Ask mbaMission

Hi,

I've been studying for the GMAT for the last 3 months and seen a real improvement in my score (650 on my first diagnostic, 740 & 730 on my last 2 MGMAT CAT tests). The issue I'm encountering is that while I consistently score in the 99th percentile for verbal, my math has stubbornly hung around the 80th percentile.

I'm planning on applying to top 10 schools, and am definitely interested in the more finance-heavy ones such as Wharton/NYU. I'm worried that my quant score my hurt my chances. Some further background on me: 3.55 GPA (Government concentration) from Dartmouth with very little quantitative coursework. I have 3 years work experience doing online marketing for Fortune 500 companies and very well known luxury brands (2 different agencies). There are some quantitative aspects to my work, and I'm going to try and get my recommenders to speak to this. All that said, is an 80th percentile quant good enough for top schools for someone of my background?

Thanks!
Adam

Adam -

Thanks for your message - studying for the GMAT can be stressful, and I am sure you just want to get it behind you! If you can break 730, you should be fine. Many people who typically did better on math portions of previous testing (SAT IIs, etc.) find that they excel on the verbal portion with the GMAT.

I think your strategy of asking recommenders to talk about the quantitative aspects of your work is a very proactive approach that makes a lot of sense as well. Your background in Fortune 500 online marketing sounds interesting - play to those strengths, and I would not worry about the math/verbal split on a GMAT score above 730!

Hope this helps!
Jennifer