A Separate Peace Themes Free Essays

A Separate Peace by John Knowles concerns itself about a youthful grown-up named Gene who chooses to visit his old fashioned Devon years after the war and remembers his recollections of his companion, Phonies. The majority of the story is a flashback about the difficulties Gene and Phonies needed to confront experiencing childhood in secondary school during a war. During this flashback, Gene becomes through the stage where he should relinquish his adolescence and develop to adulthood. We will compose a custom exposition test on A Separate Peace Themes or then again any comparable subject just for you Request Now All through the book, Phonies represents youth and honesty, uncovering the primary topic of the book: guiltlessness versus development. Gene’s Journey during his time at Devon shows how he develops and increases a greater comprehension of his general surroundings. Toward the start of the book, both Gene and Phonies were whimsical toward the start of the book. For instance, Phonies would wear pink garments and a school tie as a belt to a headmaster’s gathering. â€Å"In his scurry that morning Finny had not surprising utilized a tie for a belt. Be that as it may, at the beginning of today the current tie had been the Devon School tie† (20). This shows a degree of lack of respect of mental self view and school-picture that generally ill-advised, little youngsters have. Fakes even accepts that the war is Just a trick made up by grown-ups to get a benefit. There’s the terrible, there’s the great; Just unadulterated high contrast. He was even ready to support this counter-intuitive conviction to Gene, and Gene effectively yields. Much the same as how a youngster adheres to her preferred cover or consoling teddy bear to shield her from the frightful throughout everyday life, Phonies is Gene’s method of sticking on to a progressively juvenile view to clarify life essentially. As Gene develops during his time at Devon, he loses Phonies for some time as Phonies recuperates from his leg injury. This makes the way for Gene as he sees another view point on life. He has a feeling of blame that he was the person who trounced Phonies out of the tree, however can't clarify his activities. This new feeling of blame make question in the event that he is really malevolent or still guiltless. It brings up the issue that there might be something other than unfeelingly detestable or simply great that Phonies appeared to accept before. In any case, Phonies, representing Gene’s adolescence, attempts to pull Gene back to a universe of blamelessness with winter fairs and games †games where there are no washouts and everybody wins. Influenced by Phonies’ enticing straightforward goals, Gene gets himself difficult to relinquish the guiltless point of view. All things considered, this nudging question further creates when Gene meets Leper after the impacts of the war. â€Å"The armed force has the ideal word for everything, did you ever think about that? †¦ And the ideal word for me†¦ Psycho. I surmise I am. I should be. Am I however, or is the military? Since they turned everything inside out† (141 , 149). This statement sums up the scene when Gene finds out about brutal savageries of war, and starts to understand that the world is bitterer than he had initially suspected. Individuals can be insidious. This totally changes his unique blameless view on the world. Toward the finish of the novel, when Gene is old enough to be enrolled into the war, Gene has found out much about the unforgiving truth of the real world. He starts to move into an acknowledgment state. At the point when Phonies understands that it was Gene who had initially trounced the branch, Gene can clarify that there are sure disasters, certain motivations that prior in the novel. â€Å"No, I don’t realize how to show you, how might I show you, Finny? Disclose to me how to show you. It was Just some obliviousness inside me, some insane thing inside me, something blind, that’s all it was† (191). Quality acknowledges that people are neither completely acceptable nor fiendish, however typical creatures with common driving forces. Knowles appears all through the book that as one ages and develops, one must lose that guiltless whimsical attitude. Quality gradually pulls separated from Phonies’ goals and moves onto a progressively mind boggling comprehension of human conduct. Be that as it may, as Gene arrives at youthful adulthood, Knowles cunningly has Phonies die, as just to show that with the goal for Gene to completely develop and arrive at adulthood, the honest youth should totally vanish. Didn't cry at that point or ever about Finny†¦. ‘ couldn't get away from a felling this was my own burial service, and you don't cry in that case† (186) The statement even shows that Gene feels that Phonies was a piece of himself. This is a lluding to the credulous youth part of Gene. Knowles reliably communicates the subject of blamelessness versus development. He discloses to us that so as to accomplish development and accomplish the more full, complex view on life, one needs to lose the honest viewpoint that typically the youthful has. Quality moved from a youthful gullible kid to a created youthful grown-up. The most effective method to refer to A Separate Peace Themes, Papers

heart of darkness essays

