military profile request for top five

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military profile request for top five

by mmelone12 » Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:56 am
Hello! And thank you in advance for anyone who answers this!

I'm really hoping to get an opinion on whether or not I should be bothering to apply to Harvard, Stanford and INSEAD. I have a solid background as a military candidate (I was an infantry commander in charge of 200+ people with deployment experience). But the rest of my academic career has been in regional schools, and I have a low Quant score on the GMAT. Please see below:

Prior Work Experience: U.S. Army Infantry Officer, with combat experience in Iraq and 4+ years experience overall including time commanding over 200 soldiers at a garrison in Germany.

GMAT: 700 (V97%, Q61%). (I just can't seem to raise that dang Quant score on practice tests)

Educational Background: Univ. of Florida dual degree Journalism and Political Science (GPA 3.80) and a Master's in International Relations from St. Mary's University of Texas (4.0 G.P.A.)

Other: Language experience with Spanish, Arabic and German (but not necessarily fluent)

Am I wasting my time applying for Harvard, Stanford and INSEAD? INSEAD even explicitly says they prefer higher than a 70% in both categories.

My backups are Darden and Judge. Am I safe considering these "safeties?" I know American schools value military service, but not so sure about Judge and INSEAD.

Thank you so much!

TARGET SCHOOLS:
Stanford
HBS
INSEAD
Judge
Darden
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by Stacey Oyler » Wed Jan 26, 2011 3:45 pm
Hi,

Thanks for your post. I can certainly understand your concerns around your quant score, however, I do think it's important for you to remember that it is only one part of your application and only one component that makes up your academic profile. Your solid performance in undergrad as well as in your Masters degree will be noted.

Yes, most top business schools are looking for at least 80% on quant, but I don't believe your score to be a "deal breaker." You'll certainly want to highlight your solid leadership experience as well as your unique international experiences. These can help boost the interest in your profile as a whole and therefore the GMAT becomes less of an issue. I do think you can be competitive for admission at all the schools on your list.

Finally, I am assuming that you will be applying to business school in Round 1 in October? If this correct, you might want to consider enrolling in some courses (there are some great online options) to help strengthen your quantitative profile. I suggest looking into accounting, statistics or calculus.

Best,

Stacey
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Stacey Oyler
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215.568.2590

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