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MarsellusW
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:15 am
- Location: Budapest, Hungary
- Thanked: 1 times
- GMAT Score:720
Hello dear MBA Admissions Consultants,
I want to apply to B-school (Columbia, Oxford Said, LBS and INSEAD) and I am facing a rather tough problem now. I'm desperate, completely gung ho and need advice.
I'm a Hungarian guy, who graduated 6 years ago with an MSc Economist degree and a relatively low GPA (2.7). The GPA count at our school (the best undergrad school in the Central European region) was rather complicated, I scored just a tidbit below the average, which was 2.8. To make a long story short, my father fell ill and died a year before graduation, this ruined my life back then and consequently it also ruined my GPA.
6 years have passed since then and I guess that at present my GPA is not that important, considering my career, which went just fine. I have become a valued and leading professional in my area of expertise, which is a unique and rare one: state/European Union invetsment grant handling from all sides (government, intermediary, consultant).
My extracurriculars are: community work (polls) and photography (New York Institute of Photography)
As an international student, I'm obliged to take the TOEFL, which I did last month and scored 115 on the iBT (Reading 30, Writing 29, Speaking 28, Listening 28). I think that's a pretty good score.
My essays and recommendations are generally good and are the strongest part in my package, I'm especially proud of the essays I wrote, I think I managed to grasp the content the schools need and at the same token the essays still reflect my real personality, so I consider myself lucky in this regard.
Then, today I took the GMAT and scored 680 (Q49/V33). I have no idea what I should do, because of the following:
- even though my GPA is not that important, considering the 6 years work experience, I wanted to balance it with a good GMAT score, because I was told that it can help, yet I feel 680 ponts are not enough because of the 16 point gap between the quantitative and verbal section
- if the gap was lower, I could sell the repackaged lemon as a tasty orange, but now I feel like I ended up with a grapefruit, neither lemon, nor orange and this fruit has no repackaging options
- my AWA score will be good (5.5 or 6.0), I have no reason to believe that it will be lower, but once again I don't know if the AWA and the good essays can or will outweigh the 33 point verbal score
And here come the questions:
Shall I take the GMAT again or not? If the answer is yes, what is the minimum verbal score to reach? 38? 40?
Am I right that it's better to have a balanced GMAT score with no large score gap between the Q and V parts than to have a score like today's?
And most important: if I manage to "skyrocket" my GMAT, is there any chance I will be submitted to the top schools with a low GPA?
Thank you for your help,
Marcell
I want to apply to B-school (Columbia, Oxford Said, LBS and INSEAD) and I am facing a rather tough problem now. I'm desperate, completely gung ho and need advice.
I'm a Hungarian guy, who graduated 6 years ago with an MSc Economist degree and a relatively low GPA (2.7). The GPA count at our school (the best undergrad school in the Central European region) was rather complicated, I scored just a tidbit below the average, which was 2.8. To make a long story short, my father fell ill and died a year before graduation, this ruined my life back then and consequently it also ruined my GPA.
6 years have passed since then and I guess that at present my GPA is not that important, considering my career, which went just fine. I have become a valued and leading professional in my area of expertise, which is a unique and rare one: state/European Union invetsment grant handling from all sides (government, intermediary, consultant).
My extracurriculars are: community work (polls) and photography (New York Institute of Photography)
As an international student, I'm obliged to take the TOEFL, which I did last month and scored 115 on the iBT (Reading 30, Writing 29, Speaking 28, Listening 28). I think that's a pretty good score.
My essays and recommendations are generally good and are the strongest part in my package, I'm especially proud of the essays I wrote, I think I managed to grasp the content the schools need and at the same token the essays still reflect my real personality, so I consider myself lucky in this regard.
Then, today I took the GMAT and scored 680 (Q49/V33). I have no idea what I should do, because of the following:
- even though my GPA is not that important, considering the 6 years work experience, I wanted to balance it with a good GMAT score, because I was told that it can help, yet I feel 680 ponts are not enough because of the 16 point gap between the quantitative and verbal section
- if the gap was lower, I could sell the repackaged lemon as a tasty orange, but now I feel like I ended up with a grapefruit, neither lemon, nor orange and this fruit has no repackaging options
- my AWA score will be good (5.5 or 6.0), I have no reason to believe that it will be lower, but once again I don't know if the AWA and the good essays can or will outweigh the 33 point verbal score
And here come the questions:
Shall I take the GMAT again or not? If the answer is yes, what is the minimum verbal score to reach? 38? 40?
Am I right that it's better to have a balanced GMAT score with no large score gap between the Q and V parts than to have a score like today's?
And most important: if I manage to "skyrocket" my GMAT, is there any chance I will be submitted to the top schools with a low GPA?
Thank you for your help,
Marcell
. Please don't take this remark as if I was a cynic, I'm really happy you wrote what you wrote!