heart of haziness articles Great and Evil: Fight to the Finish William's Lord of the Flies, (1954) a Conrad's Heart of Darkness, (1902) there are full of feeling correlations and differentiations between the hero and the rival. Despite the fact that the hero and the opponent have similar aims, they have various thought processes. In Heart of Murkiness, Marlow needs to spare Kurtz, yet the administrator doesn't need Marlow to bring back Kurtz, in light of the fact that the supervisor is anxious about the possibility that that if Marlow brings back Kurtz than he'll need to leave his place of employment and offer it to Kurtz. In Lord of the Flies, Jack needs to assume control over the administration and Ralph, then again, needs to be a pioneer himself. Ralph needs to be the pioneer with the goal that he could make an arrangement to get off the island, yet Jack needs to be a pioneer so he can be the ruler and chase, so that he has meat for himself. (9, 137) The hero needs triumph over the opponent and the enemy needs to de-accomplishment the hero. Where as the e opponent has a shrewd reason and the hero had a decent reason. A comparative idea between the hero and the opponent is that them two are bold enough to set out to conflict with one another. They don't escape one another, yet the two of them of out and stand up to one another. In Heart of Darkness, Marlow realized that the administrator didn't need Kurtz back, yet he was valiant enough to take a stab at bringing Kurtz back. the trough knew Marlow was much the same as Kurtz. That he won't surrender so simple. The administrator made every effort to stop Marlow. Regardless of whether they think their adversary is more grounded, they don't move in an opposite direction from the dread of confronting them. In Master of the Flies, Piggy realizes that Jack and his clan is more grounded than him, yet he heads toward the clan and expresses his genuine thoughts out about how they weren't right. (156) when an individual decides to face their adversary, nothing can stop them. Another equivalent trademark between the hero and the ... <! Heart of obscurity papers Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and the Christian form of Adam and Eve are firmly related in that the two of them portray the excursion from honesty to encounter. Marlow, the African wilderness, and Kurtz can be contrasted with the characters (Adam, Satan, and Christ) from the tale of Adam and Eve. The allurement of investigating the profound dull wilderness, the information on the white keeps an eye on trouble, the self-revelation and development of Marlow, just as his salvation, all identify with the ideas found in the story from the book of scriptures. Based around Adams fall in the Garden of Eden in the wake of being persuaded by Satan to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, the narrative of Adam and Eve outlines what happens when Adam resists God and is confronted with the outcomes. Like Adam, in Heart of Darkness Marlow is additionally confronted with allurement and afterward, as it were, expelled for his wrongdoing. The main contrast among Adam and Marlow is that Adam needed to remain in the Garden after his expulsion, while Marlow in a way ousted himself from the organization because of his unexpected interest with the wilderness. Yielding to the allurement of the wilderness and the revelation of the locals, he depicts his enthusiasm with the barbarians, ... I took a gander at them as you would on any person with an anomaly of their motivation, thought processes, limits, shortcomings... (Conrad 112). Taking after Adams interest of the illegal apple from the tree of information, the locals lives entrance Marlow, anyway his marvel is limited, or prohibited by the organization. In any case, his allurement and interest brought about by the genuine wilderness, is viewed as Satan, as he leaves the organization to investigate it and thus is betrayed, and gets one of the unsound. (Conrad 138) Marlow and Adam can be viewed as two men that yielded to their allurements, anyway not at all like Adam, Marlow was pleased with turning into an outsider, and he had ... <! Heart of Darkness articles Joseph Conrad, in the same way as other creators, utilized his own encounters for the premise of his books. In particular, Conrads venture on the Congo River as commander of a West African waterway liner shaped the reason for his novel Heart of Darkness. In this novel, the storyteller of the story, Marlow, Conrad's hero, goes up the Congo looking for Kurtz, an ivory broker, and inevitably winds up in the core of dimness. Conrad additionally utilized his skeptical perspective on life for the premise of Heart of Darkness. Conrads fatalistic demeanor is apparent when he disclosed to his companion R. B. Cunninghame Graham: There is...a machine. It advanced itself...and behold!it knits....It sews us in and it weaves us out. It has weaved time, space, torment, passing, debasement, misery and all the illusionsand nothing matters. I'll concede anyway that to take a gander at the callous procedure is now and again interesting. In the Heart of Darkness, three apparent topics incorporate passin g, defilement, and hopelessness. During Marlows venture into the core of obscurity, passing, debasement, and misery turned into the show topics of the novel. Above all else, Marlow encountered passing a few times all through his journey. Marlow gets some answers concerning the demise of Kurtz, the peak of the novel, when the administrators kid said to Marlow, Mistah Kurtz-he dead (Conrad 64). Another passing happens when the assault on