approaching the GMAT again

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approaching the GMAT again

by bluephish » Sun Jan 13, 2013 1:16 am
So after taking the GMAT in the late fall of 2011, scoring a 690 twice, applying to a small handful of schools and getting rejected. I'm looking to take the GMATs again, score above a 700 and reapply. When I previously studied, I went through the official tests, took the MGMAT online course and even went through a MGMAT tutor to study for the second test. I'm looking at options where I don't feel like I'm throwing money away and not getting any results, which is what entices me about Knewton (Money back guarantee is nice).

Does anyone who has experience with Knewton think this is the right or wrong move?

thanks!

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by AbhiJ » Sun Jan 13, 2013 9:48 am
I know someone who scored 700 and took Knewton scored 720 next time. So Knewton can be valuable however if you are looking to push around 740+, then lot of supplementary work is needed.

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by bluephish » Sun Jan 13, 2013 4:14 pm
thanks that's helpful. I focused entirely on quant when working with a tutor, which didn't get me as far as I wanted to. I'm hopping there's a better methodology that may help me focus my attention on the areas I need to improve.

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by brianlange77 » Mon Jan 14, 2013 8:49 pm
Bluephish:

Kudos for your dedication. Can I ask if you received any feedback from any of the schools you applied to re: why you might not have been accepted? Only because there may be something else (in addition to improved scores) that you could also look to focus on to help improve your candidacy (new responsibilities, better essays, interview practice, develop a cure for cancer, etc!!)

Thoughts?

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by bluephish » Mon Jan 14, 2013 9:30 pm
Thanks for the reply. I was rejected from Stanford and Yale, interviewed with Cornell and was wait-listed. I think the major thing was that my 690 GMAT wasn't enough to ignore my 2.83 Cumulative GPA for a B.A. degree in international relations.

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by brianlange77 » Mon Jan 14, 2013 9:31 pm
Bluephish:

Interesting -- your interpretation? Or feedback from admissions?

Have you given any thought to taking a class or two on the side to 'demonstrate' how you are a changed student now vs. then? That could go further than an extra 20 points on GMAT (which is within margin of error anyways.)

I know we're in the Beat the GMAT forum -- but, just trying to think big picture.

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by bluephish » Mon Jan 14, 2013 9:39 pm
My interpretation. I never received feedback from Admissions.

That's crossed my mind last year, and was something I seriously considered when I was wait listed at Cornell. Unfortunately, I was working long hours and weekends for Work and couldn't dedicate myself then. I am going to put in a few months to retake the GMAT, and if I really don't get the score I'm looking for, I will take some accounting classes to bolster my resume.

the feedback is great, thanks Brian.

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by brianlange77 » Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:03 pm
Hey bluephish -- I think that makes sense. It's tough when you're 'in the mix' b/c it's so tempting to get laser-focused and convince yourself that "if I can just get 20 more points, that's going to make all the difference." Allow yourself to think big picture; see if there's an opportunity for feedback; and, ask others to give you some objective feedback on where the holes in your application might be.

Let me know if I can help further.

Thanks.

-brian
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