So, I hope this quick post can help others studying. I found many of the stories on this website frustrating, particularly those posts of people with 700+ and questioning whether to retake their exam. What I've learned in this process are two VERY SIMPLE facts - both of which apply to every day life
1) don't give up, put in the effort/time and be confident in yourself
2) shoot for the best schools, even if you doubt your scores
I'm a working professional in finance, 29 yrs old and have a very busy job (definitely not a 9-5). I took the GMAT after 2 weeks of studing in 2008. I naively thought that I'd do really well, being a finance/accounting professional and having great writing and verbal experience. Well I didn't. In fact, I was actually BELOW AVERAGE in quant and slightly above average in verbal - scored a 570. Not awful for 2 weeks studying but definitely knew it would limit my school options.
Then I realized that I needed a study plan. I put in about 3 months and tried to stick to 10-15 hours per week. It was tough to stick to set dates/times given my busy schedule, but I just made sure that if I missed a Tues night, I'd study Wed morning instead. Studied mostly quant since that was where the most improvement was needed. Refreshed on key topics in verbal within 2 weeks of the test.
Sooooo, I took the test in May and scored a 670, which was actually disappointing at first thought. Was 40Q 65%/41V 89%/6.0 AWA. I was getting in 690-720 range on practice exams so I was CRUSHED!!! I went home and thought, I've worked this hard so I'm still shooting for my top school goal of NYU for an MBA. I then focused on my application, essays, resume, etc, etc. I made a strong case with my essays to offset my lower-than-average GMAT and specifically quant score compared to NYU's average. I assumed I was a "bubble" applicant but didn't want to quit!
I applied and was ACCEPTED for the fall!! I was so excited to get into my top school and really appreciated the stories of hardwork, dedication and overcoming obstacles on this site. I hope this inspires others that maybe have to work a bit harder to get into their top school and get a great GMAT score. Just remember - these MBA programs, including top ones, want a DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION, to provide better learning opportunities for all MBA students. They want different backgrounds, experiences, ethnicity, strengths/weaknesses - most importantly, they want passion and ambition for a program. Tell the admissions department why YOU BELONG for reasons other than your GMAT score. Sure, getting a GMAT well above their average will help (since lets face facts, they still have averages and rankings to attain), but at their GMAT average, you have a chance and if strong in other areas, you may actually be MORE VALUABLE to the program than the quant superstar that doesn't have a personality and passion. You can't teach those intangibles and MBA programs want those too!
I hope this helps people as they study and work toward a great MBA program. Don't sell yourself short - there will always be second tier schools that you can pursue if you don't hit the stars!
For anyone interested in benchmarking backgrounds, my specifics are below:
- CPA and certified fraud examiner in investment mgmt, asset mgmt, financial services focus
- worked with international CPA firm (big4) and recently in regional CPA firm, manager past 3 years
- small private undergrad 3k students, 3.75 gpa and minors in spanish/economics
- college division 3 soccer, president accounting association, college tutor finance, accounting, economics, english
- GMAT 670 40Q/41V/6AWA
- Strong extra curriculars post undergrad, active volunteerism
- founded not-for-profit for clothing donation/redistribution
- Board member local civic/advocacy group
- Board member undergrad alumni association
1) don't give up, put in the effort/time and be confident in yourself
2) shoot for the best schools, even if you doubt your scores
I'm a working professional in finance, 29 yrs old and have a very busy job (definitely not a 9-5). I took the GMAT after 2 weeks of studing in 2008. I naively thought that I'd do really well, being a finance/accounting professional and having great writing and verbal experience. Well I didn't. In fact, I was actually BELOW AVERAGE in quant and slightly above average in verbal - scored a 570. Not awful for 2 weeks studying but definitely knew it would limit my school options.
Then I realized that I needed a study plan. I put in about 3 months and tried to stick to 10-15 hours per week. It was tough to stick to set dates/times given my busy schedule, but I just made sure that if I missed a Tues night, I'd study Wed morning instead. Studied mostly quant since that was where the most improvement was needed. Refreshed on key topics in verbal within 2 weeks of the test.
Sooooo, I took the test in May and scored a 670, which was actually disappointing at first thought. Was 40Q 65%/41V 89%/6.0 AWA. I was getting in 690-720 range on practice exams so I was CRUSHED!!! I went home and thought, I've worked this hard so I'm still shooting for my top school goal of NYU for an MBA. I then focused on my application, essays, resume, etc, etc. I made a strong case with my essays to offset my lower-than-average GMAT and specifically quant score compared to NYU's average. I assumed I was a "bubble" applicant but didn't want to quit!
I applied and was ACCEPTED for the fall!! I was so excited to get into my top school and really appreciated the stories of hardwork, dedication and overcoming obstacles on this site. I hope this inspires others that maybe have to work a bit harder to get into their top school and get a great GMAT score. Just remember - these MBA programs, including top ones, want a DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION, to provide better learning opportunities for all MBA students. They want different backgrounds, experiences, ethnicity, strengths/weaknesses - most importantly, they want passion and ambition for a program. Tell the admissions department why YOU BELONG for reasons other than your GMAT score. Sure, getting a GMAT well above their average will help (since lets face facts, they still have averages and rankings to attain), but at their GMAT average, you have a chance and if strong in other areas, you may actually be MORE VALUABLE to the program than the quant superstar that doesn't have a personality and passion. You can't teach those intangibles and MBA programs want those too!
I hope this helps people as they study and work toward a great MBA program. Don't sell yourself short - there will always be second tier schools that you can pursue if you don't hit the stars!
For anyone interested in benchmarking backgrounds, my specifics are below:
- CPA and certified fraud examiner in investment mgmt, asset mgmt, financial services focus
- worked with international CPA firm (big4) and recently in regional CPA firm, manager past 3 years
- small private undergrad 3k students, 3.75 gpa and minors in spanish/economics
- college division 3 soccer, president accounting association, college tutor finance, accounting, economics, english
- GMAT 670 40Q/41V/6AWA
- Strong extra curriculars post undergrad, active volunteerism
- founded not-for-profit for clothing donation/redistribution
- Board member local civic/advocacy group
- Board member undergrad alumni association
