tgmurr2010 wrote:I recently took the GMAT and scored a 700 (88%), with a verbal score of 44 (98%), quant score of 41 (43%), AWA of 6.0 (89%), integrated reasoning of 5 (55%). I am applying to Columbia, NYU and Yale and am wondering if my quant score will be high enough for these programs. My undergrad GPA is low (3.08/4.0), but I was a double major in Classics and Economics from a Top 25 liberal arts college, a strenuous combination. I have passed Levels I & II of the CFA and will begin studying for Level III once I complete my MBA applications. I am hopeful that the CFA will help to prove I am capable of handling the quants/analytics needed for an MBA curriculum with any of these programs. I also have 8 years experience working for top global institutions Bank of Montreal and GE.

Columbia has rolling admissions so I am somewhat comfortable waiting a month to apply, but I am now in a position where I will be applying in the last round at Yale and am wondering what I should do about NYU. I can apply in Round 2 with the scores I have or I can take a few more weeks to continue studying in the hopes of retaking the GMAT and improving my quant score and applying in the last round for NYU.

I am looking for opinions on whether it is better to apply round 2 with a lower quant score or retake the GMAT, hope and pray for a higher quant score, and apply to NYU round 3.

Thank you!

I would suggest you try to apply in R2 because after this round the odds get slim all around. Sometimes a school will accept a GMAT that comes in after the deadline if you have everything in your file and are submitted. So that is always an option- and I think your support for what else you have - the CFA certifications- for example help make the case that you can do the quant work. The 41 is rather low- so do keep trying to improve- but if it were me I would submit R2 and then try to see if I could later send the new score if you get a better one.

Judging by the date of your post, I'm guessing that you already made this decision, but this question comes up so often that it's worth weighing in on for the benefit of the group.
My experience supports the strategy of applying now with the score you have, and THEN going on to improve your GMAT in a retake. Often people put so much pressure on a last-chance GMAT retake that they tank, and end up no better off than they were a few months before. It's not like your overall score is awful, just imbalanced. Another thing you can do, either before or after submitting your application, is to take courses that strengthen your quant skills -- UCLA's business extension online courses, for example, are highly respected; given your lack of heavy quant in undergrad, you probably want to be doing that anyway, if only to be sure you'll be able to keep up with your peers in a top MBA program.

I also agree with my colleagues here that a lower GPA necessitates a higher GMAT. Whether the lower GPA was because of maturity/adjustment issues or the difficulty of the program, you want to demonstrate that whatever the problem was, it's long behind you.

Some schools will accept a GMAT update after the deadlines if they are sufficiently interested in you -- I've seen Columbia, for example, be very engaged with applicants on this issue. And worst case scenario, you can build on your experiences this year to reapply in the fall, hopefully with a stronger Q GMAT score and some quant coursework behind you. In any case, I hope you will update us on the boards here; you sound like an interesting candidate, and I'm curious what decision you made and how it turned out.

Good luck!
Margaret Strother