710, do I retake? (some more details inside...)

[Joe]

I scored between 690 and 740 on my numerous practice tests. On the real thing I scored a 710 (44Q-70%, 42V-95%). I have known that I am stronger on verbal than quant but this seemed a little more lopsided than I expected. I'm an engineer by trade, white male, mid-20s.

I'm not shooting for harvard/stanford. I'm aiming for either Chicago/Wharton/Kellogg. The posted medians for Chicago/Kellogg are both ~705.

I have strong work experience, I'm weak on extracurriculars because in college I was working in a co-op for the last three semesters and still made it out in 4 years, which was tough to do. So I'm weak in "leadership" and community service resulting from how I spent my time in undergrad. I will be applying this fall 2008 which puts me at about 2.5 years post-undergrad experience and another 1.5 years full-time experience in undergrad with the same company.

Is retaking it in an attempt to boost to 730-740 worthwhile?

[MBAApply]

Let me repeat this again (and again and again on these boards...)

A low score can keep you out (read: below 660), but a high score (720+) won't get you in.

High GMATs don't compensate for weaknesses in other non-academic areas.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com