Lisa,
Thanks for responding to my post from October 15th. I have a follow up question based upon your response which you can read below.
Essentially, a school like London Business School and Stern have GMAT averages of 690 and 700 respectively, so would you say these are my sweet spot schools since my GMAT score is a 710. My GPA is low, but I am also 5.5 years out of school, so wouldn't the adcom place more emphasis on my GMAT score? Again, I understand factors like a sterling essay, recs are vital ingredients as well.
Secondly, I can see that places like Chicago, Sloan, and maybe even Tuck can be reaches based upon my basic stats. Adcoms from each school probably have different philosophies of how they weigh each evaluation criteria. Do you know any resources that can help me understand this school by school evaluation criteria.
"Dear brtheat,
You are right that applications are expected to increase this year. There is no disadvantage to round 2 versus round 1, but I do think it is best to get your application submitted as soon as possible with compromising quality. So don't submit an application just to hit a round 1 deadline if you know that it will be much better if you wait a week. Applications will enter a queue as they are submitted, so just try to submit as early as possible.
All of your target schools are top tier programs. With the increase in applications, I think top tier programs will be a little bit of a reach for any applicant this year. You have a competitive foundation and profile, but your GMAT is a little below the average for a few and your GPA is at the bottom of the range. So I would have to say sweet to reach for all of these.
Best of luck,
Lisa"
Thanks for responding to my post from October 15th. I have a follow up question based upon your response which you can read below.
Essentially, a school like London Business School and Stern have GMAT averages of 690 and 700 respectively, so would you say these are my sweet spot schools since my GMAT score is a 710. My GPA is low, but I am also 5.5 years out of school, so wouldn't the adcom place more emphasis on my GMAT score? Again, I understand factors like a sterling essay, recs are vital ingredients as well.
Secondly, I can see that places like Chicago, Sloan, and maybe even Tuck can be reaches based upon my basic stats. Adcoms from each school probably have different philosophies of how they weigh each evaluation criteria. Do you know any resources that can help me understand this school by school evaluation criteria.
"Dear brtheat,
You are right that applications are expected to increase this year. There is no disadvantage to round 2 versus round 1, but I do think it is best to get your application submitted as soon as possible with compromising quality. So don't submit an application just to hit a round 1 deadline if you know that it will be much better if you wait a week. Applications will enter a queue as they are submitted, so just try to submit as early as possible.
All of your target schools are top tier programs. With the increase in applications, I think top tier programs will be a little bit of a reach for any applicant this year. You have a competitive foundation and profile, but your GMAT is a little below the average for a few and your GPA is at the bottom of the range. So I would have to say sweet to reach for all of these.
Best of luck,
Lisa"
