I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi,
I gave my GMAT today and scored 710 (48Q/38V). Although I was targetting around 740 mark but still I will take the score. My job don't allow me to study much during the weekdays and I could only study in weekends.

Here is my background info:

Class-Xth Standard - 93.6%
XIIth Standard - 83.2 %
Engineering Entrance Rank - 210.
Graduation - 81%

Extracurricular activities - Actively associated with an NGO and helped in developing its volunteer base in certain area.
Played cricket, football in College and Office teams.
Got 2nd Prize in All India Colour contest way back during my school days.

Work Exp:
1) Worked as a consultant for 2.5 yrs in one of the big 4 consulting firm. Handled projects both domestic and offshore.Worked in projects in Health Care, Insurance, Government Risk and Compliance, etc.
2) Working as a business analyst in an Investment management firm for the last 2+ yrs.

I am planning to apply to ISB and some other top schools like INSEAD, Stanford, Duke, GSB - Chicago, etc. Do I really stand much chance in getting into these schools. It will be great if the experts can throw some light on my chances of getting into these schools. I am kind of apprehensive about my chances because my score is not in the range of 740+. I do understand the application part will be important but then how important is the score part. Will 710 affect my chance of getting into these schools.

Looking forward for some advice.

Thanks in advance !

you score will not keep you out of these schools... a 740 is a stronger score so it wouldn't hurt... but is it necessary? imo i don't think so... [/u]

In case of top-schools, I personally believe that the GMAT score is a ticket to how strongly the adcom will consider your candidacy, and once you pass a certain threshold (e.g. 680 or so), they will move on to other factors of the application. The only way I see an adcom basing a decision on the GMAT is if the qualifications of two or more candidates match very closely (which is very rare) and there is a considerable gap between their scores.

However, that said, I have also come across different opinions that say: because schools tend to push for diversity within their classes, they will look at your cultural background/experience and bucket you accordingly (i.e. if you have studied and worked in India, they will more likely be comparing you to your fellow applicants from India). If that is the case, and the GMAT average for applicants from India seems to be higher than the overall average of the rest of the pool, the threshold might be a little bit higher.

mygmat.2009 i agree 100%