Profile Evaluation !!

[saswatnayak]

HI ,

I will be applying to colleges this year for 2013 fall session .

I gave my GMAT on September 2010 and scored 710 . Break up --
Quants - 49
Verbal - 38
AWA - 4.5

Do you think i should retake the GMAT for 2 reasons -- The score is 2 yrs old ( although the scores are valid for 5 Yrs). Second reason is i am confident of improving my score to 740. Will improving the score help me or it can play down showing immaturity on my side to retake the GMAT for additional 30-40 points .

My profile --

I an Indian Male of 26 years of age and presently have 3yrs 10 months of total work experience .

Academics & Professional--

Graduated as BTECH in CIVIL Engineering in 2008 From National Institute of Technology - Allahabad ( Ranked in Top 10 Engineering Institute in India)

CGPA - 7.85/10 -- 9th Rank in the batch

Joined Reliance Infrastructure LTD. - ( power Sector) July 2008- March 2011 .

Roles & responsibilities - ( Assistant Manager( civil) - Engineering-Project Management Team)
"¢ Guiding the efforts of 80 people as part of a larger team implementing India's first Ultra Mega Power Plant (3960 MW) at Sasan Madhya Pradesh of a project cost of USD 4.45 billion.
"¢ Lead a team of 5 member to set-up project's In-house design capabilities.

IN April, 2011 Shifted my Job and Joined Procter & Gamble Home Products LTD. as Associate Manager -- ASIA Facilities Engineering

Roles & Responsibilities -
"¢ Solely Responsible to cover task within the Civil /Structural /Architectural Technologies to deliver best value Facility solutions across different Global Business Units in India .
"¢ Presently Working And Managing Multiple suppliers in India & overseas to use the best value Engineering services to deliver the project Objectives .

Extra Curricular Activities --

"¢ Was appointed as Sports Captain of the college ( 2007-2008) and Vice captain (2006-2007) responsible for conducting college sports events, preparing yearly budget and making sure its spent judiciously
"¢ Was elected as Head of Disciplinary Committee of the college in 2007-2008 responsible for maintaining overall decorum of the college .
"¢ Core -coordinator of AVISHKAR ( National Technical Festival ) & CULRAV ( National Cultural Festival)
"¢ Was in charge of conducting training programs for young engineers in reliance Infrastructure.
"¢ Won First Prize in the National Level Technical Festival in the year 2006
"¢ Played Under -19 District Level Cricket in the year 2001
"¢ Won Bronze medal in Junior National Level in Martial Arts in the year 1998

Community Activities -- Very few and not very noteworthy
Has been involved in setting up a small teaching session for poor Kids after college hours during Undergrad College
During previous job , i was involved with a NGO to help teach poor kids and organize some events for them during the weekends .

Please let me know what are my chances for the below mentioned schools and what can i improve in my profile in next 2-3 months .

Target Schools --
Kellog
Duke
LBS
Ross
HASS
Johnson

Thanks & Regards
Saswat

[Stacey Oyler]

Hi,

Thanks for your post. You did a fine job on the GMAT two years ago, but I do understand your question/concern. I generally advise my clients to retake the GMAT if they feel quite confident that they could indeed improve their score. If you strongly feel you can improve your score and earn a 740, then it may indeed be worth it to retake the exam.

Do keep in mind that your score of 710 is solid, but it won't likely help or hurt you in the admissions process. A higher score could indeed boost the appeal of your profile and applications. One last thing to note, the GMAT exam is changing in June and a new section will be added. Be sure that if you do indeed decide to retake the exam that you prepare for this new section.

Best,

Stacey

[saswatnayak]

Stacey ,
Thanks for your feedback and recommendation .
At present i am doing an extensive research on the schools i have mentioned and also planning to involve myself more in community service .

Is it possible that now i focus on my applications and once i am done with the applications , i will retake my GMAT and send the scores to the school i applied to .

Also, can you provide a brief evaluation of my chances in the schools i have mentioned based on my profile .

Regards
Saswat

[Stacey Oyler]

Hi Saswat,

This is a great question. While some schools will accept a new GMAT score after the application deadline, most schools won't do this. Most schools encourage candidates to "apply when ready." I'd wait until round 2 if need be in order to have your new score when you apply.

Best,

Stacey