I’m planning on taking the GMAT shortly in anticipation of hopefully starting grad school in the Fall. I’ve taken taken the practice test and my score was well within what would be necessary to the school I’m looking at, and after consulting my adviser and considering all the other factors besides the test I should be accepted without issue (even with the 30-50 point drop she said to expect from practice to real test).
However, this school may not be the last stop for me and after I complete the graduate degree there, its possible I’d want to pursue a different graduate degree from a better school in the future. My concern is that the score I get now may be more than I need for the current school, but applying to a more selective school down the road may require every point I can get.
So, my question has to do with re-taking the test in the future. Plan A is to take the test now without much prep, and if I need a really good score some day in the future, do the studying and prep work then to re-take the test. Besides the obvious expense of having to pay for the test again, is there any downside to re-taking if necessary, as opposed to going “all in” this time? If I re-take the test does that completely replace my initial score, or would there be a permanent record of my lesser score (and if so could that be a negative in an admissions process)?