Admissions Success Stories

I will be applying to Olin this fall for the 2013 program, and I finished my GMAT today. I got a 690, but my primary concern is that I had a 41 verbal but only a 44 quant. My undergrad is in accounting where I did finish with a 3.88 GPA, but it was with an unknown school. I have 10 years of military experience, but no work experience in the financial market. I have heard that Olin is a holistic school, so I am hoping that the low quant will not be a killer, but I was looking for some advice. Here are my 3 courses of action:

1. Submit as is. 690 is above their current average, and my GPA is competitive, even if it is from a smaller school. They also tend to look favorably on military applications from what I have seen or had reported.

2. Retake the GMAT: I was thrilled to see the verbal score, and I am not confident without a formal program that I could improve much (I used the 60 day program on this website, but I was averaging 680 on almost every practice test at the end). I was surprised at how much harder the GMAT felt than the practice tests, and I am not sure this is a smart option.

3. Find a take a calculus course to show that I can handle the math. I am not sure how to approach a school for the purpose of taking a single course, but this seems like a viable option. If I take a calculus course and get an A, will it compensate for the lackluster quant score? Also, would I need to take the course from a recognizable school or would just having the course be enough?

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

v/r
Shaun