Higher Quant?

[roffadelic]

Hi Everyone,

So after months of practice and weeks of waking up for 5:30AM alarms to study before work, I took my first real GMAT today and scored a surprising 720 (46Q & 44V). I've spent many hours on this site during my prep work, work that spanned over 5 months - albeit some months more serious than others - and I wanted to start this post by saying thank you to all the great people on this site who offered fantastic advice. Looking back now, I realize that preparing for the exam is as much about the hours you put into learning the material as it is about your attitude towards the exam. The fiery and determined people that have successfully beaten the GMAT and then had the kindness of heart to share their stories on this site were such a great resource when my own motivation faltered, I know I would not have done as well as I did without their help.

Moving on to my concern, I am very interested in doing banking/corporate finance after completing my MBA and I was wondering if my score, with its more even balance between quant and verbal would put me in the running for the top tier finance focused programs. I would suspect that schools that have strong reputation for finance, namely Wharton, Booth, and Columbia, would look for people with these career aspirations to score higher than I have on the quant portion of the GMAT. Am I at any disadvantage when applying to these schools for not having a higher quant score?

Also, and feel free to skip this part as it is not completely necessary to answer the question, but these facts may help to frame my overall candidacy at these schools. I graduated with a BS in Financial Management (3.8 GPA) from a state school in the North/South Carolina and I have 4 years of work experience in the accounting group at BB investment bank.

I appreciate any and all insights.

[Jon@Admissionado]

First of all: congrats!!!
Secondly: Don't even THINK about taking the GMAT again.

(I liked writing that)

You have your amazing score. It's higher than the average GMAT at any program. Your quant is still very good, plus you have years of experience working in numbers. At this point its not a higher GMAT which will get you in, but awesome essays.

[Apply Point]

Congratulations! It looks like you are an excellent contender for a top 10 business school. A 720 GMAT and a 3.8 GPA will prove to any admissions committee that you are able to compete in the academic rigor of their program. Now, I advise you to focus on the other qualities admissions directors are looking for. In my previous position as the Associate Director of Admissions at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, besides an applicant's ability to compete academically, I also wanted to know if they were compatible with the collaborative nature of our program (most business schools claim to have a close-knit and collaborative environment, so they will be evaluating this as well) and I wanted to investigate an applicant's career trajectory.

I recommend spending time on composing compelling essays, to make that perfect first impression and also refining your resume/short-and long-term goal set. You want to be as specific as possible when it comes to your short and long-term goals and also ensure that they tie-in somewhat closely, with your previous experience. While working in admissions, I always wanted to know that an applicant was going to hit the ground running, searching for that internship and post-MBA job, as soon as they started in the fall. And, more often than not, it was those applicants, who were highly specific about their goals, who would be the most motivated and successful in the post-MBA job search.

I wish you all the best.