Profile Eval - retake gmat?

Dear pjc,

Thanks for your post! In sum, I think you've got four key questions:

1) Should you retake the GMAT? While you didn't provide percentiles, your current scores of 680 and 690 seem to be accompanied by math results that are below the 80th percentile (just barely, I'd imagine). Ordinarily, with a 690 and fairly balanced section scores on both math and verbal, I would not necessarily push for a retake of the GMAT. The problem is that your ugrad GPA (albeit from a strong ugrad program) is a bit on the low side (3.1-3.2 is below the 3.4+ average for admitted students at the schools you are targeting). As such, the best way to silence concerns about your undergraduate performance is to ace the GMAT (720+). For example, an applicant with a 3.1 GPA from a good school and a 750 on the GMAT can always make a "that was then, this is now" argument. I worry that you cannot make that argument with your current score.

2) How should you handle your poor grades in the final semester? This is tough, since the schools do not like to see a downward trend in one's academic career. Obviously, it will require an optional essay to explain - and one method would be to just admit that you lost focus at the end of your ugrad career, have since matured, etc. Of course, I'd need to know more about the nature of the courses you failed to truly help you plot a strategy. As to your comment about the CPA, this is not really viewed as a measure of one's academic aptitude so much as a professional credential - therefore I do not see if coming into play in a major way.

3) Does applying for R2 now - as opposed to a few days before the R2 deadlines - increase one's chances? The short answer here is "no". In fact, to apply 'early' for R2 offers no real advantage because the adcom is presently 100% focused on R1 applications - and will be for the next 8 weeks or so. To submit early would only beg the question as to why you didn't use the extra time you had to refine your application, etc. My advice is that you apply within a week or two of the deadline.

4) Do you stand a chance at the schools on your list? While I think you are certainly competitive, I would not say that you are a homerun for any of the programs on your list (with the exception of USC perhaps). The reason for this is that you fall into some over-subscribed groups: ugrad business major, audit/finance background. You also bring below average numbers to the table with your GMAT and GPA combination. This is not to say that you don't stand a chance at the schools on your list, but it may be a bit of an uphill battle and you would be aided by having a very strong application and a higher GMAT result. With regards to the latter, you may want to look into engaging with a tutor to spend a few weeks working towards a 720+.

Best of luck,

Graham