GMAT Strategy

Hello gang. I just thought I'd introduce myself since I will be perusing the forum regularly in the next few months.

I am an instructor for Princeton Review. Through a collaboration between the local school district and my company, I currently teach SAT Prep 40 hours a week at a public high school. In addition, I have taught MCAT Biology, MCAT Organic Chemistry, and MCAT Verbal Reasoning at the local university for the past five years. I have also taught LSAT Prep for a few years, and I have an official 98th percentile LSAT score. Basically, I'm a grizzled veteran in the test prep industry.

I was recently accepted to The University of Texas School of Law, which I plan to attend in August. As long as I'm going to have access to the UT campus, I figured I'd see if I could get into McCombs for a JD/MBA.

Obviously, the GMAT is going be the first step. If anyone could provide insight as to the average numbers of McCombs admits, I would appreciate it. Is there some kind of database that will compute my GPA and GMAT score to predict my chances of admission? My UGPA is 3.25 (from a T20 university and a hard science major). I have about 8 years work experience and a full ride scholarship to a T20 law school for some nice softs. What kind of GMAT score do I need to be competitive at McCombs?

Also, I've never even taken a practice GMAT. What are the essential materials? What should I do to begin? I will be disappointed with anything below 95th percentile, so I'm ready to get to work, and I will absolutely not pay for a course or a tutor.

Any and all comments welcome.

My humble 2 cents...

I dont know how it works with law school but for an MBA admission, GMAT is NOT the only requirement.. Its an important factor, but not the only one. One needs to get a good GMAT score ofcourse to improve his chances but then one also needs to dedicate equal time and effort on the application process. Good essays, good recommendation letters and good career/personal experiences is absolutely important..

Coming to the topic of GMAT, although there is no specific cut-off your chances would be good if your score falls in the college's 80% range of gmat scores. Your chances would be even better if your score is above the Median/Avg gmat score of the college, considering the fact that your application package is also good.

BTW for McCombs here is the profile from BW -> https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/ra ... ustin.html

GMAT prep resources.. The book "The official guide for GMAT review" would be an excellent investment in your preps. This book is written by the people who actually set the GMAT questions. When you register for GMAT on www.mba.com, you can download a software, which contains 2 practice CAT which are considered closest in standard to the real thing!!

Hope this helped...

Right from the McCombs Website ( https://mba.mccombs.utexas.edu/admissions/stu/ )

Data as of October 1st, 2008
Demographics: Class of 2010

Class Size:
264
Applications:
1929
Women:
31%
Underrepresented Minorities*:
11%
International:
24%
Average Age:
28
Average years work experience:
5
Average GPA:
3.39
Average GMAT: 681

LSB wrote:Right from the McCombs Website ( https://mba.mccombs.utexas.edu/admissions/stu/ )

Data as of October 1st, 2008
Demographics: Class of 2010

Class Size:
264
Applications:
1929
Women:
31%
Underrepresented Minorities*:
11%
International:
24%
Average Age:
28
Average years work experience:
5
Average GPA:
3.39
Average GMAT: 681

Naturally I've looked at their website. However, law school applicants have access to many databases that help the applicant understand the law schools' indexes. I am finding such detailed information to be more difficult to find for business schools. Thanks for the help.

hk wrote:My humble 2 cents...

I dont know how it works with law school but for an MBA admission, GMAT is NOT the only requirement.. Its an important factor, but not the only one. One needs to get a good GMAT score ofcourse to improve his chances but then one also needs to dedicate equal time and effort on the application process. Good essays, good recommendation letters and good career/personal experiences is absolutely important..

Coming to the topic of GMAT, although there is no specific cut-off your chances would be good if your score falls in the college's 80% range of gmat scores. Your chances would be even better if your score is above the Median/Avg gmat score of the college, considering the fact that your application package is also good.

BTW for McCombs here is the profile from BW -> https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/ra ... ustin.html

GMAT prep resources.. The book "The official guide for GMAT review" would be an excellent investment in your preps. This book is written by the people who actually set the GMAT questions. When you register for GMAT on www.mba.com, you can download a software, which contains 2 practice CAT which are considered closest in standard to the real thing!!

Hope this helped...

Thanks, that BW link is very helpful. Law schools generally report the middle 50% scores and GPAs, so the 80% data was exactly what I was looking for.

I understand that the application process entails more than just GMAT. However, as a professional test taker, that's just the area of my application that I feel I can excel beyond most other applicants. Thanks for the book tip too.

It looks like I'm going to need a 730 or better. What percentile is 730?

I think 730 would be around 97%.. Here is one doc that would help you break down the GMAT score.... https://www.platinumgmat.com/about_gmat/ ... akdown.xls