the liner leaves the helmsmen dead with the pole of a lance in the side just beneath the ribs (Conrad 64). Marlow chooses to [tip] him over the edge in such a case that [his] late helmsmen was to be eaten, the fishes alone ought to have him. He had been an exact moment rate helmsmen (Conrad 47). Second, debasement dominated every single other subject as the significant topic of the novel. As Marlows venture advances, the debasement of the exchanging industry turns out to be progressively self-evident. Kurtz had colle ... <! Heart of Darkness articles The time of dominion was a period of extension for Europe. European colonization occurred all around the globe. The same number of cons there were to colonization, for example, exchange and development of region, what we accept today is ethically off-base was not brought into thought. The Heart of Darkness, composed by Joseph Conrad, outlines the wrongs of European colonization, for the most part concerning subjection and their torment. Heart of Darkness is the account of a multi year elderly person, Charlie Marlow, and his journey up the Congo River. He pilots a steamer sent to ease Kurtz, an ivory merchant for the organization. Kurtz is depicted as an all inclusive virtuoso and started his work in the Congo as a feature of a prudent strategic, sets himself up to be a divine being to the locals. When Marlow shows up, he is stunned to perceive how the Europeans have treated the locals. What makes Heart of Darkness in excess of a fascinating travelog and stunning record of detestations is the manner in which it subtleties in unpretentious ways Marlows continuous comprehension of what's going on in this locale of the world. In the same way as other Europeans, Marlow ached for experience. Be that as it may, when he showed up in the Congo and saw the horrendous work occurring, he could no longer stow away under the front of his agreeable human advancement. Rather, the entirety of the detestations executed by European brokers and operators constrained him to investigate his own spirit and find what dimness lies there. Marlow states in the start of the novel, The basics of this issue lay profound under the surface, past my reach.(Conrad 53) But before the finish of his excursion, he will have found the brutality of which even men, for example, Kurtz are competent. The finish of the nineteenth-century realized one of the most remarkable instances of dominion and decimation in present day memory. Ruler Leopold II of Belgium had a voracious insatiability for cash, land, and force. He looked to Africa to discover these things. In the long run, Leopold made sure about the Congo locale of ... <! Heart of Darkness expositions In one of his novellas, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad describes Marlows emotional story of an excursion into human instincts most profound breaks. All through this reflection, ladies assume a questionable job in their contact with men. A few pundits have totally excused their job as insufficient; in any case, a more intensive look uncovers that ladies have a significant capacity in Heart of Darkness. Right off the bat in his vocation, Conrad built up a way of life as a carefully manly author by his stories that contained just manly men in the realm of ocean (Jones 14). It is these account novellas, for example, Lord Jim and Tales of the Unrest, that prompted his disagreeability with females in the public arena and the artistic world (Jones 14). In the end, because of this disagreeability, he started to extend and make ladylike characters (Jones 14). In any case, a few pundits gripe that Conrad needed ability when it came to making ladies characters (Jones 14). In particular, Susan Brodie contends that Conrads female manifestations are frequently excused as auxiliary and inadequate to the plot and subject of the story (141). These basic decisions regularly bring about a negative disposition towards Conrads utilization of ladies. Nonetheless, upon much investigation, these basic contentions might be excused totally. Proof uncovers that ladies to be sure have the significant job of debasing Conrads manly characters with their connection to underhandedness and haziness (Bross 41). This procedure of defilement alarms Marlow. Since it the ladies affect debasement, Marlow fears the entirety of the female characters. In the storytellers case, Marlow, female characters rule practically the entirety of his activities. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad makes female characters, which control the course of the novella just as the fate of murkiness for the manly characters. Marlows see on womanhood is notable. ... <! Heart of Darkness expositions In the novel Heart of Darkness, composed by Joseph Conrad, there are numerous references that relate to truth. A portion of these references examine well known fact, some represent representative truth, while others present individual realities that force themselves on the principle character and nar

Blog Archive To Keep or Cancel Your GMAT Scores

