extremely skewed GMAT score breakdown, please advise!

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Hi guys,

Here is my basic profile:
Chinese American raised in Taiwan/Philippines, fluent in spoken and written Chinese
gender: Male
age: 30
industry: garments trading/buyer's agent in the Far East, 5 yrs exp
had a short stint in the legal field/law school
hobby/community work: jujitsu national champion, mentor inner city youth

undergrad: USC
GPA: slightly above 3.0
GMAT score: 670
quant: 36
verbal: 46

I'm only thinking about CEIBS. I intend to concentrate on advertising/ supply chain management.

As you can see, my scores are extremely skewed, scoring 46% percentile in quant and 99% percentile in verbal. The irony is I spent 95% of my time preparing for quant and 5% of the time for grammar/ sentence correction.

I understand CEIBS' average GMAT score has gone up over the last few years; for last year, the average was 691 or something; this year, from reading online forums, most applicants are around 700.

I understand a high GMAT score by itself can't guarantee acceptance but a low score can put me out of the race.

Does anyone know how adcoms, specifically CEIBS' adcom, view such a skewed score? Do I even have a chance or should I not bother applying with this score?

Complicating factors: I had only taken three math courses in college (mathematical methods in economics, statistics, econometrics) and as far as I recall, I did ok but not stellar, maybe low As or high Bs; I don't have work experience that demonstrates high level math skills; I'm 30 so I am concerned about waiting out one year and retake the test for a better score.

I studied all the math topics and I feel that I have an ok grasp of the concepts. My weaknesses were accuracy and timing. I can learn concepts relatively quickly but improving on accuracy and timing takes lots of practice.

Anyone with any comments or advice? Feel free to comment, criticize, opine anyway you like. I need some input.

Thanks!
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by skang357 » Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:20 am
Dude 30 is young. Put it this way I'm 33 and I have a 680 and I'm not sure if that score can get me in at UCLA so I'm thinking about retaking and then reapplying next year.

I had a skewed score like yours too although not as much 41 and 41.

Why don't you apply anyway and see if you get in (you're in their range so who knows) and then retake the GMAT if you don't get in and reapply next year.

You might have maxed out your V score more or less, but you have a lot of upside on the Q. I feel the same way and I'm sure I can get over 700 just by beefing up my Q skills.
Impossible is nothing

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by skang357 » Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:23 am
By the way only way to improve your timing is by taking one timed practice test a day for at least two weeks.

Try to take the test at the same time you will be taking the real test too if that's possible. That way your body will be trained to think quickly for 2.5 hours at a certain time of the day and will make test day go much smoother.

I know it will be a pain but nothing worth achieving is achieved without effort.
Impossible is nothing

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by jchien » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:31 pm
skang357, thank you for your comments. What you are saying makes complete sense. I should just apply anyway and see if I get in. If not, then retake. I guess I was over thinking it.

As to the age thing, it is kinda tricky. CEIBS' ever higher GMAT standard, China's fast changing market, and my personal life are all putting pressure on me to finish b-school sooner the better. But if it's not happening this year, I just have to deal with it.

Thanks for the advice on improving timing. That does sound intense, taking one timed practice test per day for at least two weeks. If I do need to retake, I'd be sure to do that. Eventhough I did spend a lot of time studying for quant, my study wasn't nearly as intense.

Anyone else care to share their thoughts and experience with a skewed score? Some are of the opinion that top schools think verbal isn't that important and it's all about quant. Is there any truth to this? Does intended concentration (in my case, supply-chain mgmt/mkting&advertising) make a difference in how adcom view score breakdown? Would adcom be more lenient towards low Q if the applicant isn't in finance and doesn't intend to go into finance?

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by somlop » Sat Apr 04, 2009 12:19 pm
Hi,

I also have a very skewed GMAT score 640 (51Q, 24V). I am Swiss but with ~2 years work experience in US/UK. Would you recommand to re-take GMAT before applying for CBS?

Thanks