Retake the GMAT? (and resume review)

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Retake the GMAT? (and resume review)

by daftdg » Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:37 am
Hey All-

I am currently a student at the law school at the University of Pennsylvania and was hoping to do a joint degree at Wharton. I took the GMAT and scored a 690 which is way lower than on the practice tests I had taken (720,730,760). What is your opinion on retaking? Here are the rest of my credentials:


- Nationality & Basic Info: US, Male, 26yo
- Overall GPA: 3.33 undergrad with improvement at the end, 3.25 law school (so far)
- Major: Computer Science (Graduation with distinction, honors thesis) and Classical Studies. Early graduation in 3.5 years.
- College: Top 10 undergrad, Top 6 Law School
- GMAT: 690 (42M -- 65%,42V --95%)
- Recommendations: I will have one rec from a prof who teaches at the law school and used to teach at wharton as well as another prof. I will also have a rec from a well known US businessman.
- Resume highlights + job info: 2 years doing application development at a small financial services shop, then worked on a startup with aforementioned business guy, and started my own website which I sold my stake in to the other co-founder
- Work Accomplishments: Promoted to team leader, founder of own website etc.
- Extracurricular Involvements: Member of a variety of clubs, started a club here at school, Executive committee of fraternity etc.
- Awards: Deans list a couple times, graduation with distinction
- Interesting personal facts - countries lived in, challenges faced, unusual interests: Lived in Australia (12 mos), Thailand (2), and Greece (2).

In the end, I'm just curious if I am a good candidate and if I have a shot at Wharton with my current score. Thanks for your help.

daft

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by Scottie@VeritasPrep » Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:36 am
Overall, you have a strong profile. Your work experience, extracurriculars, international exposure, etc. make you an interesting and competitive candidate.

You fall within Wharton's middle 80% GMAT range (660 - 760) so your score is not a deal breaker. I would only recommend retaking it if you have not taken it more than twice already and you think you can raise your score above 700. Otherwise, spend your time on your application (essays, LORs, interview prep). Also, highlight any experiences (academic and/or professional) that highlight your quantitative aptitude since that was a weak point in your GMAT score.
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by daftdg » Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:46 am
Thanks for your response Scottie. Still can't decide if I should retake or not considering time restraints. The earliest I can retake is Sept 22 and the deadline for apps is Oct. 9th. Some seem to think that having less than 80th percentile in the quant is a big detriment. Is that true in your experience?

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by Scottie@VeritasPrep » Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:01 pm
I have not heard of 80th %-tile as being the cutoff for consideration. However, if you scored low on the quant portion of the GMAT then adcom will look for other areas in which you have demonstrated quantitative aptitude ie. work, other academic courses, etc. You basically need to show that you can handle the quantitative rigors of business school.
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