scored 690 - undecided on whether to go for another shot

[sadragas]

Hi,

I just took the GMAT and ended up with a score of 690

Here's my profile:
Nationality: Indian
X - 75.5%
XII - 83.1%
BTech - 60.6% (from the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute, DAIICT)
Work Ex: 2.5 years at a startup in IT (software developer)
Extra Currics: Not really much

With the profile mentioned above can you please tell me what are my chances of getting an admission at the following BSchools for a Full-Time MBA course

Nanyang University, Singapore
National University of Singapore, NUS, Singapore
Melborne Business School, Australia
Australian School of Business, Australia
University of Texas, McCombs, USA

Should I consider retaking the GMAT or do I have fair chances of getting into one of these?

Please advice.
Thanks in advance.
Sagar.

[joostinshu]

Just curious.. what was the break down on your 690? I am taking it on Friday and am shooting for a Q47 and V38 to get to my 700 and am just curious about your break-down.

[sadragas]

its QA:49 and VA:35

ATB for ur GMAT

[myohmy]

Is this the first time you've taken the GMAT? If so, I would take it again since you're from an overrepresented pool (Indian IT) and a 690 might be a little low, depending on the school. But don't feel obligated - 690 is a fine score to get!!

Good luck!

[nonimelb]

for MBS AND AGSM , THIS SCORE SHOULD BE FINE I GUESS. UR WORK EX IS A BIT LOW BUT NOTHING WRONG IN APPYING.

[sadragas]

Is this the first time you've taken the GMAT? If so, I would take it again since you're from an overrepresented pool (Indian IT) and a 690 might be a little low, depending on the school. But don't feel obligated - 690 is a fine score to get!!

Good luck!

for MBS AND AGSM , THIS SCORE SHOULD BE FINE I GUESS. UR WORK EX IS A BIT LOW BUT NOTHING WRONG IN APPYING.

Thanks guys, tht surely feels reassuring.
The institute websites say the avg scores of the current batch are in the range of 630-660

But I'm being told not to go by those numbers, they might be the ones with high work ex and extra ordinary ECs

[AppReview]

Hi,

What we would have said to you, has pretty much been said. The fact that you are an Indian, would make this 690 a below average score within the pool. However, we don't really see too much difficulty in terms of the GMAT score, for the schools mentioned. If your profile outside of work experience (some good awards, recognitions etc. would be great) and GMAT is great, you should be quite competitive.

Hope this helps. All the best.

Regards,
AppReview

[hk]

I would tend to disagree with the popular suggestions. I think 690 is a competitive score for the schools that you have mentioned.

I know many Indian IT folks get it NUS and Nanyang with score much lower. HOWEVER, your overall package should be good. With some good essays and recos you should be just fine with your score. Remember giving it a second shot and improving your score by 20 more point will not make as much difference as putting that time into your essays and apps and putting up a stellar application.

Finally the choice is yours.

And btw Congratulations on your awesome score.

[sadragas]

Thanks again for ur replies guys

I think I'll go ahead with the application then. Putting some serious effort into the application might after all see me through.

If things don't go fine, I can always go for a retake next year.
The work ex and the recession would all fit the picture very well by then

[skang357]

Hi,

What we would have said to you, has pretty much been said. The fact that you are an Indian, would make this 690 a below average score within the pool. However, we don't really see too much difficulty in terms of the GMAT score, for the schools mentioned. If your profile outside of work experience (some good awards, recognitions etc. would be great) and GMAT is great, you should be quite competitive.

Hope this helps. All the best.

Regards,
AppReview

Hey what's the average score for GMAT out of all Indian test takers? Overseas Indian and within India?

Would 690 really be below the average Indian male GMAT score?

Because when you say within the pool, you mean for applicants that are Indian right (can mean Indian from India or Indian American, etc)

[skang357]

Thanks again for ur replies guys

I think I'll go ahead with the application then. Putting some serious effort into the application might after all see me through.

If things don't go fine, I can always go for a retake next year.
The work ex and the recession would all fit the picture very well by then

Good idea. Apply first, see if you get into the school you want to get into. And if not, study like mad, and then reapply next year.

I wouldn't apply to your safety schools on your first try. Aim for your favorites first and then save your safeties for your second attempt next year. Next year apply to your faves + your safeties.

Reason is this: if you get into your safeties this year and you don't want to go, then they usually don't defer admissions and if you reapply next year to the same safeties they're probably gonna reject you since they probably know what you're up to. Nobody likes to be plan B two years in a row.

[ssmiles08]

I wouldn't apply to your safety schools on your first try. Aim for your favorites first and then save your safeties for your second attempt next year. Next year apply to your faves + your safeties.

Reason is this: if you get into your safeties this year and you don't want to go, then they usually don't defer admissions and if you reapply next year to the same safeties they're probably gonna reject you since they probably know what you're up to. Nobody likes to be plan B two years in a row.

I agree with skang357. Test the field by picking a couple of schools you really want to get into. If you want you might want to add a safety (only if you plan on going there if you get in).

Good Luck!

[sadragas]

I wouldn't apply to your safety schools on your first try. Aim for your favorites first and then save your safeties for your second attempt next year. Next year apply to your faves + your safeties.

Reason is this: if you get into your safeties this year and you don't want to go, then they usually don't defer admissions and if you reapply next year to the same safeties they're probably gonna reject you since they probably know what you're up to. Nobody likes to be plan B two years in a row.

I agree with skang357. Test the field by picking a couple of schools you really want to get into. If you want you might want to add a safety (only if you plan on going there if you get in).

Thanks skang357 and ssmiles08.

This never crossed my mind. It definitely makes sense.

[AppReview]

Hi,

What we would have said to you, has pretty much been said. The fact that you are an Indian, would make this 690 a below average score within the pool. However, we don't really see too much difficulty in terms of the GMAT score, for the schools mentioned. If your profile outside of work experience (some good awards, recognitions etc. would be great) and GMAT is great, you should be quite competitive.

Hope this helps. All the best.

Regards,
AppReview

Hey what's the average score for GMAT out of all Indian test takers? Overseas Indian and within India?

Would 690 really be below the average Indian male GMAT score?

Because when you say within the pool, you mean for applicants that are Indian right (can mean Indian from India or Indian American, etc)

Hi,

Indian candidates generally tend to apply only when they think their score is above what is generally safe. 700 is a psychological barrier most students like to break. Also, Indian students are extremely competitive and hardworking and thus do end up scoring above 700 on most occasions before applying. We cannot give a figure of the average Indian score, but as said above, our general perception is that more than 85% of Indian students applying at a school where the 80% reported GMAT score range's average is X, will tend to have scores very near to or above the same. And hit mostly turns out to be close to 700.

Regards,
Team AppReview