710 GMAT - Low Quant Score - Retake?

[bgphelps]

Hi everyone,

So I swore that I would never even reconsider retaking the GMAT but here I am strongly considering it. I would love to get advice on this and I thank you all in advance.

Here are the details:

I just took the GMAT yesterday and scored a 710, Q43 V44.

My top choice of school is the Wharton Lauder Program. After that, the most competitive programs I am considering are Duke and Yale. After that, well, I'm still looking. I'm only really beginning my school search now that I'm finished (perhaps) with the GMAT.

I have a double-major in Political Science and International Business from a small liberal-arts school in East Tennessee (Maryville College). The quant related courses I took in college are Introduction to Statistics, Inferential Statistics, Introduction to Accounting, Introduction to Finance, and International Trade and Finance, A's in every one. I have taken other business courses but those are the ones that actually involved playing with numbers.

My professional experience does not include any serious quantitative work beyond putting together an occasional budget. If anyone is curious, I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer. I finished my two years of service and now am working in a leadership position supporting other volunteers in the field while coordinating and supporting the Ministry of the Environment.

My concern is that my GMAT Quant score will raise a red flag at programs where analytics and quantitative skills are strong focuses and I am not sure if my college courses would be enough to out-weigh that deficit considering that the school I went to is not a well-known or highly ranked.

I had the fortune of speaking with Dr. Marcy Bevan last night, director of Admissions at Wharton Lauder, and she basically said(paraphrased): "That score is low side of what we would accept. If you had a 45th percentile I would definitely tell you to re-take but your score is right on the line. If you really wanted to make sure it isn't an issue, you should aim for the 80th percentile."

She asked me if I was considering retaking the GMAT and I said that I wasn't, but this was the same day that I took the GMAT and I still hadn't had time to think about it. The message I got out of that conversation is, 'You're not out of the running if the rest of your application is strong, but the low score isn't going to help you.'

Her response, to me, is unfortunately inconclusive and still leaves me wondering what course of action I should take. I don't relish the idea if re-taking the GMAT and as a Peace Corps Volunteer it represents a fairly substantial financial commitment (test costs plus a new set of studying tools), but I am 100% sure that I can score better and I hate the idea of not presenting the very best of myself for consideration. Frankly, I think I could deal with not being accepted to my dream programs - although I've accomplished a lot in my life and am proud of who I am, I recognize that there are a lot of other incredible candidates out there - but it would irk me to not be accepted knowing that I hadn't presented the best that I am for consideration.

I'm deeply grateful for your thoughts and advice on this matter. I hope to return the favor in the future once I have my own experience and knowledge to contribute.

Best regards,

Brian

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

bg

Just from what you described, I think her answer was not ambiguous. You don't want to be on the low side unless the rest of your application is rockstar quality. And your liberal arts undergraduate program is not as well known as say a Swarthmore, Bowdoin or Haverford.

I know that route canal seems more desirable then retaking the GMAT, but you heard it from the mouth of the decision maker. Go for it, and then when you get a higher score, write her a personal email thanking her for pushing you in that direction.

Good luck with your applications! The extra effort is worth it. I loved getting an MBA and it pays many types of dividends.

Alex

[bgphelps]

Thanks Alex,

If you don't mind I might take this a little bit deeper.

I think what I'm really trying to figure out right now is why I feel so compelled to go to a top ranked school in the first place. Many good schools would be happy to have me as my application is now, and so I need to figure out how much it is worth to me to get into a program like Lauder when I could probably get into Schulich and definitely into the Darla Moore School of Business, other similar internationally focused programs.

This, of course, is a question I have to answer on my own. I've been in touch with a former Peace Corps Volunteer who just finished Lauder and has just moved to Peru, so I'm very fortunate that I'll have him as a sounding board for some of this. And of course it will be up to me to put some serious consideration into this and talk to my friends and family.

So we'll see, hopefully talking with friends I'll be able to shed some light into why I want this so bad. I don't think it's about being the best or going to the best schools, but what it all comes down to is that I want to be my best and not live my life with 'what if's'. We'll see.

Thanks for being a sounding board man, you might get a thank you note too.

Cheers,

Brian

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

At your age, you don't want to lay up and leave your shot short. Sorry, I am an avid golfer. You want to really swing full and leave no doubt that you tried your hardest. It has nothing to do with other people, but your own ethic that might have been instilled in you by parents or siblings, or even a lack of that expectation. The other programs you mention are going to be fine, but Wharton is in a different category. I most appreciate the people I met at b school---talented, driven, broad, and fearless. There is nothing wrong with wanting to rub elbows and minds in an atmosphere like that. No regrets.

Alex