What do I do now?

[phantomrider]

Presently,I am a graduate school student at large at Chicago Booth.I was just denied admission and started my first class during the admission process. I had a bad day on the GMAT (it was loud and distracting at the test site) scoring a 630 45Q and 31V in which the main problem was that I ran out of time with both sections. I have an undergrad GPA of 3.4, and a grad GPA with 25 hours of credit in a MBA program at major university of 3.64. I have 15 years of managerial experience at a large corporation with a natural progression of advancement. Should I bother retaking the GMAT or should I concentrate on obtaining a killer grade point in the three classes that I am allowed to take for credit ? What would be my best approach in acceptance at Booth or Kellogg? What are my chances of acceptance if I perform well and how well do I have to perform? How many times should I try and when should I consider Purdue Krannert?

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear phantomrider,

You will need to increase your GMAT score over 50 points, in addition to doing well (A's) in your courses, to have a chance at both Booth and Kellogg. So, if you do not believe you can get your score up close to/above a 700, then you might want to start looking for other options. Doing well in your current courses will strengthen your application, but schools like Kellogg and Booth have large enough applicant pools that they will expect their admitted folks to have high GMAT scores as well.

Good luck,
Lisa