Blog Archive To Keep or Cancel Your GMAT Scores With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything.  Manhattan Prep’s  Stacey Koprince  teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. The GMAT offers various kinds of flexibility around your decision to keep or cancel your GMAT scoresâ€"but also some restrictions. It’s important to understand your options so that you make the best decision for you! How does it work? At the end of the test, you will be shown your scores (for everything except the essay) and you will then be asked whether you want to keep or cancel your GMAT scores. If you keep your scores, they’ll go on your official record. If you cancel them, they won’t; the school won’t see those scores, nor will the schools even know that you took the test that day. Right at that moment, you’ll have 2 minutes to decide whether to keep or cancel your GMAT scores. Later, you can change your mindâ€"but you’ll have to pay a fee to change the status of your scores. So let’s first talk about how to make the best decision during that first 2 minutes. In short, you need to have an idea of what you’d want to do before you even walk in the testing room. What do  your  schools want to see? First, what kind of program do you want? MBA programs generally care only about your highest score. Other kinds of programs, such as Ph.D. programs, may look at all of your scores. So it’s important to find out how  your  schools are going to use the data. If you are applying to an MBA program, you can assume that they don’t care if you take the test multiple times. They’re just going to use your best score and that’s that. If you are applying to a Ph.D. program or another type of Master’s program, ask the schools directly whether they care about multiple tests and, if so, how they use the multiple data points. (By the way, for any school communication, I highly recommend attending one or more of the various MBA tours that travel around the country, giving you an opportunity to meet representatives from different schools. There are a  bunch  of  different  ones, some of which are tied to specific groups of people, such as  women  or other  underrepresented  groups. Ask your questions directly, make some connections, and get the ball rolling!) What is your goal score? Based on where you want to apply and how those schools use GMAT scores, you’ll come up with a goal score for yourself. Broadly speaking, you can classify the programs into one of three categories: â€"Safety. I’m almost certain to be accepted to this school. â€"Regular. I’ve got a good chance to get in, but it’s not a certainty. â€"Reach. This school is a stretch, but hey, if I don’t even apply, I definitely won’t make it, right? So I’ll give it a shot. Your GMAT goal should be above the average for your safety schools and at least at the average for your regular schools. You may not be above average for the reach schools, but you’d still ideally be within that school’s general range. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s say that your goal score is a 650. What is your minimum acceptable score? Your ideal goal is 650, but let’s say that (based on your research) your minimum score is really a 620. You’d still feel comfortable applying to your schools with that score. So, first, if you do hit a 620 or higher, you are not even going to think about canceling. You’re good to go! What if you score a 610? Close enough. Keep it. 600? 580? 560…? See where I’m going with this?  At some point, the decision will switch to, “Nope, I’m going to cancel this one.” Where is that point? Consider the Worst Possible Scenario Your ideal goal is 650. Your minimum is 620. But what if you just can’t score above 590? You don’t want to take the test and score 590 and cancel, and then sign up again and get another 590 and cancel again, and then take it a third time and get a 550 because you’re so stressed out…and now you’ve taken the test three times and you have no score on your record at all. The above scenario is even more likely for those who have really high goals. If someone really wants a 730 and keeps canceling 690 scores…that person might never make it to 730. (You can reinstate your canceled scores at a later dateâ€"but you’re going to have to pay to do so. Let’s minimize your expenditure here.) Know (More) about What the Schools Want Remember how I said that MBA programs don’t really care if you take the test multiple times? For those programs, then, you don’t actually have to cancel anything. They don’t care. Just keep all your scores. I know most students won’t be totally comfortable with this. I’m going to try to change your mind, though. Anecdotally, we have heard that MBA programs, if anything, consider it a  positive  to see that you tried again. Let’s say that a school’s average is 650. You first score was a little under 650â€"say, 620 to 640. That’s probably good enough, but you decide to go for it again because you want to hit that average, if possible. This could play out in a couple of ways: â€"You score 650+. Yay! You’re at/above the average for that school! Your hard work paid off. â€"You increase your score a little but not all the way to the average. You are closer now, and you’ve signaled to the school that you were willing to try hard to succeed. They like to see that. â€"You drop below your initial score. You still keep the score to signal to the school that you were willing to keep trying. Yeah, it did drop, but so what; you still have your original (higher) score locked in. I would definitely keep the score in the first two scenarios. I also think it’s worth it to keep the score in the third scenario, but I would understand if a student didn’t feel comfortable doing so (particularly if you knew you would take the test a third time). Final Advice: To Keep or Cancel Your GMAT Scores? So all of the above leads me to this: â€"If you’re applying for