gmat good enough?

[engineer_z]

Hi, i took the gmat 32 days ago and scored a 550 (36Q, 29V) so i decided to take it again as soon as possible and today i got a 640 (43Q, 35V)

My profile:
23, born in USA, white male
engineering + double major , 3.4/4.0 gpa
fluent in a learned language
project management experience in another country/language
have visited 7 countries to date

i want to work for a few more years and then apply to top 10 business schools such as HBS, Tuck, MIT, Yale, Columbia, Duke, Cornell

i feel the only thing that may be lacking is my GMAT score. what would you suggest?

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear engineer_z,

If those are the only schools you will consider, then you will need to try and increase your GMAT score another 40+ points. How competitive you will be is not only defined by your GMAT score, but also what your work experience looks like, how strong your essays and recommendations are, and how well you do in your interviews. The best course of action would be to seize any increase in professional responsibilities, be involved in the community, and try to get your GMAT score up over the next 2-3 years. You might also consider expanding your target list.

Best of luck,
Lisa

[engineer_z]

I lived in europe for a year during my studies, which included studying for a semester at a european university and a 6 month engineering internship.
The work experience is engineering project management for a branch of a global 500 company in europe.
I also plan on starting up a sort of english tutoring service where i meet up with european college students and basically speak english with them, and im starting an annual scholarship for my alma mater based on long term goals of students.

based on the expanded info would i really need to retake my gmat considering that 640 is low, but nonetheless within the middle 80% range for most of those schools?

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear engineer_z,

You can always apply and see what happens. If you are near the bottom of the middle 80%, then the rest of your application has to be impressive to get to a positive decision. If you believe you have what they want in a candidate, then you should apply with your 640.

Good luck,
Lisa