1st adaptive test

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Stockmoose16: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 347; Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:42 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by Stockmoose16 » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:26 pm

Hello,

I'm wondering if someone can provide me with some advice. I just began studying for the GMAT, after a 5 year lay-off from college. I was a double major in Finance and Television, Radio, Film during my undergrad years. I graduated as the Valedictorian of my class from Syracuse University (3.97 GPA), but am a horrible standardized test-taker. I just took my first adaptive GMAT practice test, and received the following scores:

Quant 26 (19th percentile)
Verbal 40 (91st percentile)

Total Score: 560

My goal is to get into Harvard, Stanford, or UCLA B-school. Do I have any shot given that I did so poorly on my baseline test?

Source: Beat The GMAT — The Application Process | Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:26 pm

GMAT/MBA Expert

beatthegmat: Site Admin; Posts: 6778; Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 amFollowed by: 994 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 1249 times

by beatthegmat » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:52 pm

Moved to b-school in general. Of course you have a shot! Remember, this is just a practice test so you will have opportunities to improve before your actual test. Moreover, the GMAT is just one factor in your MBA candidacy. Arguably, it may not even be the most important. Thus, a weaker GMAT performance won't shut you out of admissions.

Good luck and prep hard,

Eric

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Scottie@VeritasPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 500; Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:34 amFollowed by: 6 members; Location: Florida; Thanked: 45 times

by Scottie@VeritasPrep » Thu Aug 07, 2008 6:48 pm

You did not mention how you prepared before taking the practice test however you could probably benefit from a a prep course or very structured self study. You obviously have the intellectual muscle to master the GMAT. Study hard and relax!

Scottie Winslow | Admissions Consultant |
Veritas Prep

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Stockmoose16: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 347; Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:42 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by Stockmoose16 » Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:46 pm

VP_MBA Expert wrote:You did not mention how you prepared before taking the practice test however you could probably benefit from a a prep course or very structured self study. You obviously have the intellectual muscle to master the GMAT. Study hard and relax!

I read the numbers book from the MGMAT course. That's all I did. I scored in the 19th percentile in quant, despite being an undergrad finance major. I scored 91st percentile in verbal, which shocked me.

Scottie@VeritasPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 500; Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:34 amFollowed by: 6 members; Location: Florida; Thanked: 45 times

by Scottie@VeritasPrep » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:17 am

You should have no problem improving your score since you have clearly pinpointed the area you need to improve. Consider taking a GMAT quant course to help you identify strategies to master that section of the exam. You have demonstrated your comfort with numbers from your previous academic experience; now you just need to use those skills in a different type of environment. Best of luck!

Scottie Winslow | Admissions Consultant |
Veritas Prep

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