740 GMAT, 0 for 3, one to go...

[erdehoff]

I've been in this process for about a year and right now I feel like I spent countless study hours and about $1500 for no good reason.

A bit of background: I'm a 31-year-old journalist (nontraditional background, obviously; about 6 years management experience) with a BA in film studies from the University of Colorado (very few quant courses). I hadn't thought about math in 10 years, but I studied my butt off for the GMAT last year and got a 740 (68th percentile quant, 99th percentile verbal, 6.0 AWA). At this point in the application process, I figure I am here to serve as a cautionary tale in the "GMAT doesn't mean everything!" category -- my score was well above the average for every school I applied to, yet here I sit in late March with three rejection form letters, hoping and praying that NYU will come through for me.

When I first started this process, I figured the part-time program at George Mason was the best I could hope for; after I took the GMAT, I realized I had greater potential than I had estimated. I applied to Harvard, Columbia, Kellogg and NYU Stern. I've gotten the "thanks but no thanks" letter from everyone but Stern. I'll be frank: I had my heart set on Stern. The other rejections sucked (who likes being rejected?), but if I get a thumbs down from Stern, I'll be very upset -- not because it's my last chance (this year) but because it was always my first choice.

Anyone else in the same boat? What is your Plan B if every school turns you down? I just bought the Berlitz Advanced French course on the suspicion that I will be applying to HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD and EDHEC next year -- they seem to like older applicants...

[phamtrisi]

Hi,

First of all I'm not in any position to comment on your applications because I will only start my Master's in Fall 2011. So, please forgive me if I said anything wrong.

I gotta say I'm impressed by your profile ( high GMAT + much experience ) , but I at the same time notice while your GMAT is really high, your Quant percentile is not that competitive. My thought is: what MBA concentration did you apply to? Maybe that concentration requires a strong set of Math skills? Again, just my opinion, I am totally new to MBA

But regardless of what the outcome will be, please don't give up. The worst thing you can do is giving up. If you don't get to the schools you want, but you know you are capable of, then you will finally achieve the things you deserve.

My profile is not well above average, but I managed to get in to CMU MISM Fall 2011. I think because I really showed my passion of a young eager international student coming from a small poor country. Probably that touched the adcom. Haha.

I wish you the best of luck with Stern. Please keep us updated.

Si Pham
Carnegie Mellon MISM Fall 2011
Please help my CMU dream: https://www.MyCMUDream.com

[PurpleReign]

I'm crossing my fingers for Stern for you. I'll be in your shoes next year. Non traditional applicant with a high gmat who is also older than most of the class. Fingers crossed for us both...

[erdehoff]

Si Pham,

Thanks for your perspective. I kind of feel like it would be stupid for me to retake the GMAT given that my overall score was in the 97th percentile -- how much higher can I go, overall? Will they be more impressed with scores in, say, the 80th percentile for quant and the 95th percentile for verbal? I am not at all sure that I would equal, let alone best, my original score. I think my best move at this point would be to take stats and accounting courses and achieve good grades to prove my quantitative abilities rather than risk a lower GMAT score (plus I don't really want to put myself through that ordeal again). Best of luck to you!

I'm crossing my fingers for Stern for you. I'll be in your shoes next year. Non traditional applicant with a high gmat who is also older than most of the class. Fingers crossed for us both...

Well, I got dinged by Stern today. I wish you better luck than I've had (and since I'm now 0 for 4, you could hardly do worse).

I know I'll get up tomorrow and think about my Plan B and start attacking it, but tonight I just want to curl up with the golden retriever and sleep until it's all better. I feel like I've wasted 10 months of my life for no reason.

[PurpleReign]

I know it's easy for me to say, but don't feel that it was a waste. If you do decide to apply next year again, you can learn from this year's dings. Maybe there were reasons outside of the low quant percentile that kept you out that you'll uncover after some post assessment. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide to do.[/i]

[ApphelpGlobal]

Hi

While you may have a non-traditional profile and fall in the category of older applicants, b-schools do admit a significant no. of applicants with diverse backgrounds. Did you use a consultant's help in verifying the quality of your application? Sometimes the key is in presenting yourself in a manner that your profile stands out.

From the limited facts in your mail, I am guessing that could be a probable cause.

Let us know if you need any help in this regard.

The Apphelp Global Team
www.apphelp.us

[Kaneisha Grayson]

Hi Erdehoff,

I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a frustrating year with your applications. I'm sure most of your journalism friends thought you were crazy / selling out for wanting to go to business school, and then after taking all that heat from them and doing the overwhelming process, it didn't even pan out.

I'm with Purple Reign and think that your age was not the deciding factor in you getting dinged from your schools across the board. It sounds like you may have a blind spot or two in your application that you, your friends reading your app, and any kind of consultant you worked with missed.

You might make a great case study for my company. Hit me up at [email protected] so we can chat about digging into what went wrong with your application. Your situation intrigues me and this could benefit you.

Kaneisha

[hcueva]

Will they be more impressed with scores in, say, the 80th percentile for quant and the 95th percentile for verbal?

I'm no expert, but I've heard that, say, if you're an engineer, you're expected to do well in quant, and they will only be impressed if you do well in verbal.

As for a journalist, you're expected to do well in verbal, and the real unknown for them was to see whether you had the quant skills.

All in all, most people agree that there is such a thing as the 80%-80% rule.

If I were you I:

1. Would retake, after having prepared a ton for quant. If you do worse, it does't matter because they take your higher score, anyway.
2. Apply to a safety school. An actual safety school meaning top 30, or something. It's a toss of a coin, so one should always be prepared for the worst.

Good luck this year!