an MBA and you’re okay with my recommendation just to keep everything, then keep your score no matter what. â€"If that idea makes you uneasy, then keep any score that’s within 100 points of your minimum goal score. If you want a minimum score of 650, keep any score of 550 or higher. (If your ideal score is 650 but your minimum is 620, keep anything at 520 or higher.) Caveat: if your goal score is crazy high (e.g., you want a 780), keep anything within 150 points of your goal. I know, I know, a 630 isn’t anywhere near a 780. But less than 1% of the testing population hits a 780! That’s super ambitious. Be really happy if you get there, but don’t assume that anyone who just “studies enough” will get there. I Canceled but Now I’m Thinking I Should Reinstate the Score… (or Vice Versa) As of this writing, here are the details for canceling or reinstating a score after you leave the testing center. (Note that any details, especially pricing, could change in the futureâ€"so check  mba.com  to make sure that nothing has changed.) If you keep your scores in the testing center but later decide that you want to cancel them, you have  72 hours  to do so; after that, you cannot cancel your scores. You’ll have to pay a $25 fee. If you cancel in the testing center but later decide that you want to reinstate your scores, you can do so as long as the scores are still valid (they expire after 5 years). This will cost you $50. It costs less to cancel after the fact, but you have a time limit of 72 hours. If you’re just not sure what to do in the testing center, I would recommend keeping the scores, then using the next day or two to think about what to do (and ask others that you trust for their opinion). Then, if you do decide to cancel, you’ll only have to pay $25 to do so. One Unusual Circumstance in Which You Actually Should Cancel This last bit won’t apply to 99.9% of people taking the test, but just in case this happens to you, read on. If you become ill or otherwise feel that you cannot finish while you are at the testing center, then a weird thing happens if you leave the test before getting to that “keep or cancel” screen at the very end. You won’t have any reported scores (since you didn’t finish) but the fact that you showed up to take the test that day will still show up on your official score report. It’s sort of an in-between case with an odd outcome. So, if this happens to you, here’s what I recommend you do. If you have to leave the testing room (maybe you feel queasy and have to go to the bathroom), do so. Just let the test keep running. If you decide, when you get back, that you can’t keep going, then click through all of the remaining questions randomly to get yourself to the end of the test. On the Keep or Cancel screen, cancel your scores. In Sum Know what your goal scores (ideal and minimum) are. Know what you want to do before you get into the testing room. (For example, tell yourself, “If I score 530 or higher, I’m keeping my score. If I score 520 or lower, I’m canceling.”) If you just can’t decide at the end, keep the scores. Know that you’ll have 72 hours to change your mind and cancel instead. Get out of the testing room, clear your mind, decide what to do, and move ahead. Stacey Koprince  is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Montreal, Canada and Los Angeles, California.  Stacey has been teaching the GMAT, GRE, and LSAT  for more than 15 years and is one of the most well-known instructors in the industry. Stacey loves to teach and is absolutely fascinated by standardized tests.  Check out Stacey’s upcoming GMAT courses here. Share ThisTweet GMAT Blog Archive To Keep or Cancel Your GMAT Scores With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything.  Manhattan Prep’s  Stacey Koprince  teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. The GMAT offers various kinds of flexibility around your decision to keep or cancel your GMAT scoresâ€"but also some restrictions. It’s important to understand your options so that you make the best decision for you! How Does It Work? At the end of the test, you will be shown your scores (for everything except the essay), and you will then be asked whether you want to keep or cancel your GMAT scores. If you keep them, they’ll go on your official record. If you cancel them, they won’t; the school won’t see those scores, nor will the schools even know that you took the test that day. Right at that moment, you’ll have two minutes to decide whether to keep or cancel your GMAT scores. Later, you can change your mindâ€"but you’ll have to pay a fee to change the status of your scores. So let’s first talk about how to make the best decision during those first two minutes. In short, you need to have an idea of what you’d want to do before you even walk into the testing room. What Do Your Schools Want to See? First, what kind of program do you want? MBA programs generally care only about your highest score. Other kinds of programs, such as Ph.D. programs, may look at all your scores. So it’s important to find out how  your  schools are going to use the data. If you are applying to an MBA program, you can assume that they don’t care if you take the test multiple times. They’re just going to use your best score, and that’s that. If you are applying to a Ph.D. program or another type of Master’s program, ask the schools directly whether they care about multiple tests and, if so, how they use the multiple data points. (By the way, for any school