GMAT score vs building a profile

[student101]

I have a question - I recently wrote the GMAT and did very well - I scored a 780! I also have a pretty strong GPA from a top Canadian undergraduate business program.

I would like to apply to a top U.S. Business School (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia), but I don't think I have a very strong profile. I am a Chartered Accountant currently working as an auditor at a Big Four Public Accounting firm (with about 3 years' experience). Though I'm a top performer at my firm, and I do manage teams of people and engagements, I don't think my profile is particularly strong. I have some light leadership activities (I'm part of a group of lead volunteers for a few firm-sponsored community programs).

My question is, for these top schools, to what extent will my GMAT score and experience benefit me, i.e. is it completely necessary to take a year and build a profile, or do I stand any sort of chance at getting in based on such a score?

My concern is that many MBA programs perceive accountants to be pretty mundane number-crunchers, incapable of being leaders. Just wondering if anyone has any feedback or advice for me.

[money9111]

I think you COULD have a very interesting profile, it's just a matter of bringing it out! However, I will say that from your post and the way you talk about yourself, yes, you do sound like a mundane number cruncher. I don't say that to knock you down, but to point out that you're one step further than most people.

You know that b-schools may view candidates as mundane number-crunchers. So what else is there about you that says otherwise? The schools you mentioned get candidates with 780s all the time who get rejected. I'd venture to say that they get rejected because they haven't created enough of a holistic view of themselves in the eyes of the admissions committee and/or they simply don't fit.

I always say that a GMAT score won't get you INTO business school, but it will keep someone out of a business school. You're definitely won't keep you out. It will give you an edge in some regards, but the stakes are too high to rely on the GMAT score & GPA.

I have a question - I recently wrote the GMAT and did very well - I scored a 780! I also have a pretty strong GPA from a top Canadian undergraduate business program.

I would like to apply to a top U.S. Business School (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia), but I don't think I have a very strong profile. I am a Chartered Accountant currently working as an auditor at a Big Four Public Accounting firm (with about 3 years' experience). Though I'm a top performer at my firm, and I do manage teams of people and engagements, I don't think my profile is particularly strong. I have some light leadership activities (I'm part of a group of lead volunteers for a few firm-sponsored community programs).

My question is, for these top schools, to what extent will my GMAT score and experience benefit me, i.e. is it completely necessary to take a year and build a profile, or do I stand any sort of chance at getting in based on such a score?

My concern is that many MBA programs perceive accountants to be pretty mundane number-crunchers, incapable of being leaders. Just wondering if anyone has any feedback or advice for me.