To be honest, I know you've been in contact with a lot of consulting clubs but it may be beneficial to go straight to the source. Speak to people that work for the firms you are trying to get in with. Students who are going through the process right now will only know so much, but those who have survived the interview process and taken jobs will be able to tell you what advice they received going through the process, what criticism (if any) they received during the hiring process, and also anything they've heard within the firm about applicants interviewed after they took their positions.

Retook the GMAT yesterday. Got a 700. I am done with this test! I think it was a bad idea for me to retake- I stressed myself out after getting into Haas and other amazing programs when I should have been celebrating and enjoying life. Plus Darden told me that they reccomend 720 plus on GMAT for MC. Whatever, if my GMAT score hinders my ability to get an interview, then screw It.

Does anyone strongly believe that 700 GMAT will help me that much more than a 680 for MC at a Berkley Ross Fuqua ranked school? Your answer may guide others who want to go into MC and are discouraged that their sub 700 GMAT is a major liability.

A 700 is great. You will be fine for interviews with Top shops. Not surprised darden people told you that. they are known for taking themselves way too serious. Those same type of people told me i needed a 700 to get into top schools. Well I was way below that and got into all the places I applied, of which were top 10. Congrats for getting into Haas. all the MC firms will recruit there and you'll have a shot at the companies you want. best of luck!!

Hey did you get into Ross. Vs Cornell, Stern, UCLA, Fuqua, I am confident they have the biggest, best MC recruiting, clubs, placement etc.

Congratulations. Move on with your life, enjoy and celebrate.
To be honest, this particular thread led me into starting re-preping for GMAT. I took the GMAT last year and got the exact same score you got(high 600's), could only apply to one top 10 school and was supposed to interview in Oct last year, but unfortunately I had to withdraw my application, (for circumstances beyond my control in my personal life) and decided to apply fresh this year for 2013 session. I thought i was done with GMAT but was disappointed about knowing that a 700+ score is such a big deal. So scheduled for GMAT again this year, studying for it but I understand one must not kill himself/herself over the 700+ pursuit. Schools and companies would look at other credentials as well.
Congratulations again. Enjoy the summer . All the best at Haas....

To clarify, I got into Ross and Darden (in addition to my previous acceptances to Stern, Berkley, Cornell, UCLA and waitlist from Fuqua). Thank you all for the good wishes! I am real excited to begin the next stage in my life and career.

Honestly, Darden made me feel like complete crap, but like someone else suggested, they may take themselves too seriously. Cornell students pretty much told me that it was impossible to get into top tier management consulting from Johnson without a 700+ GMAT. Ross told me that it may be more difficult but not impossible. Also, given that I do not have a traditional business background (not finance/consulting/strategy and not in an "exclusive industry"), some people told me that firms will look at my GMAT score more-

Honestly, I do not believe 20 points on the GMAT now makes me any more prepared to be a M.C. at a top tier firm, but I guess by everyone perpetuating that we need a 700+ GMAT, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Yes I understand it is a measure of analytical ability, but its becoming pretty ridiculous.

I really wanted to transition into MC after my MBA- so much so that I actually retook my GMAT after getting into many great programs. Last week, my friend asked me why I was not relived about my acceptances and I explained to him my reasons and that I was retaking the GMAT. He pretty much told me that I need to chill the "bleep" out and be happy for the opportunities afforded to me. He was 100% right. Yes, I am happy to have (finally) earned the magical 700 GMAT score....I just do not think it was worth the additional stress over the last seven weeks...






Read below to see what Darden's website says:

Should I re-take the GMAT over the summer?

If your score is below 700 or even above 700, it may make sense to try and re-take it. The GMAT score is extremely important to most of the top "brand name" management consulting firms. They generally like to see GMAT scores above 700 and that number seems to be creeping higher and higher every year. The average GMAT score for students that interviewed at four top consulting firms this year was 720. The average score of students that eventually received offers was closer to 730. So if you have only taken the GMAT once or twice and feel as though you could do better, I would suggest re-taking

https://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/classo ... ecruiting/

It definitely doesn't hurt I think it will help but won't make or break anything. Sorry it was so stressful. So have you decided where to go? You should come to GBR you'll see how supportive, resourceful and effective Ross is for MC. Are you going?

Hey Zandir.

No I am not going to GBR unfortunately. Though I really loved meeting people from Ross, Berkley is better for me for personal reasons. My girlfriend just got a job in the Bay area and we both want to end up in California. ross gbr looks like a blast though- awesome place and school!

, Ross students did tell me that a 700+ is not as important for MC as students from other schools were telling me. If I did not get into Berkley, Ross would be on the top of the list. Do you think Ross is good at helping candidates with lower GMAT scores secure interviews at MBB.

Haas is awesome. A great college town and nice small student body. Can't beat the weather either! It Is very exclusive in who to accept so I'd say you already have a competitive edge for recruiting by virtue of that. I respect your choice and would have probably gone there of I had applied and gotten in. My wife and I both love Cali and their relationships out there are very strong. Berkeley and Mich are the two best public schools in the country. They are known in academia as "public ivy." I know they place well in MC. I know Ross is very good at helping candidates get into MC. I believe both are target schools by the big 4. There are also several smaller boutique firms that recruit which some say end up being really good careers too.

Just my two cents:

The schools you have been accepted to all place well into MC (IIRC). You would have obviously put MC as part of your career goals. They accepted you with your GMAT score (whatever it was <700). They wouldn't do that if they didn't think you could get a good job otherwise it would hurt their rankings as well.

I agree with westsidah408. Throw out your test scores. You got into a bunch of top schools your score is good enough for any of those MC firms. If you network well, learn about the companies and interview well you'll get good offers.

I will have to say I'm so sick and tired of hearing about test scores. It's a lazy way to explain how someone should be competitive for b-school and for consulting jobs. The "expert" consultants and bloggers and a lot of existing students think it's a big deal. It's not. It's on your resume, but so is everything else that makes you a superstar candidate. Don't worry about it.

Enjoy your summer and good luck at Haas this fall. I have to say I'm jealous you get to be in the bay area. I'll be at Michigan, but atleast the football will be fun. Can't say Cal has much of a team these days.

Instead of spending the next 2-3 months preparing to retake the GMAT, how about enhancing your resume with consulting-friendly extracurricular activities? As mentioned by a previous poster, you can join MC clubs at school to enhance your resume, but what about before school? How about participating in a volunteer organization that provides strategy consulting assistance to local nonprofits or small businesses?

SCORE, Net Impact, USA Leadership Corps, and Taproot are examples of organizations that could be beneficial to your consulting resume... Thanks and Good Luck.

Maxwell Roper
Outreach Director
USA Leadership Corps