Marine looking for advice on lower Quant Score

[MarineMBA]

Hello everyone and thank you in advance for any advice.

I am a Marine officer looking to transition from the Marine Corps to an MBA program next year. I am primarily looking at Wharton, Ross, Fuqua and Kenan Flagler and I would like to move into management consulting. I recently took the GMAT and scored a 690, but the breakdown of my score concerns me.

Overall 690
Verbal 44 97%
Quant 40 58%
Essays 5.0

Obviously my quant score is not where I would like it to be. I was in Iraq for most of the time leading up to the GMAT and did not have as much time as I would have liked to prepare. I plan on using an optional essay to address the issue along these lines:
-I realize my quant score is relatively weak, but I am confident I can handle the MBA coursework based on my prior quant experience. I studied economics at Brown University- I earned As and Bs in my economics courses, and an A in econometrics (statistics for economics). I got a B+ in calc at Clarkson prior to transferring to Brown.
-My job in the Marine Corps does not have a quantitative focus, and I feel I am out of practice after 3 years away from math. My deployment schedule prohibited me from preparing for the GMAT as much as I would have liked.
-I've finished the last of my deployments and now have time to focus on refreshing my quantitative skills. I have enrolled in a calculus course at a local community college and an MBA Math prep course.

The last thing I want is to come across as complaining. I want to acknowledge the weaker performance, explain the reasons behind it, and outline the steps I am taking to address the issue.

Is this low quant score a virtual guarantee that I will not be accepted to these programs? Would it be worthwhile to retake the GMAT even if I feel I would be rushing to prepare while working or would an optional essay explaining the weaker score and steps I am taking to address it suffice? My application would also emphasize areas in which I feel I am relatively strong (e.g., leadership, teamwork, ability to operate under stress, ability to adapt to chaotic and changing circumstances, discipline).

I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[Sophia007]

First of all, I'd like to Thank you for serving us as a Marine officer!

You have a decent GMAT score. In your case, you've already enrolled in Calculus class - so you should have no problems stating the same in your 'optional' question. Just like you stated - let them know that you served in Iraq and now that you have more time, you've enrolled in the class. I'd say Wharton may have some issues on low quant scores, but overall, for the rest of schools you should be fine. In fact, I'd recommend that you make sure that you mention in all your school applications that you served as a Marine officer and went to Iraq. Most schools have quota's that are reserved for people who served or worked as officials in Defense.

So in short, just use the optional space to your advantage and let the adcoms know. Good Luck! Please email me directly if you have any further questions.