scores across all your exams are combined into one total Superscore). You could get sick, or work or other life stuff might cause you not to do as well as you had hoped on your first try. Or you could get a score that you feel matches your preparation so far—but you believe that you have what it takes to do better.

Does retaking the GMAT look bad?

Not at all. Business schools use your best scores when evaluating your application. In fact, business schools were part of the impetus for the GMAT to introduce superscoring in 2026. Not all schools use the GMAT Superscore, but many do, and by definition you have to take the GMAT at least twice to get a GMAT Superscore. 

It won’t matter to the schools if you took it three times, and it won’t matter if your lowest score is 200 points lower than your highest score. It also won’t even necessarily matter if you don’t improve your score on later tests (more on this in a bit).

If you do improve your score, then if anything, a business school is going to consider that a positive—you stuck with a hard task and succeeded, improving the odds that you’ll be able to stay focused and do well during school, too. (There are other ways to demonstrate perseverance in your application; you don’t have to show it in your GMAT performance. But this is one way to show it.)

There is one possible circumstance that might not look so great: taking the test four or more times very close together and without any improvement. That might point to someone who isn’t disciplined or effective in their studies—an obvious concern for schools.

But if you are only taking it a few times, or you take it more times but do improve your score, you should be fine.

How many times can you retake the GMAT?

You can take the GMAT up to five times total in a rolling 12-month period, regardless of format. For example, you could take it twice online and three times in person in a 12-month period, and that would be your five-test limit.

So, should I retake the GMAT?

There are four good reasons to consider retaking the GMAT, beyond the obvious “I had a bad day / I don’t like my score” scenarios.

Reason #1: I experience strong performance anxiety on standardized tests.
Taking the GMAT can make anyone feel nervous. Some amount of anxiety is actually a good thing; the adrenaline will help to keep you energized and focused during the exam. But some people have such strong symptoms that it significantly interferes with their ability to perform.

Familiarity with something helps us to feel less anxious about it. So use your first GMAT as your dry run to get used to the entire testing experience. This will go a long way toward helping you better manage the anxiety you feel during your second test—though you will still have nerves on test day.

Take the first test about 4-8 weeks before you plan to do the GMAT for real—that is, later in your studies, but still before you are truly ready. (Your score doesn’t matter! It’s just a dry run.)

Reason #2: At least one of my desired schools uses the Superscore.
If you take the GMAT more than once, your score report for the second (and later) tests will automatically show your GMAT Superscore, which is calculated by combining your highest individual section scores across all of your test sittings. By definition, your GMAT Superscore is higher than or equal to your highest individual Total Score on any one test.

If your goal schools use the GMAT Superscore, you’re in a great position. Let’s say you get the Verbal and Data Insights scores you were expecting on your first test, but your Quant score fell a bit short. When you take the test again, focus your efforts more on Quant, which might even include things like doing that section first, when you are freshest. This boosts your chances of earning a GMAT Superscore that is 20-40 points higher than your best single-test Total Score.

Reason #3: My score is in range for my goal schools but below their median.
If a school’s median is 675 and the range is 605 to 745, you might be fine with a 685. If you are below 675 in this example, though, it’s ideal to show that you tried hard to reach or beat the school’s median.

Several years ago, a student of mine was waitlisted at a top-10 school. She was 20 points below the school’s median, and the school asked why she hadn’t taken the test again. She explained that she had taken the test a second time, but she didn’t submit those scores because she had gotten the same Total Score and was worried this would look bad. She released the second set of scores to the school and was ultimately accepted off the waitlist, so the fact that her score didn’t improve on her retake didn’t hold her back—but they did want to know that she had at least tried.

Reason #4: Picking up an extra 30-50 points could help me gain a better financial package.
Business schools offer financial packages—grants, stipends, fellowships—to those applicants that they really want in their programs. One factor in these packages can be your GMAT score.

Another student of mine was admitted to a top-10 program with a score 20 points below the school’s average. He then retook the exam and lifted his score by 50 points, to 30 points above that school’s average. Based on the totality of his application, the school subsequently offered him a US$75,000 financial package. This was not based solely on his GMAT score, of course, but an above-average score makes a difference in the overall picture.

As I mentioned earlier, plan to take the test twice. Work it into your timeline to hit your deadlines. Then, see how it goes on your first test. If you knock it out of the park and are fully satisfied, you don’t need to retake it. Alternatively, if any of the earlier scenarios applies to you, schedule a retake. Good luck!