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Aringo claim their client at HBS with 580.HBS didn't respond
My experience is that I got accepted to the school and program I wanted with the extensive help of a good consulting firm and a great personal consultant. English is not my mother-tongue and I could not have done the essays without their help. It's hard to understand just how instrumental they can be without working with one of them. And the more 'diminished' your chances are by your competitive category, the more outstanding you need to be. If you feel you can do this on your own, more power to you.
The kind of people you mention here (Rhodes Scholar)would probably not have a low GMAT. And consultants are not likely to get these 'remarkable' people as clients - they tend to be sponsored by an organization. Consultants are there for anyone who feels they need help in putting together a really good application, no matter what their background.LastChanceMBA wrote:First, this person who got in with a 580 is obviously a very special case, and I'm sure he/she has a remarkable resume and personal story. So unless you accomplished something truly remarkable (Rhodes scholar, saved a village, escaped a war torn country, NFL player, founded a startup worth $10 million+, etc.) don't expect to get into HBS with a 590. Study hard, and try your best to raise it to at least 680+.
Second, be very skeptical of Aringo or any other consulting firm when they brag about clients with low GMAT scores who got into top b-schools. Now I'm not accusing them of lying. However, unless you know the exact background and experience of the candidate in question, you're not getting any useful information that is relevant to YOU. After all let's be honest. A white/Asian guy in banking is not getting in with a 580 or some other subpar score. The ugly truth is that admission
consultants actually can't help you that much with getting into top schools.
I'm wondering if consultants accept everyone who comes to them, no matter what their application data looks like? In other words, are they honest about your chances at a top or good school from the beginning? If not, would they recommend you apply to schools that you have half a chance at being accepted to, or tell you you're not ready for an MBA if that's the case?
They won't just accept anyone who wants an MBA from a prestigious school. If you don't have a good enough basic application, enough for them to work with, they will not take you on, at least the good ones won't. They have a reputation to maintain and they wouldn't burden the schools with anything sub-standard. They can't stop you from applying wherever you want to but it is in their interest, as well as yours, to accept only those with a reasonable chance at any of the top 20 schools.
Please. There is enough information about application requirements and school standards to fill an encyclopedia. I'm not saying that acceptance at a top school or even a good school is a scientific procedure, far from it, but there is a base line of necessary conditions and any applicant should feel himself/herself reasonably qualified for acceptance before applying, with or without the help of a consultant.
There IS a sort of grey area with GMAT scores. But as we know, this is not a science. A great score is always advantageous but the adcoms do not stop looking when they see a below average score. They do always go over the whole application.
I think everyone will agree that the GMAT is a hard test and some people have the advantage of just being good at maths or are prolific readers which helps with the Verbal. But if you are not one of those and can show excellent work skills over a period of time you should not let a relatively low GMAT score keep you from applying to the top schools. In other words, don't let that one element get you down. It doesn't cancel out everything else.
Absolutely. You've come this far in preparing an application and if you think you've presented yourself in the best light possible, by all means go ahead and apply to the schools of your choice. At some point you just have to act.
The important thing here is to give yourself plenty of time to prepare your application. Do the GMAT with enough time to retake it, if you have to, because it may indirectly affect what you say about yourself in your essays. Your application is a balancing act and you are trying to cover all the bases in the different elements.
Good advice, of course, but easier said than done. A lot of folks have a sudden realization that they need an MBA to advance their career and want to get in for the following year, which may not leave much time. And getting a great GMAT score is the stumbling block. I'd say the majority of applicants do the GMAT twice, at least.
Again, you will get better results, with everything, if you give yourself more time to study. The essays are a completely different element of the application process and should also not be hurried through. Sometimes this is where consultants come in to the picture, with their expertise at putting together a great application.
