Minimum Quant Score for Top Tier Schools

[skalevar]

Hi,

After scouring certain school's websites, I have noticed that a number of schools pay particular attention to applicants' demonstrated Quantitative skills Typically, this is demonstrated through the Gmat score. However, I haven't found much detail on what is an acceptable Quant score.

For example, I recently scored 720 (Q 46, V42). While this may look balanced, I'm a little concerned because the percentile ranking for Q46 is 75%. Might this be a cause for concern with the ad com?

Any insights are much appreciated.

Thanks,

[gratuscm]

Good question. I was wondering the same thing myself but no responses yet.

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

This is one of the most frequent questions. GMAT scores have become more critical over time and average scores are rising at the top schools as courses have gotten better and applicants put a lot of focus on the test. What you need to do is look at the average GMAT for your targeted schools and if you can find it, where the weight of the distribution is. If your GMAT score puts you in the bottom 20%, then the rest of your application needs to be very solid. Some schools, like Insead, explicitly suggest that you should be over 70% on both parts or retake.

Gone are the days when you could have a really low gmat and get into a great school, though there are of course exceptions. A critical component of popular rankings is gmat, so schools want to keep their average high.

Now to your specific case, a 720 is a very solid total score even at the very best schools, and you are in great shape for the top 15-20. However, your quant split is low as you indicate, given the top schools take the top 6-12% or so of applicants. Now if you have a great GPA, promotions, references...it might not matter. But if you have an application weakness or red flag, it might.

So nobody can answer this question in isolation. One would have to know your entire profile to better advise your choices.

Feel free to email me your resume at alex@prepmba for a deeper look.

[MBAPrepAdvantage]

A rule of thumb for the most selective schools is that 80% or above is desired, 70%-80% is cause to look at the application more carefully, and below 70% is cause for much more concern.

If your overall undergraduate GPA is high, especially in your quantitative classes than I would not worry about a 75% with a 720 GMAT score.

Good luck,