Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hi,

I am an Indian male who completed master in Environmental Engineering from a well known university in USA. I am working as an engineer in an environmental engineering design firm since Oct. 2005, and I took few leadership responsibilities, which include starting a sustainability team in my office and designing drinking water system for a poor community in a South American country. I believe that in my application essays, I can show that I am leader with strong moral, social and environmental concerns.

I took GMAT in Aug scored 640, which is on the low end of the spectrum for good schools. But, I am planning to take it once again on Sept. 3rd and I am expecting that I will be able to achieve a score between 670-710. My target school are -
- Duke,
- Darden,
- MIT Sloan, and
- Kenan-Flagler (UNC).

Most of these schools have average GMAT score 680 and more, which I am expecting to achieve in my next GMAT attempt.

My concerns are - firstly that I am in too competitive group, Asian males, and my application may fail because of being low on GMAT. Secondly that I am planning to apply in UNC and Duke in "early action" round, but I think that I have only few weeks to complete my applications and get them reviewed before the deadline.

I will appreciate if you can provide me your comments on my eligibility as a MBA candidate and will be thankful if you can address my concerns.

Thanks.

I agree that while 640 is not a bad score, it is on the low end of applicant scores for the schools you have listed. I recommend retaking the GMAT and also including a safety school in your list.

You should also consider applying in Round 1 instead of Early Action if your new scores will not be available in time for Early Action. Finally, I want to make sure that you understand that if you are admitted in the early action round then you must withdraw applications from the other schools on your list (as least that is the case at Duke)

Thanks VP_MBA,

I have one more question -
When schools compare candidates, does they compare only them in diversity group like - Asian/Indian, or are they are sub categorized such are - Asian/Indian+ IT vs Asian/Indian/finance vs. Asian/other engineering?

Will differentiating myself in such a manner can provide me a leverage over others even while not being in 700+ ballpark range?

Thanks.

Schools compare candidates to all candidates within a specific round. However, schools also try to have diverse classes in terms of ethnicity, background, and experience. Therefore, a class will be more representative of the real world and not comprised of just one group of individuals.