GMAT score enough (esp. low verbal)??

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GMAT score enough (esp. low verbal)??

by crackit_ee » Mon Oct 04, 2010 7:23 am
I scored 700 in my GMAT (50 Q, 34V). I were expecting a much better score but unfortunately I made mistakes in verbal. My AWA score is 5.5. Is this score good enough to expect an admit from some of the top 10 US business schools.
Personal details: Male/31/India
Other credentials:
B.Tech. Dept Rank 2 (84%)
M.Tech. IIT Bombay 9.9/10
Experience - 7 years (by 2011), working in one of the world's best semiconductor company. I have worked on the design and development of the state of art products.
I have couple of patents and papers on my name.
Top priorities: Haas (berkeley) and Stanford

What are my chances? Do you feel low verbal score can reduce my chances to get the admit? Shall I focus more on other aspects of the application or work on retaking GMAT?

Thanks in advance.
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by Tani » Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:16 am
First, no one can ever "expect" an admit from the top ten schools. They all have many more qualified applicants than they can accept and they regularly turn down outstanding candidates.

You will be part of a large and very compeititive pool of applicants from India with technical degrees. That lowers your chances. Nevertheless, your stats are good and your experience is stronger than that of many applicants. Your patents will also be a help. You are the type of candidate who should be looking at the top-ranked schools. However, if you are determined to go to school next fall you should definitely consider schools that accept a slightly higher proportion of their applicants. You should look at schools with strong technology programs such as Carnegie Mellon. They will value your experience and your patents.

Unless you have identified a factor keeping your verbal score down and have corrected it, you will probably see no increase and very likely a decrease from retaking the test. You would be better off at this point to focus on putting together a sparkling application that will make you stand out from the competition. A seasoned admissions consultant would be of great help in telling your best story.

Good luck,
Tani Wolff

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by crackit_ee » Tue Oct 12, 2010 11:30 pm
Tani Wolff - Kaplan wrote:First, no one can ever "expect" an admit from the top ten schools. They all have many more qualified applicants than they can accept and they regularly turn down outstanding candidates.

You will be part of a large and very compeititive pool of applicants from India with technical degrees. That lowers your chances. Nevertheless, your stats are good and your experience is stronger than that of many applicants. Your patents will also be a help. You are the type of candidate who should be looking at the top-ranked schools. However, if you are determined to go to school next fall you should definitely consider schools that accept a slightly higher proportion of their applicants. You should look at schools with strong technology programs such as Carnegie Mellon. They will value your experience and your patents.

Unless you have identified a factor keeping your verbal score down and have corrected it, you will probably see no increase and very likely a decrease from retaking the test. You would be better off at this point to focus on putting together a sparkling application that will make you stand out from the competition. A seasoned admissions consultant would be of great help in telling your best story.

Good luck,
Thanks Tani for the valuable inputs. I know where all i made mistakes in verbal, and I am hopeful of increasing my score by 30-40 points. If I am able to improve my verbal score, will it increase my chances of admission in top colleges. I want to do my best and then leave things on almighty. According to you, what all I should include/take-care in my application to have better chances of admit.
Thanks a lot.

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by Tani » Wed Oct 13, 2010 6:27 am
As always, there are no guarantees. However, you should be sure to emphasize the quality of your work experience, particularly any management aspects. Leadership and responsibility for the work of others will be very important in distinguishing yourself form other highly-qualified applicants.
Tani Wolff