HELP- retake the gmat or not

[rossmj]

I just took the GMAT today and scored a 680 (Q45, V38). This is at the bottom end of my range on practice tests and is partly attributable to nerves, I feel. I was expecting a 700+.

My undergraduate GPA is low 2.97. I majored in Finance and Statistics and my correspoding GPAs in those areas are approx. 3.3, most of my low grades came in liberal arts courses. My goal schools are USC or University of California Irvine. I will have 3 years of work experience by the time I apply in the fall.

So the question is where do I stand? Should I retake the GMAT? Should I look for other areas to overcome the low GPA?

[Graham]

Dear rossmj,

Thanks for your post! My thoughts are as follows:

1) Your GMAT result of 680 is a decent score and more or less in line with your target schools. It's also a 'balanced' score in that you performed reasonably well in both sections.

2) Your GPA is clearly a liability. Anything below the 3.00 mark can be a 'red flag' in the MBA admissions process. This ideally needs to be addressed in some way.

3) There are a number of ways to address a low GPA, but the main options are scoring VERY highly on the GMAT or building an alternative transcript by taking several courses at a local college prior to applying to school and securing a 4.0 GPA. See our post about this here:

https://blog.clearadmit.com/2005/07/admi ... p-low-gpa/

Of course, given that you already have decent marks in business subjects, the best course of action would likely be to retake the GMAT and boost your score before applying.

Best of luck,

Graham

[rossmj]

Graham,

Thank you for your prompt response. I agree that retaking the GMAT is probably the best course of action, but what should my goal be? I'm confident I can score 700-720 would this be sufficient or would I need to score even higher to erase that red flag?