Harsh_Bazooka wrote:Hi Everyone,

I scored an abysmal and pathetic 690 (Q49, 35, 7) yesterday and I have no option of retake till June 2018. I was aiming for top notch masters in finance / MFE (UCLA, LSE, HEC, etc.) but now I feel I have no chance. My questions are:

1) Given the average/median scores at my target school is 700/710 and keeping in mind that Indian average is +20/30 points as always, SHOULD I STILL go ahead and apply?

2) Profile: 3.25 years of Total Work experience ( 2 years at 3rd party data analytics consulting company and currently at Large MNC Bank doing Financial Simulations and forecasting. Capital budgeting of Credit cards portfolio worth more than 100 Million dollars in EBIT annually), CFA Level 3 candidate, above average community service ( 1.5 years at 2 NGOs), evidence of promotion and leadership in Professional life, recommendation from HOD and VP and in top 3 in class of 75 (79% aggregate - 1st class with distinction from a lesser known average Indian college) should I ditch the 2018 intake (MSF) and rather target 2019 intake for MBA Finance with GMAT retake in Sept?

3) On one hand I believe I will get at least the flavour of end-to-end process if I apply, this experience will be invaluable. On the other hand it feels waste of 300-500 dollars and time. Thoughts?

4) Given this profile, which schools would you recommend?

First-- just breathe! The Q score on the GMAT is pretty solid for masters programs-- and this is the more important part of GMAT for you. I think with the CFA and the strong work experience-- that in fact you could be successful at the schools on your list and that you will indeed learn something from the process of applying that could make you a stronger candidate next year. While whether the cost is worth it or not is up to you-- but from what I see here-- I do think you could be competitive at some of these places. good luck!

Please feel free to add any other areas you feel like. Hope you get the pulse and dilemma I have.