Ask Stratus Admissions Counseling

Hi everyone, I have taken the GMAT 4 times now and am at a 690 (42 Quant, 42 Verbal). I was scoring 700-710 on my last 3 practice tests (MBA.com tests), with my Quant as high as 47, but I'm not sure what happened on my official test day. I am fairly confident that I can get a 700 with a higher Quant score.

I went to a large public university in the Southeast and graduated in Accounting with a 3.67. I also obtained my Master's in Accounting with a 3.6 and am a CPA and a CFE. I have 3 years of experience at a Big 4 accounting firm in the Advisory group and am currently working in Internal Audit for a Fortune 10 corporation. I have solid, but not strong, extracurriculars and am an Indian-American female. I think the CPA demonstrates the quant skills that are missed in my GMAT, so I'm not sure if I need to retake or not. I also made Bs and above in all of my quant-related classes: Economics, Accounting, Finance, and Statistics.

My plan is to apply to my top choices in Round 1: Kellogg, Columbia, Booth, Wharton, Berkeley, MIT. Round 2 was going to be used for my 2nd choices: NYU, Duke, Emory.

Any advice as to whether I should re-take the GMAT and as to my chances at these schools with my current score or with a potential 700-710 (Quant max would probably be 47) would be greatly appreciated! Also, please advise as to whether these other aspects of my profile can mitigate a low Quant score!

Thanks!!!

At these top schools, a 50th percentile quant score is troublesome. Unfortunately, you have already taken the exam 4 times, so another retake might not give a good score that much weight in you application. However, I do think that to give yourself a good shot you want to show you can do better, despite your extensive work experience in quant related fields.