First of all, if your GMAT is low, then we don’t recommend writing an optional essay about it at all. The optional essay is meant to explain, and thereby neutralize, issues and weaknesses in your app. If your GMAT is low, there is no amount of explaining that will neutralize it. The only thing that will neutralize it is if you take the test again, and score higher.
It’s along the same lines of a low GPA. When you write your optional essay about your poor academic performance in college, please oh please do not say “My grades are not a reflection of my abilities.”
Why not?
Because guess what? Grades ARE a reflection of abilities. That’s what they reflect. As in, totally.
All you’re doing if you say that is admitting to the fact that you were checked out in college. That you didn’t try your best.
If your grades are not a reflection of your abilities, then that leaves nothing more to say about them. If it’s not your abilities that were the problem, then it’s because you didn’t try hard.
And not trying hard actually sounds worse than not being smart enough. If you were not smart enough then at least nobody could hold it against you! Right?
So skip those lame excuses that aren’t even valid excuses.
Back to the GMAT.
If you’re writing an optional essay about your low GMAT score (which we don’t think you should be writing at all but we know some of you won’t be able to resist), then PLEASE do not say, “If you’d like me to take the GMAT again, then I would be happy to.”
Because BSer, the adcom does not give a rat’s ass whether or not you take the GMAT again.
It’s up to YOU to take the GMAT again, if you feel you can score higher, and then submit that score instead.
When you say “I will take it again if you want” then you’re saying “I am only skating by, I’m not interested in doing all that I can, I’m hoping you’ll give me a pass because ain’t I cute? Please let me in even though I’m a slacker. And oh by the way, if you really think it’s important to take it again, well OK I guess I will. If I have to.”
This is telling the adcom that you are not motivated. That you don’t care. That you only do the bare-minimum to get by. In other words, that you are very lazy.
Please don’t do it.
The adcom ALWAYS wants you to take the GMAT again.
(At least if it means you’re going to improve!)
Tell us what you think.