To retake or not to retake...

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To retake or not to retake...

by ipt20072007 » Thu Sep 06, 2007 7:16 pm
That is the question.

Amy or Stacy,

I hope this message finds you well. Today I completed my first attempt at taking the GMAT. To my disappointment, I scored a 690. While this is a good score, I was targeting a score in the 700 range and achieved well over this score on all my practice exams.

Having said that, I wanted to get your opinion in regards to the admission process. My profile is a atypical of the prospective b-school applicant. Firstly, I am 31 years-old and was turned onto B-school after hiring a former Harvard-MBA student. Through our conversations, I rediscovered my ambition to go back to school. Why so late? In my mid-twenties, I took the "road less traveled" by starting my own business. It did very well. In fact, I sold it to a VC over a year ago and, subsequently, started a couple of other businesses, one of which in a completely different industry.

I am planning on applying to two top schools: HBS and Sloan. Which leads me to my question: do you recommend that I retake the GMAT based on my background? While my undergrad GPA (3.1) and age are probably not desirable to such schools, I feel that my story and my work experience could make up for these deficiencies. However, I don't know whether the GMAT score is going to take me out of the run.

Thank you for any pointers.

Brad
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by Amy » Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:32 pm
Hi Brad,

The difference between a 690 and 700 is not extreme, and a 690 is a great score. It may be worth spending your time on the application and essays rather than the GMAT, unless you think you can score much higher without a lot of extra studying.

Your profile sounds interesting, and I think very strong work experience can make up for less than stellar academics. You'll just have to explain why you would even need an MBA after starting a successful company. There are tons of executive education programs at HBS, for instance, so why return for a full time MBA if you are already doing so well professionally?

Good luck!

Amy
Amy
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting