Ask Veritas Prep Admissions Consulting

So i finally took the GMAT this Sunday and scored a 650 (79 percentile): Q49 (86 percentile), V31 (56 percentile), AWA 6.0 (91 percentile).

I'm 26 years old, from Bangladesh. I graduated as an engineer (majored in Electronics & Telecommunication) from the top private school here my home country and been working in the technology sector for over 3 years now.

My early experience includes working with a US based software development company, as a Training & Implementation Specialist. I focused on improving customer experience, leading projects that ensure new and effective training solutions, and also in business development. I lead a project here that included directing development of computer based video games for training (this was the first ever in the industry in which we provided our service). I later worked as an Asst. Product Manager at one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of electronics products in our country. Here I managed the entire portfolio of Philips consumer electronics products. I had good experience here, working with many different teams nationwide and was the youngest in the company to reach the position. I was later also made in-charge of company's new venture of distributing Samsung products, where I worked as the product manager for both electronics and home appliances. I directly managed the roll out of the new category in our channel, among many other stuffs. I'm currently working as the Asst. Vice President of Business Development at a software company specializing in biometrics identity management solutions. I'm very new here, and we mostly work on government projects.

I had a 3.492 GPA in undergraduate degree (with 3.7 in last 2 years). Although the GMAT score was shocking for my verbal performance (I never scored below 35 in any company's tests, ever!), i do plan to apply with whatever I have achieved in my first attempt. My undergraduate coursework shows A and B+ in advanced English courses, also A's in Philosophy, Psychology, Environmental Economics, and other such verbal heavy courses. In 2002 I had taken the IELTS scored a 7.5, was even a tutor for IELTS in one of the tutoring centers while i was a student. I have written, periodically, in some English newspapers, been an English weather forecaster for the largest government owned radio channel. In my undergrad career, I was also the In-charge of R&D for our Computer Club, where I worked on developing students skills on Linux, organizing movie shows and fairs. I've also done a lot of freelance graphics designing for many companies, and literally for every club of my university.

Please advise me, if I'm eligible for top 20 US b-schools and based on my profile what kind of schools would you recommend? I personally am looking at: UT Austin, Indiana, Texas A&M, Stanford/Berkeley, and CMU. But I need a few more names, plz assist (within US/Canada is preferred). If you guys could provide me some tips on how to address my V31 on GMAT and if my AWA score would be helpful, also, if you think my quant score can provide strength to my application.

Your GMAT score is close to or slightly below the average score for many of your target schools. This means that you will still be considered however your application needs to be exceptionally strong. Your AWA score helps to offset you verbal score a bit. It also helps that you have done well in "verbal heavy" courses in the past. Make sure that your essays are well-written and further demonstrate your strength in this area. In terms of adding schools to your target list - you should aim for schools that are strong in the concentrations that will prepare you for your career goals and also have strong professional relationships with companies that interest you.

Hi Scottie, First of all thanks for your opinion. I just got my TOEFL score and scored a 117. Do you think I could also highlight this in my additional essay, along with the other points you just mentioned?