Should I retake the GMAT?

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Louse: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:55 pm

by Louse » Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:46 am

I have 9 years of work experience in a myriad of fields.
- Started my career as a Mechanical Engineer, working as a consultant for one of the largest Cutting Tool Manufacturing Company for 2 years.

- Worked on the Organizing Committee at the Commonwealth Games as Director Volunteer Programme, which entailed the biggest recruitment drive in India (70000 interviewed and 30000 chosen as volunteers), training them and placing them in various locations according to their expertise for 3 yrs.

- Moved on to working with a startup called, where I developed a product to outsource Physical Education from schools based on a philosophy called Long Term Athlete Development. Was incharge of product development, managing operations as well as sales and worked with them for 2 years.

- Decided to lunge into entrepreneurship on my own and opened a chain of Mexican Fast Casual Dining outlets. Opened 4 outlets in 2 years.

I took the GMAT in 2013 and got a 650

I am planning to apply this year to ISB and SP Jain. Was wondering if I should retake the GMAT for a better score before applying.

Age : 32
Gender : Female

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant | Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:46 am

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Donna@Stratus: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 298; Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 11:37 amFollowed by: 11 members; Thanked: 26 times

by Donna@Stratus » Mon Jul 18, 2016 7:47 am

Hi and thanks for your question- it sounds like you'd rather do anything but take exam again! But let me ask you- how many times have you taken GMAT? Have you given it truly your best shot- set up a study plan, regular practice tests? developed strategy to improve weaknesses? If you have truly done those things then perhaps don't retake- but I think you have a lot to gain if you can improve your score even just a bit. Your GMAT score is under avg at ISB but you have greater work tenure. You have some interesting work experience and that will add to your application- but the biggest question to answer that I don't really see here is why do you feel like NOW is the time for the MBA and how will this MBA help you realize your long term post MBA career goal? That will help you more also- and you want to make sure you take the time to have compelling answer here and just studying for GMAT is not enough. I recommend you do both- and I wish you all the best. If you'd like to learn more about how we can help you, please reach out to our website at StratusPrep.com.

Louse wrote:I have 9 years of work experience in a myriad of fields.
- Started my career as a Mechanical Engineer, working as a consultant for one of the largest Cutting Tool Manufacturing Company for 2 years.

- Worked on the Organizing Committee at the Commonwealth Games as Director Volunteer Programme, which entailed the biggest recruitment drive in India (70000 interviewed and 30000 chosen as volunteers), training them and placing them in various locations according to their expertise for 3 yrs.

- Moved on to working with a startup called, where I developed a product to outsource Physical Education from schools based on a philosophy called Long Term Athlete Development. Was incharge of product development, managing operations as well as sales and worked with them for 2 years.

- Decided to lunge into entrepreneurship on my own and opened a chain of Mexican Fast Casual Dining outlets. Opened 4 outlets in 2 years.

I took the GMAT in 2013 and got a 650

I am planning to apply this year to ISB and SP Jain. Was wondering if I should retake the GMAT for a better score before applying.

Age : 32
Gender : Female

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mcbMcK: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 308; Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:29 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 43 times

by mcbMcK » Wed Jul 20, 2016 12:07 am

A few more thoughts and insights for you to consider:

The eclectic nature of your experiences will instantly grab attention and will make you worth a re-look and more. That could also be the tricky part though. The seemingly disconnected career choices will call for a clear explanation so that your career decision do not appear as fickle and it convinces adcoms that MBA is not in line with that.
The GMAT is a definite hurdle I am afraid. Though we've worked with folks with even lower GMAT (read here), as a strategy, it can be pretty risky and not something we advise.
Apart from the two you have mentioned, why not look at the IIM 1 year courses? Those will be far better suited given your age/experience profile.

Hope this helps some

Cheers,

MG (Manish Gupta)|The MBA Crystal Ball Team

Website: https://www.mbacrystalball.com
Email: mcb at mbacrystalball dot com

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Indradeep1click: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2015 1:27 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Location: Australia; Thanked: 7 times; GMAT Score:760

by Indradeep1click » Wed Jul 20, 2016 12:27 am

Hi,
You have quite an interesting background and it looks like you will be fairly competitive at the schools you mentioned. The trick will be to weave a story which will make you appear attractive rather than raise more questions - I think it is quite easily doable. In terms of your GMAT, it is within lower end of the class and so, to increase your chances definitely give it a go but I would also say that, with your current score (the gap in years is another thing to address though) and background, setting yourself apart will not be very hard.
Hopefully this gives you a start.

Indradeep
Director, OneClickPrep
https://www.oneclickprep.com
+61424853384 (WhatsApp or call)
Study in Australia - https://www.oneclickprep.com/study-and-w ... australia/
Watch our videos and blogs in https://www.oneclickprep.com/admissions-prep/
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Edison@VeritasPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 171; Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2016 3:09 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 21 times

by Edison@VeritasPrep » Thu Jul 21, 2016 5:55 am

Thanks for sharing.

Regarding the GMAT, as mentioned above, if you feel that you have a reasonable chance of increasing your scores then it is worth the effort to prepare ad retake.

Your experiences are very interesting, showing a plenty of personal strengths that would be attractive to the MBA program. You would however need to tie them together and show why you need an MBA and how it would help you towards your post-MBA goals.

All the best and look forward to hearing your updates!

Veritas Prep | Veritas Prep Admissions Consultant

Find the expert who's right for you. Meet our team!
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