Decide whether to retake my admissions test and plan the next attempt

Help me decide whether to retake my graduate admissions test and, if so, plan the next attempt. Test and my official score(s): [SCORES WITH SECTION BREAKDOWN AND DATES] Target score: [PASTE FROM STEP 1, or state it] My recent practice test scores: [SCORES AND DATES] What happened on test day: [e.g. "ran out of time in section 2", "felt sick", "went as expected"] My programs' policies on multiple scores: [PASTE WHAT EACH SAYS - e.g. highest score, most recent, all scores reported] Application deadlines: [DATES] Retake rules and cost: [WAITING PERIOD, ATTEMPT LIMITS, FEES - from the testing organization] Time I can give to prep now: [HOURS PER WEEK] Rest of my application: [GPA, ESSAYS, RECOMMENDATIONS, EXPERIENCE - status of each] Weigh: 1. Likely improvement: compare my official score to my practice range. A score well below my practice average suggests test-day factors that are fixable; a score at my practice ceiling suggests I need more prep, not just another sitting. 2. Timing: can I retake and still have scores reported before my deadlines? 3. Score policies: how a lower retake score would be seen by each program, based only on what I pasted. 4. Opportunity cost: would the same hours improve my essays or other parts more? 5. Cost and my wellbeing. Return: - A recommendation (retake / don't retake / retake only if X) with the reasoning. - If retaking: a revised plan that targets what went wrong, with a new test date. - If not: the 3 best uses of my time to strengthen my application. Mark anything about program or testing policies [CONFIRM with the program or testing organization]. This is step 5 of the "Prepare for a graduate admissions test" pack. It works on its own, and can use the targets and analysis from earlier steps.