I just Beat The GMAT!

AshB wrote:Varun,

Congrats and thanks for sharing your GMAT story! Have to admit, it is very inspirational.

Thinking about your comment on GMAT as the lone criteria, H/S/W have 80% of class between 680 - 760, their range appears to be larger than some others, with some admits in mid 500s. Have you happened to research why? I am certainly positive that there is no Indian profile in the mid 500s. Given the range of middle 80%, mid 500s is low enough that one can almost consider that it might not have carried any weight at all in the app.

Talking to different adcoms and putting together all the information together, I am leaning towards concluding that there are few schools (H/S/W and may be few others) that give consideration to the entire app, while others might look at GMAT first, if not the only one.

Good Luck!

LOL - dude, you're free to believe whoever you want, my points don't change mate. And I think you missed my point. Adcoms want you to believe what they want you to believe, who would tell you anything different? And yes they look at the entire profile - but rest assured the GMAT always comes first unless you have something "google-able" about you that stands out. Especailly for H/S/W.

Best of luck in your endeavors.

abhimahna wrote:Amazing Article Varun ! Really liked each and every word of your article. Very Motivating. I am also hoping to write such a great article soon.

If possible, please share the LSAT RC Material. My Email ID is [email protected]

Hi Abhimana,

Thank you for the kind words. Please PM a drive location. The RC material cannot be sent on the email alone.

Varun

akataria wrote:Congratulations!
These are some crazy insights!! thanks for jotting it down!

Thank you for the kind words!

hungle wrote:thanks for your sharing.
im now struggling with gmat RC. can you share with me LSAT RC material?
My google drive address is [email protected].
Thanks a lot.
Viet hung

Can you send me a drive location instead? I'll upload it there.

varunshetty_1 wrote:

abhimahna wrote:Amazing Article Varun ! Really liked each and every word of your article. Very Motivating. I am also hoping to write such a great article soon.

If possible, please share the LSAT RC Material. My Email ID is [email protected]

Hi Abhimana,

Thank you for the kind words. Please PM a drive location. The RC material cannot be sent on the email alone.

Varun

Thanks Varun. Sent you a PM

varunshetty_1 wrote:

AshB wrote:Varun,

Congrats and thanks for sharing your GMAT story! Have to admit, it is very inspirational.

Thinking about your comment on GMAT as the lone criteria, H/S/W have 80% of class between 680 - 760, their range appears to be larger than some others, with some admits in mid 500s. Have you happened to research why? I am certainly positive that there is no Indian profile in the mid 500s. Given the range of middle 80%, mid 500s is low enough that one can almost consider that it might not have carried any weight at all in the app.

Talking to different adcoms and putting together all the information together, I am leaning towards concluding that there are few schools (H/S/W and may be few others) that give consideration to the entire app, while others might look at GMAT first, if not the only one.

Good Luck!

LOL - dude, you're free to believe whoever you want, my points don't change mate. And I think you missed my point. Adcoms want you to believe what they want you to believe, who would tell you anything different? And yes they look at the entire profile - but rest assured the GMAT always comes first unless you have something "google-able" about you that stands out. Especailly for H/S/W.

Best of luck in your endeavors.

You are right! Adcoms, have targets and end of the day they have to show the numbers! Unfortunately, Full Time MBA turned out to be what it perhaps shouldnt: a big business. Sometimes I wonder if I even want to go the MBA route at all.

What I was trying to do is connect the dots, but nothing to contradict your observations and experiences. Can we draw an inference (just like we do in RC or CR) that all (or Most) those admits that have score below 700 at H/S/W or other top schools are 'google-able' profiles?

AshB wrote:

varunshetty_1 wrote:

AshB wrote:Varun,

Congrats and thanks for sharing your GMAT story! Have to admit, it is very inspirational.

Thinking about your comment on GMAT as the lone criteria, H/S/W have 80% of class between 680 - 760, their range appears to be larger than some others, with some admits in mid 500s. Have you happened to research why? I am certainly positive that there is no Indian profile in the mid 500s. Given the range of middle 80%, mid 500s is low enough that one can almost consider that it might not have carried any weight at all in the app.

Talking to different adcoms and putting together all the information together, I am leaning towards concluding that there are few schools (H/S/W and may be few others) that give consideration to the entire app, while others might look at GMAT first, if not the only one.

Good Luck!

LOL - dude, you're free to believe whoever you want, my points don't change mate. And I think you missed my point. Adcoms want you to believe what they want you to believe, who would tell you anything different? And yes they look at the entire profile - but rest assured the GMAT always comes first unless you have something "google-able" about you that stands out. Especailly for H/S/W.

Best of luck in your endeavors.

You are right! Adcoms, have targets and end of the day they have to show the numbers! Unfortunately, Full Time MBA turned out to be what it perhaps shouldnt: a big business. Sometimes I wonder if I even want to go the MBA route at all.

What I was trying to do is connect the dots, but nothing to contradict your observations and experiences. Can we draw an inference (just like we do in RC or CR) that all (or Most) those admits that have score below 700 at H/S/W or other top schools are 'google-able' profiles?

Easily make that Inference. I think even schools like Kelly have an average for 720 for Indians(maybe 730). So yeah, even if you get into H/S/W unless you're Maria Sharapova - don't expect an easy GMAT route. Even in my school we have guys who've raised millions in funding for their companies and still have scored above 700, so I can't imagine how hard it is in H/S/W.

Nice write up. You need to be a bit careful around certain aspects of your advice, however. As someone who has been through a similar journey, I found getting a tutor a hindrance to my efforts. EVERYONE is different and one of the mistakes I made was listening to others constantly telling me I needed a tutor to improve. I know myself better than anyone else does - I know what makes me tick and what makes me absorb information best. No tutor can even come close to this. Once I stopped listening to others and spent time PRODUCTIVELY studying (even if I had to spend 2 hours understanding a single question), things started to fall into place. Achieving that AH-HA moment when you figure out a problem by yourself is likely to give you a much deeper understanding of that topic area than if a tutor simply tells you what you're missing. So to anyone reading this, get a tutor if you feel it is right for you! Not just because other people say so.

The other point I have to agree with is the emphasis on standardized scores. It absolutely makes my blood boil when I hear people mention that applications are looked at holistically. What an utter load of nonsense! I hear it over and over again, but evidence continually points toward the GMAT as the single most important factor affecting someone's entrance into Bschool. Why members of admissions teams have to keep bending the truth about this matter is getting laughable. Over and above, your standardised score is what counts. Unfortunately however, what this means is that you get some not-so-well-rounded people gaining admission into the best business schools. Few achievements, unprepossessing work experience, embellished extracurriculars... but a good GMAT score? You're in!

Thanks for sharing your story Varun. (You are hilarious btw!)
I'm not as smart as you, but I'm going to implement all the tips and recommendations you gave...hope for the best and never give up. I want to get into IE Business School for one of their master's programmes.

Let's see how long it takes me.