communication, I highly recommend attending one or more of the various MBA tours that travel around the country, giving you an opportunity to meet representatives from different schools. There are a  bunch  of  different  ones, some of which are tied to specific groups of people, such as  women  or other  underrepresented  groups. Ask your questions directly, make some connections, and get the ball rolling!) What Is Your Goal Score? Based on where you want to apply and how those schools use GMAT scores, you’ll come up with a goal score for yourself. Broadly speaking, you can classify the programs into one of three categories: â€"Safety. I’m almost certain to be accepted to this school. â€"Regular. I’ve got a good chance to get in, but it’s not a certainty. â€"Reach. This school is a stretch, but hey, if I don’t even apply, I definitely won’t make it, right? So I’ll give it a shot. Your GMAT goal should be above the average for your safety schools and at least at the average for your regular schools. You may not be above average for the reach schools, but you’d still ideally be within that school’s general range. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s say that your goal score is a 650. What Is Your Minimum Acceptable Score? Your ideal goal is 650, but let’s say that (based on your research) your minimum score is really a 620. You’d still feel comfortable applying to your schools with that score. So, first, if you do hit a 620 or higher, you are not even going to think about canceling. You’re good to go! What if you score a 610? Close enough. Keep it. 600? 580? 560…? See where I’m going with this?  At some point, the decision will switch to, “Nope, I’m going to cancel this one.” Where is that point? Consider the Worst Possible Scenario Your ideal goal is 650. Your minimum is 620. But what if you just can’t score above 590? You don’t want to take the test and score 590 and cancel, and then sign up again and get another 590 and cancel again, and then take it a third time and get a 550 because you’re so stressed out… and now you’ve taken the test three times, and you have no score on your record at all. This scenario is even more likely for those who have really high goals. If someone really wants a 730 and keeps canceling 690 scores… that person might never make it to 730. (You can reinstate your canceled scores at a later dateâ€"but you’re going to have to pay to do so. Let’s minimize your expenditure here.) Know (More) about What the Schools Want Remember how I said that MBA programs don’t really care if you take the test multiple times? For those programs, then, you don’t actually have to cancel anything. They don’t care. Just keep all your scores. I know most students won’t be totally comfortable with this. I’m going to try to change your mind, though. Anecdotally, we have heard that MBA programs, if anything, consider it a  positive  to see that you tried again. Let’s say that a school’s average is 650. You first score was a little under 650â€"say, 620 to 640. That’s probably good enough, but you decide to go for it again because you want to hit that average, if possible. This could play out in a couple of ways: â€"You score 650+. Yay! You’re at/above the average for that school! Your hard work paid off. â€"You increase your score a little but not all the way to the average. You are closer now, and you’ve signaled to the school that you were willing to try hard to succeed. They like to see that. â€"You drop below your initial score. You still keep the score to signal to the school that you were willing to keep trying. Yeah, it did drop, but so what; you still have your original (higher) score locked in. I would definitely keep the score in the first two scenarios. I also think it’s worth it to keep the score in the third scenario, but I would understand if a student didn’t feel comfortable doing so (particularly if you knew you would take the test a third time). Final Advice: To Keep or Cancel Your GMAT Scores? So all of this leads me to this: â€"If you’re applying for an MBA and you’re okay with my recommendation just to keep everything, then keep your score no matter what. â€"If that idea makes you uneasy, then keep any score that’s within 100 points of your minimum goal score. If you want a minimum score of 650, keep any score of 550 or higher. (If your ideal score is 650 but your minimum is 620, keep anything at 520 or higher.) Caveat: if your goal score is crazy high (e.g., you want a 780), keep anything within 150 points of your goal. I know, I know, a 630 isn’t anywhere near a 780. But less than 1% of the testing population hits a 780! That’s super ambitious. Be really happy if you get there, but don’t assume that anyone who just “studies enough” will get there. I Canceled, but Now I’m Thinking I Should Reinstate the Score… (or Vice Versa) As of this writing, here are the details for canceling or reinstating a score after you leave the testing center. (Note that any details, especially pricing, could change in the futureâ€"so check  mba.com  to make sure that nothing has changed.) If you keep your scores in the testing center but later decide that you want to cancel them, you have  72 hours  to do so; after that, you cannot cancel your scores. You’ll have to pay a $25 fee. If you cancel in the testing center but later decide that you want to reinstate your scores, you can do so as long as the scores are still valid (they expire after five years). This will cost you $50. It costs