Dear streetpunkstar,
The GMAT is a tough beast to slay. You should be proud of the progress that you have made though as it is tough to obtain 50+ point increases. To answer your questions:
- The more work experience I get, does the GMAT score matter much to admissions? If I wait 5 more years?
All application components matter, but one is not more important than another regardless of your work experience. The components are viewed holistically such that where you are low on one, you can balance it with being high on another. The GMAT will always be viewed as a valid measure of aptitude regardless of your amount of work experience.
- How many times do I have to take the GMAT before it starts to hurt me with Admissions? 3? 5? 10? 20? I know you can only take the GMAT only 5 times a year, two months apart. I assume the Univ. of Colo. take the highest score in the past 5 years? I hear some take the average!...I guess maybe I am asking these questions to avoid improving my GMAT score and taking my chances with the Admissions process, but I also hear if you score a certain score over and over, its not worth working on it any further...
While there are some schools that believe taking the test more than 3 or 5 times is futile, the majority of admissions folks do not view your number of test attempts either positively or negatively. Test statistics do show that most people tend to stabilize in a certain score range after 4-5 attempts though, giving credence to the idea that it might not be worth it to continue to take the exam. However, there are exceptions who achieved that score increase on the 6th or 8th attempt.
Most schools use the GMAT attempt with the highest total score in an applicant's evaluation. I have not heard of any school's averaging test scores, but there could be one out there that does.
- If I take a course thru a college to build a secondary transcript (taking Business classes) and show that I can score A's, how much does that help me with Admissions?
A secondary transcript can be helpful when you did not perform well in college. It demonstrates you can succeed in the classroom and are committed to your studies at this point in time. Be thoughtful in the courses you select though as most schools would rather see you take math classes (college algebra, calculus) if you did not earn high grades in quant courses in college (and your quant score on the GMAT is low). Solid business courses to take would be statistics, finance or accounting.
My final piece of advice for you is to visit these schools and speak with an admissions professional regarding your profile at each program. They will give you the best insight into how you measure up and how best to mitigate any potential weaknesses in their eyes.
Good luck,
Lisa
The GMAT is a tough beast to slay. You should be proud of the progress that you have made though as it is tough to obtain 50+ point increases. To answer your questions:
- The more work experience I get, does the GMAT score matter much to admissions? If I wait 5 more years?
All application components matter, but one is not more important than another regardless of your work experience. The components are viewed holistically such that where you are low on one, you can balance it with being high on another. The GMAT will always be viewed as a valid measure of aptitude regardless of your amount of work experience.
- How many times do I have to take the GMAT before it starts to hurt me with Admissions? 3? 5? 10? 20? I know you can only take the GMAT only 5 times a year, two months apart. I assume the Univ. of Colo. take the highest score in the past 5 years? I hear some take the average!...I guess maybe I am asking these questions to avoid improving my GMAT score and taking my chances with the Admissions process, but I also hear if you score a certain score over and over, its not worth working on it any further...
While there are some schools that believe taking the test more than 3 or 5 times is futile, the majority of admissions folks do not view your number of test attempts either positively or negatively. Test statistics do show that most people tend to stabilize in a certain score range after 4-5 attempts though, giving credence to the idea that it might not be worth it to continue to take the exam. However, there are exceptions who achieved that score increase on the 6th or 8th attempt.
Most schools use the GMAT attempt with the highest total score in an applicant's evaluation. I have not heard of any school's averaging test scores, but there could be one out there that does.
- If I take a course thru a college to build a secondary transcript (taking Business classes) and show that I can score A's, how much does that help me with Admissions?
A secondary transcript can be helpful when you did not perform well in college. It demonstrates you can succeed in the classroom and are committed to your studies at this point in time. Be thoughtful in the courses you select though as most schools would rather see you take math classes (college algebra, calculus) if you did not earn high grades in quant courses in college (and your quant score on the GMAT is low). Solid business courses to take would be statistics, finance or accounting.
My final piece of advice for you is to visit these schools and speak with an admissions professional regarding your profile at each program. They will give you the best insight into how you measure up and how best to mitigate any potential weaknesses in their eyes.
Good luck,
Lisa
