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Hello!

I would like some advice please!

I took the test a week ago and scored a 720. 46/99th percentile in the Verbal and 42/63rd on the Quantitative. My essay score was a 6.0.

I think my performance on the Quantitative was really very bad. It was never my strongest suit but I would usually score a little higher in my practice tests... I would never claim that Maths comes naturally to me but I believe that I have proven academic achievements in the subject.

I have an degree in Mechanical Engineering from one of the top courses in the UK. I went to Imperial College, London. The engineering school regularly ranks along with Cambridge in the league tables. I graduated in 2006 with a high 2:1 grade. I achieved 69% which is only 1% off of a 1st, the highest passing grade. Since then I have worked as a professional engineer for a well respected engineering consultancy which specialises in the automotive sector.

Personally, I think that this proves my mathematical ability better than a GMAT test where I made stupid mistakes under pressure. I would really like an opinion on whether the admissions people at the top schools will agree with me. I really don't want to have to take it again but I don't want to scupper an otherwise relatively solid application with an unflattering Quant score!

I believe I will have solid references and a pretty good CV for an Engineer of my age and discipline.

I am hoping to apply to Stanford, Harvard, Columbia and INSEAD. I am currently domiciled in the UK though I have dual Bulgarian citizenship.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can offer some perspective on my conundrum!

Hello,

I agree that your quantitative coursework in a rigorous program plus the nature of your job should largely mitigate concern about the quant GMAT score. However, don’t leave it to chance for the adcoms to notice – address the issue directly and succinctly in an optional essay, explaining it basically as you did in your message. You can conclude the essay by saying that these other factors accurately demonstrate your quantitative capabilities. You might even point out one or two courses that were particularly challenging and/or a particular aspect of your work wherein you apply quantitative methodologies.

Considering that your transcript will already show strong quantitative capability, it’s great that you scored so high in the verbal section.

Best regards,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor, Accepted.com
www.Accepted.com