less to cancel after the fact, but you have a time limit of 72 hours. If you’re just not sure what to do in the testing center, I would recommend keeping the scores, then using the next day or two to think about what to do (and ask others that you trust for their opinion). Then, if you do decide to cancel, you’ll only have to pay $25 to do so. One Unusual Circumstance in Which You Actually Should Cancel This last bit won’t apply to 99.9% of people taking the test, but just in case this happens to you, read on. If you become ill or otherwise feel that you cannot finish while you are at the testing center, then a weird thing happens if you leave the test before getting to that “keep or cancel” screen at the very end. You won’t have any reported scores (since you didn’t finish), but the fact that you showed up to take the test that day will still show up on your official score report. It’s sort of an in-between case with an odd outcome. So, if this happens to you, here’s what I recommend you do. If you have to leave the testing room (maybe you feel queasy and have to go to the bathroom), do so. Just let the test keep running. If you decide, when you get back, that you can’t keep going, then click through all of the remaining questions randomly to get yourself to the end of the test. On the Keep or Cancel screen, cancel your scores. In Sum Know what your goal scores (ideal and minimum) are. Know what you want to do before you get into the testing room. (For example, tell yourself, “If I score 530 or higher, I’m keeping my score. If I score 520 or lower, I’m canceling.”) If you just can’t decide at the end, keep the scores. Know that you’ll have 72 hours to change your mind and cancel instead. Get out of the testing room, clear your mind, decide what to do, and move ahead. Share ThisTweet GMAT Blog Archive To Keep or Cancel Your GMAT Scores With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything.  Manhattan Prep’s  Stacey Koprince  teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. The GMAT offers various kinds of flexibility around your decision to keep or cancel your GMAT scoresâ€"but also some restrictions. It’s important to understand your options so that you make the best decision for you! How Does It Work? At the end of the test, you will be shown your scores (for everything except the essay), and you will then be asked whether you want to keep or cancel your GMAT scores. If you keep them, they’ll go on your official record. If you cancel them, they won’t; the school won’t see those scores, nor will the schools even know that you took the test that day. Right at that moment, you’ll have two minutes to decide whether to keep or cancel your GMAT scores. Later, you can change your mindâ€"but you’ll have to pay a fee to change the status of your scores. So let’s first talk about how to make the best decision during those first two minutes. In short, you need to have an idea of what you’d want to do before you even walk into the testing room. What Do  Your  Schools Want to See? First, what kind of program do you want? MBA programs generally care only about your highest score. Other kinds of programs, such as Ph.D. programs, may look at all your scores. So it’s important to find out how  your  schools are going to use the data. If you are applying to an MBA program, you can assume that they don’t care if you take the test multiple times. They’re just going to use your best score, and that’s that. If you are applying to a Ph.D. program or another type of Master’s program, ask the schools directly whether they care about multiple tests and, if so, how they use the multiple data points. (By the way, for any school communication, I highly recommend attending one or more of the various MBA tours that travel around the country, giving you an opportunity to meet representatives from different schools. There are a  bunch  of  different  ones, some of which are tied to specific groups of people, such as  women  or other  underrepresented groups. Ask your questions directly, make some connections, and get the ball rolling!) What Is Your Goal Score? Based on where you want to apply and how those schools use GMAT scores, you’ll come up with a goal score for yourself. Broadly speaking, you can classify the programs into one of three categories: â€"Safety. I’m almost certain to be accepted to this school. â€"Regular. I’ve got a good chance to get in, but it’s not a certainty. â€"Reach. This school is a stretch, but hey, if I don’t even apply, I definitely won’t make it, right? So I’ll give it a shot. Your GMAT goal should be above the average for your safety schools and at least at the average for your regular schools. You may not be above average for the reach schools, but you’d still ideally be within that school’s general range. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s say that your goal score is a 650. What Is Your Minimum Acceptable Score? Your ideal goal is 650, but let’s say that (based on your research) your minimum score is really a 620. You’d still feel comfortable applying to your schools with that score. So, first, if you do hit a 620 or higher, you are not even going to think about canceling. You’re good to go! What if you score a 610? Close enough. Keep it. 600? 580? 560…? See where I’m going with this?  