I just took the GMAT today and scored a 700 (49/35). I also scored a 5 on IR. I'm embarrassed to admit that, but I realized early on that I missed a question after I had already submitted the answer. It threw me off my game plan for the rest of the IR section. I was worried it might affect my whole performance. My goal at the start of this whole process was to score at least a 700 so I can't say that I'm disappointed, but given my most recent practice test (740-49/43 IR7) and my poor time management on today's verbal section I feel as though I can definitely improve. I'm targeting a top 10 school, specifically Kellog. Basic bio:
Education:
Academy Grad- 3.25/Dean's List (Engineering)
UTEP-4.0 Masters (Leadership)
Career (Air Defense Officer):
1st assignment:
Lived in Germany where I had a couple of different leadership positions
As a staff officer I worked exclusively with Poland to establish our joint missile defense system
2nd assignment:
Worked as an instructor at the University of Alabama ROTC for a year (special assignment)
Currently working in DC on a 6 month tasking where I have 40 employees, both military and civilian, working on my team (should get a solid letter of recommendation for my current leadership position).
Other:
Working on the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal (should have that by the time I apply)
Not too worried about painting the "complete" applicant picture (running of the bulls, marathons, volunteering, etc...), but I'm definitely open to ideas/criticism.
Any suggestions for improving my chances/application and, more importantly, should I retake the GMAT? Thanks for any input.
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Should I retake a 700?
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CriticalSquareMBA
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Hey usmabama,
Congrats on the 700! I know it's a bit lower than you were hoping for but it's a score that starts with a "7" and that deserves a tip of the hat! As someone in the service, you have a good profile and you're in a pool of applicants bschools really like. Your GPA is a bit on the lower side but you did engineering so that cuts you a little slack. You've had some interesting assignments after that and your latest position in DC seems really strong. What I like best about it is your team is diversified across military and civilian resources.
Based on your statement that you're not too worried about painting the complete picture, I'm going to go out on a limb and say maybe you're a little light in terms of involvement outside of work? While it isn't the end of the world and military folks have a harder go of getting involved, it's still something adcoms look for. If you're light there, then you should make sure you're not light elsewhere.
I'd say retake the GMAT. I'm not too worried about your IR score. You rocked the Quant section too. You just need to pull up that verbal portion. Even a few raw points higher and you're going to be sitting pretty at a 720 or 730. Especially because you have the time. If you're looking to apply this fall you have a couple of months before you need to start working on apps.
Let me know if you have any questions or want to chat about the path ahead!
Bhavik
Congrats on the 700! I know it's a bit lower than you were hoping for but it's a score that starts with a "7" and that deserves a tip of the hat! As someone in the service, you have a good profile and you're in a pool of applicants bschools really like. Your GPA is a bit on the lower side but you did engineering so that cuts you a little slack. You've had some interesting assignments after that and your latest position in DC seems really strong. What I like best about it is your team is diversified across military and civilian resources.
Based on your statement that you're not too worried about painting the complete picture, I'm going to go out on a limb and say maybe you're a little light in terms of involvement outside of work? While it isn't the end of the world and military folks have a harder go of getting involved, it's still something adcoms look for. If you're light there, then you should make sure you're not light elsewhere.
I'd say retake the GMAT. I'm not too worried about your IR score. You rocked the Quant section too. You just need to pull up that verbal portion. Even a few raw points higher and you're going to be sitting pretty at a 720 or 730. Especially because you have the time. If you're looking to apply this fall you have a couple of months before you need to start working on apps.
Let me know if you have any questions or want to chat about the path ahead!
Bhavik
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Melissa@Fortuna
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Hi @usmabama,
I just posted this message - might be of interest to you regarding your question of retaking your gmat.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/worried-abou ... 75266.html
Best,
I just posted this message - might be of interest to you regarding your question of retaking your gmat.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/worried-abou ... 75266.html
Best,
-Melissa and the Fortuna Admissions Team
Melissa Jones | Fortuna Admissions - a dream team of former Admissions Directors from the world's top business schools
Interested in a free 30-minute admissions consultation? Sign up on our website https://www.fortunadmissions.com
Melissa Jones | Fortuna Admissions - a dream team of former Admissions Directors from the world's top business schools
Interested in a free 30-minute admissions consultation? Sign up on our website https://www.fortunadmissions.com
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MBA.Master
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
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CriticalSquareMBA,CriticalSquareMBA wrote:Hey usmabama,
Congrats on the 700....
Let me know if you have any questions or want to chat about the path ahead!
Bhavik
I appreciate the insightful information and I apologize for not acknowledging your response until now-I honestly just saw your comments.
I've just started studying again for the GMAT and plan on giving myself 6 weeks with a target retest date of June 16th. I've had enough time away from the test to jump back into studying wholeheartedly. It's interesting that you honed in on the leadership role in DC where I had both military and civilian personnel on my team. Others have indicated diverse leadership roles will be the strongest attribute on my application. Should I focus on that? I'm still not entirely sure what career I want to pursue post MBA, but I'm thinking of laying out a plan to join the Aerospace and Defense consulting industry after Bschool. Given my background, I think that would allow me to write the most interesting and detailed essays.
As far as involvement outside of work I could have a stronger profile, but I did earn the MOVSM, the Military award for volunteering. I started a group that was involved in several events in the community. I've also traveled extensively-30 countries- and participated in some endurance events (110 mile bike ride, etc.). I'm not sure how much any of those bullets will help my overall application, but if you have any other suggestions that will help bolster my resume before the fall, I'm all ears.
A couple more questions: my GPA increased steadily over my year's at the academy-does that help or does it really matter? Will the Master's degree help nullify my lower GPA?
My target schools: HBS, Wharton (reach); Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck (zone); Fuqua (safe): Owen and UT (back-up). Is that list too ambitious for my profile?
