Profile Evaluation - India 680, second MBA, PE experience

[rohitm]

Hi

Took Gmat today. Was hoping for a better score, but alas, turned out to be much lower than expected.
My score is 680 (quant 90 percentile and verbal 67 percentile). I was planning to apply to the following b schools and now i am wary of applying as i think my score is less than the average accepted. Needed your help by looking at the profile, should i apply with the current score or take GMAT again

Schools : INSEAD, Booth, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, LBS, Tuck

Profile:

Undergraduation - among top 3 students
Graduation - Top 20 college in india ; 1st rank in the college
Post-grad MBA from a top 10 b school in india - Allrounder award
Work experience -
1. Big credit rating agency in india (2 yrs)
2. Associate at a domestic PE firm (1.5 yrs)
3. Software consulting at a global IT major (1 yrs)

Other activities - decent activities at school and college level
Currently teach CFA at a leading firm (part-time)
Some charity work in the past though not very active presently

Planning to remain in the same industry but want to target international PE firms which surely need better exposure and a good international b school education in india

Will appreciate any help in deciding between applying with 680 score or target a better score

Rgds
Rohit

[Heidi Granner]

Hi Rohit,

Thanks for your post.

With your profile, I suggest targeting schools where your GMAT score is at or above the school's average. So, for the schools you have listed, I suggest re-taking the GMAT. In addition, being an international applicant, it is important to get your verbal score at least about 70% (and ideally 80%) for top 15 schools.

Best of luck.

Heidi
_________________
Heidi Granner
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215.568.2590

[rohitm]

Dear Heidi

Had another query

Planning to retake GMAT on 6th Dec and targetting 730ish this time. The 3 b schools i.e. Stanford, wharton, and chicago have their R2 deadlines between 3-9 jan 2012 (i.e. about 30 odd days from the GMAT). Now assuming that i score 730ish which im confident , i am not sure if 1 month of time is enough to apply to 3 top b schools where the competition is already intense. in terms of app. prep, i have just done up with my resume and have started scouting for LORs and transcripts.
Do you think post GMAT, 1 month of application time i should reserve ONLY for 1 of these 3 colleges to have a good shot this season and NOT attempt to apply to all 3 of them and hence cramming my efforts in 1 month thereby diluting my application for all 3 ?

Regards
Rohit

[VIkramsharma]

Hi Heidi,

I am Vikram from Mumbai,India .
I was wondering what you thought of my chances of getting into my target schools: Harvard, Wharton, Stanford or Booth based on my stats:

I am an Indian male 26 years old
GMAT- 730
MBA-Finance(2011) : 3.0/4.0
B.E (IT)(2009) : 62%
XII (2005) : 71%
X (2003) : 78%
CFA Level III Candidate.

Extra curriculum activities : Mountaineering, Field Sports, Have a started a NGO , which is into Education and Family upliftment. NGO has impacted life of more than 100 people in India since its inception in 2009.
Letter of Recommendations from 3 CFOs of Large Corporates are expected.

Work Experience: 3 Yrs in Leading Financial Services Company with a focus on Debt/Mezzanine funding.Part of Credit Appraisal team.


Do you think i am strong candidate for these schools,given the fact this is my second MBA attempt within 2-3 years of passing out from the first one. Or can u suggest a few B-Schools where I can have better chance of making it.

Thanks
Vikram

[rohitm]

Hi Rohit,

Thanks for your post.

With your profile, I suggest targeting schools where your GMAT score is at or above the school's average. So, for the schools you have listed, I suggest re-taking the GMAT. In addition, being an international applicant, it is important to get your verbal score at least about 70% (and ideally 80%) for top 15 schools.

Best of luck.

Heidi
_________________
Heidi Granner
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215.568.2590

Hi Heidi

I am back on the forum, and to you with an update on my GMAT score

I retook and have now scored a 710 92% (Q 49 (81%), V 38 38 (85%)).
Last time around i had asked you about the chances at the top B schools. Though i understand that 710 is not a stratospheric score, however, would like to have a realistic understanding of what elements of my profile (including score if recommended) should i bolster to improve chances in these schools. Do you think my current GMAT score still needs to be improved and will it further help improve the application ?
My target list remains the same and plan to apply in the coming October session 1st round of these schools.

Please suggest/advice.

[Heidi Granner]

Completing 3 applications in 4 weeks is not recommended. Two would likely be do-able (depending on your writing skills). Good luck with your GMAT!

Dear Heidi

Had another query

Planning to retake GMAT on 6th Dec and targetting 730ish this time. The 3 b schools i.e. Stanford, wharton, and chicago have their R2 deadlines between 3-9 jan 2012 (i.e. about 30 odd days from the GMAT). Now assuming that i score 730ish which im confident , i am not sure if 1 month of time is enough to apply to 3 top b schools where the competition is already intense. in terms of app. prep, i have just done up with my resume and have started scouting for LORs and transcripts.
Do you think post GMAT, 1 month of application time i should reserve ONLY for 1 of these 3 colleges to have a good shot this season and NOT attempt to apply to all 3 of them and hence cramming my efforts in 1 month thereby diluting my application for all 3 ?

Regards
Rohit

[rohitm]

Heidi

Thanks for your reply. However, my query was as below. The query to which you have recently answered was asked about a year back . Please find below my revised query which i had posted on this forum on 22 Aug 2013

Query :
I am back on the forum, and to you with an update on my GMAT score

I retook and have now scored a 710 92% (Q 49(81%), V 38(85%)).
Last time around i had asked you about the chances at the top B schools. Though i understand that 710 is not a stratospheric score, however, would like to have a realistic understanding of what elements of my profile (including score if recommended) should i bolster to improve chances in these schools. Do you think my current GMAT score still needs to be improved and will it further help improve the application ?
My target list remains the same and plan to apply in the coming October session 1st round of these schools.

Please suggest/advice.


Regards
Rohit

Completing 3 applications in 4 weeks is not recommended. Two would likely be do-able (depending on your writing skills). Good luck with your GMAT!

Dear Heidi

Had another query

Planning to retake GMAT on 6th Dec and targetting 730ish this time. The 3 b schools i.e. Stanford, wharton, and chicago have their R2 deadlines between 3-9 jan 2012 (i.e. about 30 odd days from the GMAT). Now assuming that i score 730ish which im confident , i am not sure if 1 month of time is enough to apply to 3 top b schools where the competition is already intense. in terms of app. prep, i have just done up with my resume and have started scouting for LORs and transcripts.
Do you think post GMAT, 1 month of application time i should reserve ONLY for 1 of these 3 colleges to have a good shot this season and NOT attempt to apply to all 3 of them and hence cramming my efforts in 1 month thereby diluting my application for all 3 ?

Regards
Rohit