At some point, the decision will switch to, “Nope, I’m going to cancel this one.” Where is that point? Consider the Worst Possible Scenario Your ideal goal is 650. Your minimum is 620. But what if you just can’t score above 590? You don’t want to take the test and score 590 and cancel, and then sign up again and get another 590 and cancel again, and then take it a third time and get a 550 because you’re so stressed out… and now you’ve taken the test three times, and you have no score on your record at all. This scenario is even more likely for those who have really high goals. If someone really wants a 730 and keeps canceling 690 scores… that person might never make it to 730. (You can reinstate your canceled scores at a later dateâ€"but you’re going to have to pay to do so. Let’s minimize your expenditure here.) Know (More) about What the Schools Want Remember how I said that MBA programs don’t really care if you take the test multiple times? For those programs, then, you don’t actually have to cancel anything. They don’t care. Just keep all your scores. I know most students won’t be totally comfortable with this. I’m going to try to change your mind, though. Anecdotally, we have heard that MBA programs, if anything, consider it a  positive  to see that you tried again. Let’s say that a school’s average is 650. You first score was a little under 650â€"say, 620 to 640. That’s probably good enough, but you decide to go for it again because you want to hit that average, if possible. This could play out in a couple of ways: â€"You score 650+. Yay! You’re at/above the average for that school! Your hard work paid off. â€"You increase your score a little but not all the way to the average. You are closer now, and you’ve signaled to the school that you were willing to try hard to succeed. They like to see that. â€"You drop below your initial score. You still keep the score to signal to the school that you were willing to keep trying. Yeah, it did drop, but so what; you still have your original (higher) score locked in. I would definitely keep the score in the first two scenarios. I also think it’s worth it to keep the score in the third scenario, but I would understand if a student didn’t feel comfortable doing so (particularly if you knew you would take the test a third time). Final Advice: To Keep or Cancel Your GMAT Scores? So all of this leads me to this: â€"If you’re applying for an MBA and you’re okay with my recommendation just to keep everything, then keep your score no matter what. â€"If that idea makes you uneasy, then keep any score that’s within 100 points of your minimum goal score. If you want a minimum score of 650, keep any score of 550 or higher. (If your ideal score is 650 but your minimum is 620, keep anything at 520 or higher.) Caveat: if your goal score is crazy high (e.g., you want a 780), keep anything within 150 points of your goal. I know, I know, a 630 isn’t anywhere near a 780. But less than 1% of the testing population hits a 780! That’s super ambitious. Be really happy if you get there, but don’t assume that anyone who just “studies enough” will get there. I Canceled, but Now I’m Thinking I Should Reinstate the Score… (or Vice Versa) As of this writing, here are the details for canceling or reinstating a score after you leave the testing center. (Note that any details, especially pricing, could change in the futureâ€"so check  mba.com  to make sure that nothing has changed.) If you keep your scores in the testing center but later decide that you want to cancel them, you have  72 hours  to do so; after that, you cannot cancel your scores. You’ll have to pay a $25 fee. If you cancel in the testing center but later decide that you want to reinstate your scores, you can do so as long as the scores are still valid (they expire after five years). This will cost you $50. It costs less to cancel after the fact, but you have a time limit of 72 hours. If you’re just not sure what to do in the testing center, I would recommend keeping the scores, then using the next day or two to think about what to do (and ask others that you trust for their opinion). Then, if you do decide to cancel, you’ll only have to pay $25 to do so. One Unusual Circumstance in Which You Actually Should Cancel This last bit won’t apply to 99.9% of people taking the test, but just in case this happens to you, read on. If you become ill or otherwise feel that you cannot finish while you are at the testing center, then a weird thing happens if you leave the test before getting to that “keep or cancel” screen at the very end. You won’t have any reported scores (since you didn’t finish), but the fact that you showed up to take the test that day will still show up on your official score report. It’s sort of an in-between case with an odd outcome. So, if this happens to you, here’s what I recommend you do. If you have to leave the testing room (maybe you feel queasy and have to go to the bathroom), do so. Just let the test keep running. If you decide, when you get back, that you can’t keep going, then click through all of the remaining questions randomly to get yourself to the end of the test. On the Keep or Cancel screen, cancel your scores. In Sum Know what your goal scores (ideal and minimum) are. Know what you want to do before you get into the testing room. (For example, tell yourself, “If I score 530 or higher, I’m keeping my score. If I score 520 or lower, I’m canceling.”) If you just can’t decide at the end, keep the scores. Know that you’ll have 72 hours to change your mind and cancel instead. Get out of the testing room, clear your mind, decide what to do, and move ahead. Share ThisTweet GMAT