Toefl Ibt 111, gmat 610 and 7 year work experience

[THIOUNEY]

Hi all,

I've been reading the posts in this very interesting forum for a while...I'm now sending my own post because I'm desperately in need of a piece of advice. Thanks in advance for your answers.
I'm a 36 years old senegalese living in Paris. My study background: high school and undergraduate( 4 year study) in Senegal, Africa, master in law, master in business from french universities, prepared a Phd in law(microfinance issues) for 2 years before dropping it. I've been working for 7 years in retail banking( Im currently a branch manager( 5 year experience in management)). My test scores: GMAT( 610) toefl IBT 111 pts. I want to work in project finance. I'm planning to apply to LBS, Insead and HEC Paris for the january 2010 intake.
Do you think my profile could interest those BS?
I don't know either if my Gmat score (610( Q 37, V 37) is enough or if I have to retake the test. I'm a little bit frustrated because my scores in the prep tests were OK ( GMAC: 480, 560 at the beginning and then 640, 690, 680, 700; Kaplan, 610, but a low 550 with princeton). My weakness is the quantitative part. To improve my score, should i consider a prep class?
And should I be concerned about my age( 37 when I start the mba)?
Thanks a lot in advance for your advice!

[Graham]

Dear Thiouney,

Thanks for your post. I tend to agree that there are two issues with your profile:

1) Your age. At 36, you are well beyond the average age for full-time b-school student at the programs on your list. This puts the onus on you to present the admissions teams with clear goals and a great argument for your decision to pursue full-time education. If you can't do this, you may want to consider part-time or executive offerings.

2) Your GMAT quant score. At present, your percentile score on the GMAT is around the 50th percentile - oddly low for someone who works in finance. Keep in mind that most top b-schools look to admit students who have at least crossed the 70th (if not 80th) percentile on this portion of the exam. If you have only taken the test once, then I absolutely recommend that you re-take it, perhaps after a couple of months of heavy preparation - with a tutor or in a course. The Kaplan center in Paris might be a good place to start.

Best of luck,

Graham

[THIOUNEY]

Thank you very much for your advice. Actually, I've repeated 2 years due to strikes in schools in my country of origine, not to mention to much time passed in universities... And I'm working in retail banking, not finance, maths and I have never been good friends actually...And I've never worked in a english speaking country . But, I agree with the fact that I'd better improve dramatically my score. I think I'll call Kaplan to get some information about that coaching thing.
Thanks again.