Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

I am an Indian IT Male with a very diverse work Experience.
I work as a Senior Manager, with multifaceted exposure at various levels.

Work Ex: 10 Years in a Tech Company in US
of which 6 Years are in Big 5 Consulting experience.
Education Level: Masters with 3.11 GPA (10 yrs ago)
Good Extra Curriculars: Leadership in sports, organized events, Tied up with a charitable institution. Started Educational and fitness group activities, Mentored multiple individuals, Volunteer activities.

Now the sad part:
GMAT: 560, AWA: 5.5, V: 50%ile, Q: 73%ile
This is by far the lowest I got. Never scored below 650 in my mock tests including GMATPrep.

Being a bit realistic, I am interested in :
Kenan-Flaglar (Exec)
Texas McCombs (Exec/Part Time)
Cox SMU (Part Time)

Any chance I can make it to any of these with my existing GMAT score ?

I have some keen deliverables work wise which is delaying my next GMAT attempt, hopefully I will do it before the end of Nov 09.

Please advise and pour in your thoughts.
Appreciate your help.

Hi,

You have a whole lot of work experience behind you to give it up for a 530 GMAT. I personally don't know why you want to just go ahead with a 530 GMAT score as such? And if you're not planning on doing that why not aim for a top 15 Program like Cornell or Yale? You have everything on your side - Good work ex., a little low but still decent GPA. All in all my advice is work extremely hard for your GMAT. In case you are able to pull a score above 700, the adcoms will take a lot of interest in your abilities given your age and the jump you would have taken.

Even if you are targeting Exec/Part tima MBAs, I feel NYU Stern is a great target school for someone with your kind of background. I strongly encourage you take another shot at the GMAT and apply to better schools, even if you submit in round 2/3.

Regards,
Ankit
Founder - AppReview

Hi Vikram2010,

What was your Masters degree in?

For someone with 10 yrs of experience, interested in a part time program, you have a decent GMAT score.

For you information, Kenan Flaglar's average acceptance score is approx 600 on GMAT (Part time/ Exec program). They've accepted candidates in the past that scored lower than your GMAT score, so you are in a very good shape.

If your Master's degree was in Engg / computer science or some other technical field, your GMAT scores can sometimes be overlooked, especially, since you have 10 yrs of experience. (5 of which is management consulting, which is great).

What most schools in your case will be looking at - your work experience. I've 4-5 yrs of management consulting experience myself in one of the big 4's so I know that you've had some solid experience with multiple groups / clients / team.

I personally recommend that you do not waste time re-taking GMAT. Since you are not applying for a FULL-TIME program like other candidates with limited work experience, your case is very different.

Instead, focus on your application, essays, letter of recommendation and mock interview.

Schools like UT Austin and Kenan Flaglar are looking for candidates like you in their executive program and I'd highly encourage that you go ahead and apply.

Good Luck!