Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

I was disappointed with my first GMAT result (see below) and am curious about pursuing business-related masters degrees. I believe that my score is in Cornell Hotel School's ballpark but I was wondering if any of the experts had advice. Would I be better served to go to a lower rank MBA program (so that I have greater flexibility and a broader based education)? Previously, Cornell had been on my list of target MBA programs in the hopes that I could take some of their hotel schools while pursuing a broader business education. In light of my less than stellar performance despite 3 months of heavy preparation, I am more inclined to apply to a secondary Masters program. I'm interested in international real estate development with a special interest in hotels.

Verbal: 40 (89th percentile)
Math: 38 (48th percentile)
Overall: 640 (74th percentile)

GPA: 3.9 from a top 50 school

Hey riddlemethis828 --

Unfortunately that quant score may be cause for concern for any good school, including the Cornell program (we assume you're interestd in the Masters of Management in Hospitality). Because admissions to that track is not as competitive as other programs then you *might* see some flexibility from the adcom -- but you'll need to do a lot of work in your pitch to demonstrate your quant proficiency. We actually recommend that you simply try again on the GMAT with a focus on bumping up that side of the test. Yes it's a brutal exam and we don't wish it on our worst enemy!! But your current score is much lower than the schools want to see. You don't have to get into the 80th percentile but you should try for at least 60% (as a very rough number to throw out there).

Also your GPA is obviously very strong but it depends in large part on what your undergrad major was and where you went to college - if you took lots of quant classes in school, then it will help (that quant score on the GMAT will still likely be a question mark for the adcom no matter what - the GPA doesn't offset it necessarily).

Sorry we can't be more encouraging with the current score but it could be an obstacle for you.

EssaySnark

Have you taken a GMAT course or used a GMAT tutor?

Also, what was your degree in? Did you take any quantitative courses and if so why the discrepancy between your most likely A or A- math grades and the test? You should try to improve your score regardless and show quantitative aptitude elsewhere in background as well as apply to both Cornell and other lower ranked MBA programs. But If there is an underlying reason for your academic and testing discrepancy you might be able to write an optional essay that could successfully mitigate it for one of your target programs (especially if you come from one or more underrepresented minority groups or a country that historically scores low). We have helped clients successfully do this.

Good luck on your retake and applications,

Thank you for your kind responses. I am not sure what happened. I was scoring in the high 600s in practice and my Math was between the 55thth and 75th percentile when I practiced (on the official MBA tests and a few Manhattan GMAT tests). I had actually been focusing my efforts on math during the last few weeks of preparation given that my verbal was consistently in the 88th-92nd percentile but my math was still beneath the 80th percentile.

I lost 1.5 minutes of time at the beginning coming back late from the break (stupid mistake) and then the GMAT instructor came in once and interrupted me to ask me if I was cold. (I was pretty annoyed.) I also wasn't able to answer the last question before time was up and felt like my timing was generally off throughout the section. Also, I didn't really encounter the "harder" math questions that I had prepped for using Manhattan GMAT. Instead, there were a lot of number properties questions that were unlike the types of ones that I saw in the Manhattan GMAT book.

I did not take a course but have paid for an online course (Knewton) so I will try to do that to raise my score.

I was an IR major with an Economics minor. I got A's in Calc 1, Calc 2, Stats, and Accounting 101. I got a B in Macroeconomics (we didn't have +/-) and an A in my other 4 econ courses (Microeconomics, Intermediate Micro, Intermediate Macro, and the other course I'm forgetting).

I know that the SAT is no measure/predictor of success but I got a 770 on the math section (and a 690 on verbal). I was always stronger on math than on verbal so it was surprising to me that both in practice -- and especially on the actual test -- I scored so much higher on verbal.

Do you think that a higher GMAT score (with a higher quant) would mitigate the adcom's doubts about my quantitative abilities? I feel like that 48th percentile is a death sentence.

I'm also dreading studying for the Integrated Reasoning section.

I think you need to retake the test to obtain the highest quantitative score possible as it seems that your 48th percentile does not represent your true maximum.

For your applications you will also need to write an optional essay indicating how both your professional background and your academic performance in calculus and statistics are better indicators of your expected performance in quantitative-heavy MBA courses like Finance and Operations (you will need to elaborate on this).

Are you suggesting that I write the optional essay even if my quant score skyrockets up on a second testing? (fingers crossed!) I was scoring in the 70th percentile on some practice tests so I really do think this was a bit of a fluke and that, at the very least, I could get up to the 70th percentile in the actual test with a few weeks of devoted study.

Sorry but we disagree - not seeing anything in the information provided in this thread that would warrant an optional essay.

https://www.essaysnark.com/2011/05/shoul ... -an-essay/

EssaySnark

Writing the optional essay depends on how far beneath the average GMAT and/or 80% quantitative an applicant is and the quality of the explanation. My rule of thumb is to write an optional essay if below 70% quantitative, but between 70%-80% depends on other factors. The case against writing an explanation is you draw the admissions committee's attention to your lower score when the score might only be a yellow flag (between 70%-80% quantitative). But in the case of a 48% quantitative score there is already a red flag, so there is not a downside to writing an optional essay.

I respectfully disagree with the article.

The underlying concern of a low GMAT is whether the test taker can handle the academic rigor of a program. First, an applicant can write an optional essay that addresses his or her ability to handle the academics of the program without explaining away the low GMAT score, since handling the academics is the admission committee's underlying concern. Second, if an applicant did wish to address a low score, there are other valid reasons for performing poorly on a GMAT besides English not being the first language and dyslexia (although usually the first strategy is better for an optional essay).

We do agree though on handling a learning disability with care. Years ago, I had a client with a learning disability provide a lengthy explanation about why her extremely high GPA was a better indicator of her MBA academic performance than was her extremely low GMAT. Stanford and Wharton did not accept her, but HBS did.

Takeaway message for all those reading this:

There are VERY different approaches to admissions consulting. The "rule of thumb" offered is how one consultant tells their clients to do it.

It is not a "rule of thumb" that any admissions committee we know of has ever stated.

riddlemethis828, given what we know of your profile, you're gonna have to retest; this isn't an issue that can be explained away with another essay.

EssaySnark

Agreed that there are different approaches to MBA admissions consulting (which hopefully benefits those posting questions) and that the rule of thumb is my perspective (I changed "a" to "my" on the previous post).

I definitely agree with essaysnark that you need to retake the test and that your present 48% quantitative is not something you can merely explain away in an optional essay for a school like Cornell.

However, if you continue to score at that level on the quantitative portion my advice (besides recommending changing your GMAT approach) would be to apply to also apply to less selective programs and emphasize areas in your academic and professional life that you have excelled quantitatively.

Good luck on your retakes!!!

Already registered for a retake and for Knewton. I think that a course will help me to study more effectively and in an organized fashion and that I should have done this in the first place.


just to be sure I am clear:

If I score less than the 70th percentile on quant the second time around: write an optional essay and consider less selective schools.

If I score at the 70th or between the 70th and 80th percentile on quant the second time: still consider writing an optional essay

If I score more than an 80th percentile on quant: do not need to write an optional essay


I should add that my professional work experience involves doing a ton of research and writing reports. (Hence the 6.0 AWA and high verbal score.) I don't really crunch numbers at ALL so the last time I looked at math was about midway through college, over 7 years ago.

As a rule of thumb that would be my perspective.