Thank you for the link and I apologize for my late response.Melissa@Fortuna wrote:Hi @usmabama,
I just posted this message - might be of interest to you regarding your question of retaking your gmat.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/worried-abou ... 75266.html
Best,
At the bottom of the article I see:
"If you'd like our opinion on whether your GMAT score is strong enough for your target school(s), alongside of the rest of your application, contact us anytime." I'm going to take you up on that!
My target schools: HBS, Wharton (reach); Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck (zone); Fuqua (safe): Owen and UT (back-up). Is that list too ambitious for my profile?
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CriticalSquareMBA
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Hey there usmabama,
Don't fret it - these emails can get lost in inboxes pretty easily! Given your background, yeah, I think you should focus on that leadership experience. After all, why wouldn't you? I'm sure it had some pretty unique challenges and associated learning opps. I would make it an important part of your application, but don't rest everything on its shoulders. As for your goals, they make sense but whenever someone says "consulting" it's a trigger word for a much more detailed conversation.
As far as volunteering work goes, it's still light. BUT - the award helps put it in context. That's key. So do you have as much as someone who has led numerous pro bono consulting engagements? No. But clearly you're doing very well compared to your peer set. Relatively and context are important. Some of your other things don't count per se but are points of interest which are still good to have!
Your GPA being on an upward trend is definitely good. And your masters degree will definitely be important too. But each is used in different ways and for different purposes. So they're both important. It's great you're planning on retaking the GMAT though. Good luck!
When it comes down to story, schools, and the nuances of your profile, a conversation is always best. There's only so much you can type on a forum
. If you want to chat with us, we'd love for you to sign up [here]. I handle all the consultations myself so it's a great way to take the convo offline.
Hope to chat with you soon!
Bhavik
Don't fret it - these emails can get lost in inboxes pretty easily! Given your background, yeah, I think you should focus on that leadership experience. After all, why wouldn't you? I'm sure it had some pretty unique challenges and associated learning opps. I would make it an important part of your application, but don't rest everything on its shoulders. As for your goals, they make sense but whenever someone says "consulting" it's a trigger word for a much more detailed conversation.
As far as volunteering work goes, it's still light. BUT - the award helps put it in context. That's key. So do you have as much as someone who has led numerous pro bono consulting engagements? No. But clearly you're doing very well compared to your peer set. Relatively and context are important. Some of your other things don't count per se but are points of interest which are still good to have!
Your GPA being on an upward trend is definitely good. And your masters degree will definitely be important too. But each is used in different ways and for different purposes. So they're both important. It's great you're planning on retaking the GMAT though. Good luck!
When it comes down to story, schools, and the nuances of your profile, a conversation is always best. There's only so much you can type on a forum
. If you want to chat with us, we'd love for you to sign up [here]. I handle all the consultations myself so it's a great way to take the convo offline.Hope to chat with you soon!
Bhavik
Critical Square | MBA Admissions Services
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Sign up for a free consultation today!
We love helping! Was this post helpful to you? Thank us and let me know!
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Melissa@Fortuna
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Sure no problem.usmabama wrote:Thank you for the link and I apologize for my late response.Melissa@Fortuna wrote:Hi @usmabama,
I just posted this message - might be of interest to you regarding your question of retaking your gmat.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/worried-abou ... 75266.html
Best,
At the bottom of the article I see:
"If you'd like our opinion on whether your GMAT score is strong enough for your target school(s), alongside of the rest of your application, contact us anytime." I'm going to take you up on that!
My target schools: HBS, Wharton (reach); Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck (zone); Fuqua (safe): Owen and UT (back-up). Is that list too ambitious for my profile?
The schools that you are interested in are very competitive- and while your profile is certainly an interesting one, I do think that your self evaluation is on target. I think that if you feel you were scoring higher in the practice, and that the one wrong answer kind of set you up incorrectly then you may want to take it again, and then decide to move to the application phase by mid July.
HBS and Wharton would indeed, be a challenge. I.e. the average gmat score at HBS in 2013 was 727 - though the range for the class of 2015 is 550 to 780. You might as well 'go big or go home' and try and get that GMAT score up there to increase your chances for all schools.
But you've got the right idea and should apply to some reach schools as well as some more achievable ones.
-Melissa and the Fortuna Admissions Team
Melissa Jones | Fortuna Admissions - a dream team of former Admissions Directors from the world's top business schools
Interested in a free 30-minute admissions consultation? Sign up on our website https://www.fortunadmissions.com
Melissa Jones | Fortuna Admissions - a dream team of former Admissions Directors from the world's top business schools
Interested in a free 30-minute admissions consultation? Sign up on our website https://www.fortunadmissions.com
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MBAPrepAdvantage
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I have an MBA admissions consultant for more than a decade. When I started a 700 was much more competitive than it is now. So the rule-of-thumb was to advise people that there was no need to retake the GMAT if you scored above a 700. Now, I feel differently. If you had been scoring above a 700 on your practice exams there is no hurt in retaking the GMAT to see if you score higher. However, do not let "only a 700" deter you from applying to any of your target MBA schools. In other words, a 730 would help your chances at Kellogg because you would be moving from below to above the median GMAT score.
Best of luck,
Best of luck,
Michael Cohan
MBAPrepAdvantage Founder & AIGAC Board Director
305-604-8178
www.mbaprepadvantage.com
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MBAPrepAdvantage Founder & AIGAC Board Director
305-604-8178
www.mbaprepadvantage.com
Please thank and/or like individual posts.
Follow Michael Cohan on
and BeattheGMAT.Follow MBAPrepAdvantage on
.For a free assessment email [email protected] your target schools, goals, resume, GPA and GMAT or fill out our Free MBA Admissions Consultation Form.
