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Profile Eval: 30-year old Elec Engineer, 710 GMAT, 2.9 GPA

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Profile Eval: 30-year old Elec Engineer, 710 GMAT, 2.9 GPA

by jliu » Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:44 pm
I just finished my first GMAT this morning, and got an unofficial score of 710 (48Q, 40V). The following is a synopsis of my qualifications:
- low GPA (2.9-3.0) from BSc degree from Queen's University (Kingston, Canada), right in the middle of the bell curve.
- electrical engineer with 4 years of full time post graduation experience, with reputable major consulting engineering companies
- have managed at most 4 people at one time
- extra curricular involvements: local Professional Engineers of Ontario chapter positions (a few years ago), raising a toddler

I'm about to embark on the application process, mostly eyeing Business schools in Canada (particularly close to Toronto) due to family commitment, U of T, York, Western Ontario, Ryerson, McMaster.

My questions are:
- with such a low GPA, I was really hoping to get a higher GMAT score to compensate. Should I retake the GMAT? Timing is really tight for September admission now, can I get away with not retaking the GMAT?
- What can I do about the application essays to try to explain/draw attention away from the low GPA? Mention that courses were really tough? That I didn't enjoy many of them?

Please help! Thanks!
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by Bryant@VeritasPrep » Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:53 pm
Generally, admissions committees expect to see slightly lower grades on average from engineering programs. Also, the further back in your past you went to college, the less it matters and the more emphasis will be put on what you have achieved professionally. Sounds like you have some good leadership experience and that college was about five years ago. I would guess that with a good essay package and a 710 GMAT, you should be in good shape. I would focus on applications, and not worry about retaking the GMAT. getting another 10 or 20 points on it will likely not help you much anyway, and there is always the risk you could get a lower score. Even though the adcoms only consider your best score, they will receive a report with all your scores unless you cancel a test before the score is generated.
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