Do I have a shot with 660 (47Q/34V)?

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Do I have a shot with 660 (47Q/34V)?

by islandboi » Tue Dec 06, 2016 9:23 pm
I'm a 28 year old first generation Haitian American male who recently took the GMAT and scored 660 (47Q/34V). I was scoring between 35 and 38 in verbal on practice exams, so I'm not sure what happened. If I decide to take the exam again I will have to apply R3 to all my target schools. Considering my below profile, can someone tell me whether I would have a competitive application?

GMAT: 660 (47Q/34V)
Undergrade: State school/3.8 GPA
Work Experience: 6 years at big bank with 1 promotion
Extracurriculars: Ran club on campus for 2 years, asst treasurer for church for 1 year, treasurer for church related club for 1 year, diversity recruiting for 2 years

Target schools: Columbia, Yale, Duke, Dartmouth, Cornell

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by 99Colleges: MBA Admission » Wed Dec 07, 2016 5:15 pm
Hi islandboi,

Your GMAT score is substantially lower than the average GMAT score of your target schools, and can hurt your chances. If you've something solid (faster than usual career growth, some exceptional outcomes etc.) in your professional career, you may have a shot. But, in general, being in bottom 10 percent or so in GMAT in your target schools can make it difficult. And R3 gets more competitive than other two rounds.
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by islandboi » Wed Dec 07, 2016 5:18 pm
99Colleges: MBA Admission wrote:Hi islandboi,

Your GMAT score is substantially lower than the average GMAT score of your target schools, and can hurt your chances. If you've something solid (faster than usual career growth, some exceptional outcomes etc.) in your professional career, you may have a shot. But, in general, being in bottom 10 percent or so in GMAT in your target schools can make it difficult. And R3 gets more competitive than other two rounds.
Thanks for your reply. At this point, should I focus on taking the GMAT again and apply R1 next year?

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by Edison@VeritasPrep » Wed Dec 07, 2016 5:49 pm
Thanks for sharing.

Agree that you should seriously consider retaking your GMAT. You would also want to play up scale and complexity of work responsibilities, accomplishments and even challenges. This would help show your professional growth and maturity.

All the best!
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by Edison@VeritasPrep » Wed Dec 07, 2016 5:52 pm
You may also find the blog entry below helpful:

Should You Retake the GMAT?


Perhaps the most often-asked question during the entire MBA application process is,

"Should I retake the GMAT?"

The answer to this question will differ from case to case depending on an applicant's score, their target schools, and their overall profile. If you are considering retaking the GMAT, doing a short cost-benefit analysis, similar to a business endeavor, can aid your decision-making:

1) Recognize the Investments Needed
Apart from the test-taking fee that you will incur for a retake, think about the hours you will need to put in to re-prepare for the GMAT, and whether this will affect the timeliness of your MBA applications. Make sure you consider whether or not you have the availability and the energy to put into this endeavor.

Often ignored, but just as important, factor in the opportunity cost of the hours you will need to spend preparing for your retake. Could you spend those efforts somewhere else to strengthen your profile? Maybe you could get involved in productive activities at work, volunteer in the community, or polish your essays.

If your application is already strong in these areas, then a GMAT retake could be a better use of your time. As such, engaging a test prep service may be the right way to go - taking a GMAT prep course or spending time with a private tutor will optimize the hours that you put into studying, and will be an investment that pays for itself in the long run.

2) Evaluate the Probability of Success
The next step would be to evaluate how likely you are to achieve your desired results. The most straightforward consideration (that requires a truly honest self-assessment) is how you have already performed on the GMAT relative to your potential:

Did you prepare well enough?
Did you get enough sleep the nights leading up to your exam?
Were the test day conditions conducive?
If you believe there's a reasonable chance that you could have done better than you did, you should seriously think about a retake.

3) Weigh the Potential Benefits
Researching the class profile of your target program, and how you compare to the school's average GMAT score, should give you an indication as to where you stand. The standardized nature of the GMAT allows for the most straightforward and objective comparison between applicants, so ideally, you will want to score higher on the GMAT than the school's average.

All things equal, a higher score should improve your chance of admission, and even your opportunities for scholarships. Thus, the expected value of increasing your GMAT score could be high and really worth investing in.

Knowing that you didn't leave too many potential GMAT points on the table can also simply help you be at peace. This is an important benefit, as it will allow you to focus on the next steps in the application process, and know that you have given the GMAT your best shot.
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by Donna@Stratus » Wed Dec 07, 2016 7:42 pm
islandboi wrote:I'm a 28 year old first generation Haitian American male who recently took the GMAT and scored 660 (47Q/34V). I was scoring between 35 and 38 in verbal on practice exams, so I'm not sure what happened. If I decide to take the exam again I will have to apply R3 to all my target schools. Considering my below profile, can someone tell me whether I would have a competitive application?

GMAT: 660 (47Q/34V)
Undergrade: State school/3.8 GPA
Work Experience: 6 years at big bank with 1 promotion
Extracurriculars: Ran club on campus for 2 years, asst treasurer for church for 1 year, treasurer for church related club for 1 year, diversity recruiting for 2 years

Target schools: Columbia, Yale, Duke, Dartmouth, Cornell
So if you take it down just a notch- maybe keep Cornell- but if you look at Kenan-Flagler, Indiana, Rice, and other schools in the 15-25 range- what I think is that they may be more forgiving on the timetable- so submit R2 but then try to retake the GMAT in Jan and they may accept the new score if it arrives before they go to committee to make a decsion- in this way you get the benefits of R2 and hopefully a slightly better score. But even with this score- you may find yourself more competitive at the range of schools I suggest instead and I think you will still get an excellent education there.

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by 99Colleges: MBA Admission » Wed Dec 07, 2016 7:59 pm
Yes. Given your target schools, I would suggest you retake the test, and apply in R1 next year.
Anil, MBA (Wharton)| MBA Admissions Consultant
--------------------------------------
Consulting| Contact at [email protected] for your queries on MBA Admissions
--------------------------------------
And if you couldn't make it earlier, get a free ding analysis