I just Beat The GMAT!

Hey all,

First time posting here. I have been toying with the idea of going back to school for my MBA for years now, and have finally decided to bite the bullet.

Went for a year to law school in the interim between undergrad and the present time, and decided my heart really wasn't in it (and neither was my wallet). It was more a "make my family happy" move than a "make me happy" move, and I finally made the decision to make myself happy.

My boss has been lighting the fire under my butt to look into getting my MBA since I mentioned I had played with the idea for years now. Basically, in my company, having your MBA really opens the doors to upper management...you get overlooked if it's not on your resume, bottom line. I can see myself staying with this company for a while since I'm now not pursuing the law route anymore...great environment, great benefits...and I'd like to get into that tier of management afforded to the MBA crowd.

I live in Chicago, and my goal would be to head to Booth or Kellogg as a part-time student (keeping my job with the company...they also have a reimbursement benefit which is pretty amazing). Even if I had an 800, I sincerely doubt I would leave this city (although I may apply to Harvard just for kicks haha). I just took my first GMATPrep diagnostic/practice test (with IR included, the new version) and got a 710. I was frankly floored by that, even though I really can utilize a lot of the strategies I've taught students in my ACT/SAT classes (I teach for a test prep company on the side for enjoyment). I didn't think I'd crack 700 on my first shot, so I'm a pretty happy camper.

I guess my question is really where I can go from here. I know every person is different, and sees different results from different prep methods, but what is an "average" score jump with preparation? I know, when I teach ACT classes, for example, that I tell my students that the average jump is 3-5 points, but occasionally we'll see jumps of 6 or 7 points. Is there some kind of average like that for the GMAT?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

Thanks for the response Brent! That is extremely promising!

Out of curiosity, how "weighted" is the GMAT in comparison to other factors when one applies to MBA programs? I know with law school admissions, your LSAT score was the first number looked at, and then things kind of fell in line behind that score. If you didn't have the score needed, chances are you'd fall on the waitlist at best. Kind of stunk when my LSAT was meh, but with a high GMAT, I'm almost hoping the score is the first thing schools will look at haha!

I have 4 years of business experience since undergrad (with that year of law school subtracted out), and have access to management who could write pretty glowing (well, I hope they will be glowing!) recommendations. Is that "enough" for a part time program? I'm not looking to go the exec MBA route, and I know for those programs you need some management experience. I don't have any management experience really (except over accounts in a sales role, I don't know if that counts)...is that necessary at the part time MBA level?

Thanks so much for your help!

cbchimba wrote:
Out of curiosity, how "weighted" is the GMAT in comparison to other factors when one applies to MBA programs?

This is a good resource to give you an idea:

https://www.mbaapplicant.com/7_application_elements.html

Though it's geared towards Full-time programs, I'd imagine P/T criteria is similar, while hearing that EMBA programs put more weight on work ex vice grades/GMAT.

Cheers.