Internat. student, GPA/GMAT question + evaluation confusion

[MarsellusW]

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

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Marcell,

I'm not convinced you are in such a dire position. Your GMAT score is a good score and the difference between your Q and V scores is really not that significant. With your college years being quite a while back, I think your work experience and GMAT are what will be scrutinized more in terms of your ability to handle the coursework. You might think about addressing your academic performance in an optional essay, but you will want to focus more on how you are a more motivated, mature student today versus making excuses. It could be worth retaking your GMAT if you believe you can increase your total score by at least 30 points--if not, then I think your efforts are better spent on your applications.

Good luck,
Lisa

[MarsellusW]

Dear Marcell,

I'm not convinced you are in such a dire position. Your GMAT score is a good score and the difference between your Q and V scores is really not that significant. With your college years being quite a while back, I think your work experience and GMAT are what will be scrutinized more in terms of your ability to handle the coursework. You might think about addressing your academic performance in an optional essay, but you will want to focus more on how you are a more motivated, mature student today versus making excuses. It could be worth retaking your GMAT if you believe you can increase your total score by at least 30 points--if not, then I think your efforts are better spent on your applications.

Good luck,
Lisa

Dear Lisa,

Thank you for your answer. It's good to know that I'm over-exaggarating my problem . Please don't take this remark as if I was a cynic, I'm really happy you wrote what you wrote!

For the GMAT part: I scheduled a new appointment, I know I can score better and if there are 730-750 points in me, why should I feel satisfied with 680 points? I know I can do better than this and with a "little" practice I should do just fine. Nevertheless, it is soothing to know that you do not think about the Q-V gap, which still seems enormous to me, like a setback.

For the GPA part: I don't think I will write an optional essay about why my GPA is not above 3.0. If they want to hear about it, they will ask me at the interview - I'm hoping to get there . It's been 6 years after all and your answer reflects what I think - the GPA is not that important at this time, work experience and the GMAT are the things that count. I wanted to hear from a professional that what I think is true is really true.

Thanks again,
Marcell

[MarsellusW]

Well, I retook the exam, scored a 720 (Q48/V41) and reached my goal of having a verbal score over 40. So now I "only" have to concentrate on my application essays. A much easier task for me...