690 GMAT score, what are my chances?

[juliu]

HI, it was a quite disappointment to see my score of 690 (V 31, Q 50), since I've invested 4 months in study (on average 4 hours a day), have done all real GMAT questions I could find multiple times, and scored around 750 consistently on pactice exams shortly before the real one.

Now I am struggling between taking the exam again in July and using the time to work on other areas. I really want to know if 690 gives me any chance of getting in top 5 B schools, and I will probably use Stacy's service to achieve my goal.

Here is a little background information:

Undergraduate Degree EE, from a school in Michigan, GPA 3.9
Graduate Degree EE, from UT Austin, GPA 4.0
Work experience, almost 3 years at a well known semiconductor company as product development engineer
small business experience: Owns a restaurant with my wife
Published a book in college, but in a different language

Does 690 diminish my chances of getting in my dream school? If necessary, I will retake the exam, but I don't know if my efforts would be more rewarding if spent else where

Thanks

[Stacy Blackman]

You can definitely be admitted to a top school with a 690. While it would be nice to cross 700, if you feel pessimistic about your chances of doing so, you are better off spending your time elsewhere. Do you have any community leadership activities? The restaurant experience and book add color to your background and having some community involvement would make for a very well rounded application. You may want to invest your time there instead of the GMAT.

[juliu]

Thanks a lot Stacy. When I was in school, I was president and member of several student organizations. After graduation, my comminuty services have mainly focused on volunteering work. Now, I am looking for more opportunities to contribute to the society. Since I am a good photographer, I hope I can use my photos to help in anyway I can. What kind of community leadership experience do you recommend me to get? I will try my best to seek such opportunities.
My current job requires quite a lot of leadership roles. Although not yet a manager, I spend 70% of time assigning tasks to engineers in three countries, scheduling and synchronizing events, and coordinating program release and making sure quality and standard are met.
I plan to take GMAT again on July 9th, but I won't wait for the exam to start preparing applications. Another question is: I am getting my green card in one month, does that in anyway change the pool of candidates I am competing against?
Thanks again

[Stacy Blackman]

Using your photography would be an interesting way to contribute. I suggest looking at a website such as https://www.volunteermatch.org/ for ideas. Again, the key is not to volunteer at a ton of places but to make sure that what you do is involved and of high quality.

I don't know your cultural background, but if you are from another country, you will still have that as part of your profile (with or wothout Greecard) which could potentially add to the diversity of your story. of course crafting that story is also up to you.