690 GMAT Q42 V42 - use supplemental essay to explain low Q?

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Hi,

My first pass at the GMAT in July 2009 yielded a 650 (Q46 V34), with the verbal being a lot lower than I was getting in practice tests (usually 40-44).

I just re-took my GMAT yesterday and upped my total score to 690, but with an interesting split - Q42 (62nd percentile) and V42 (95th percentile). I know there is some talk that too large a split between quant and verbal can be considered a negative. I think my overall score is competitive for the schools I am applying too (laid out later in this post) but the low quant score worries me a little bit.

The problem is I actually am very capable with quant-related material! I graduated from Ross (Michigan) undergrad with a 3.8 GPA, and my transcript includes:

3 Finance classes: As in all of them
Business Statistics: B+
Calculus-based Microeconomics: A (considered arguably the hardest Econ class at my school)
Applied Economics: A

I have a little over 3 years work experience (will be 4 when I enter school in Fall 2010) with a boutique new product development consulting firm where I do a fair amount of quantitative analysis. Not so much running regressions and heavy statistics, but more analyzing survey data to understand consumer attitudes and behavior.

I'm applying for full-time MBA programs in round 2 at Berkeley, Northwestern, Texas, and UCLA to switch careers to high-tech marketing. Given all that I've laid out here and that I'm focusing on marketing instead of something more quant-heavy like finance, should I bring up my low Q score in a supplemental essay and note quant-heavy classes and work experience to reassure the admissions committee, or should I let them put it all together when they look at my transcript and resume?

I am hesitant to take time away from essays and spend it studying to re-take the GMAT since it's so late in the game, and my quant in my practice tests was consistently around 44-46, so I don't think I would improve that much. I just wish I could take that Q46 from my first test, ugh! :)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much!
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by Lisa Anderson » Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:10 pm
Dear brianm,

Not to discount your concern, but I would not worry too much about this at this stage of the game. You have evidence of your quantitative aptitude from your transcripts, work history and GMAT. Your profile is competitive for these schools, so as long as you have a great set of essays and recommendations, you should be in the mix for consideration. Thus it is important to focus on your essays at this point and getting those applications in sooner rather than later.

Best of luck,
Lisa
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by brianm » Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:41 pm
Thanks very much for your insight Lisa. I've started to calm down a little bit since this morning.