Impact of 80-80

[eparjn]

I've heard quite a bit about the impact of being "80-80," that is, scoring in the 80th+ percentile in both the verbal and quant portions of the gmat. As I'm crafting my final list of schools to which I will apply, I'm trying to be realistic and gauge the strength of my candidacy. Will being 80-80 (for me, 88% quant, 83% verbal) carry significant weight?

Thanks!

[Paxton Helms - Kaplan]

Hello! Thanks for your post!

To answer your question, your clearing the 80/80 hurdle alone is unlikely to have a huge impact on your schools. There are so many other factors to consider, not the least of which include:

- What are the GMAT ranges of the schools to which you are applying?

- What was your GPA and what is your work experience?

- What other intangible (pro and con) do you have?

Getting past the 80/80 mark is good but, alone, is unlikely to swing a decision one way or another. If you can provide more data, I can give you a more detailed analysis.

Cheers--

Paxton

[eparjn]

Paxton...a little about me:

-24 years old, white male, currently reside in NYC
-2+ years experience (3 by next year) specializing in real estate at a commercial bank in NYC; Participated in a 6-month finance co-op with a company in the top 35 of the Fortune 500 during undergrad
-Penn State University, Major: Finance; Overall GPA: 3.55; Major GPA: 4.00 (almost flawless performance in quant and writing courses…poor freshman year, with extremely strong sophomore, junior, and senior campaigns)
-GMAT: 720 (Q49/88%, V38/83%) – 95th Percentile
-Very strong written skills, which I’m certain will show in essays
-Not worried about job security or anything, just ready to go back to school

Hello! Thanks for your post!

To answer your question, your clearing the 80/80 hurdle alone is unlikely to have a huge impact on your schools. There are so many other factors to consider, not the least of which include:

- What are the GMAT ranges of the schools to which you are applying?

- What was your GPA and what is your work experience?

- What other intangible (pro and con) do you have?

Getting past the 80/80 mark is good but, alone, is unlikely to swing a decision one way or another. If you can provide more data, I can give you a more detailed analysis.

Cheers--

Paxton

[Paxton Helms - Kaplan]

Sounds like you have a very solid academic record and the fact that you improved so much over time should ease any doubts about your GPA.

As I see it right now:

PROS:

- The work experience is good and the fact that you were in commercial banking rather than investment analysis, hedge funds, etc., gives you a nice comparative advantage over the many folks from those areas of finance that will be applying. You will also (hopefully) be able to draw out some lessons from this rough period and maybe even talk about managing through tough times. There is a lot of rich material to mine here.

- GMAT is very good but not extraordinary if you are applying to top programs. Your GMAT definitely makes you a candidate but is more of a necessary but not sufficient element.

- Grades are quite good, and I like the improvement.


CONS:

- Three years of work experience may be a bit thin for some places, especially given how many finance folks are going to be applying this year. Not necessarily a deal breaker but you are going to have to make a persuasive case for why business school now rather than one or two years for now.

- Wanting to go back to school is totally understandable but maybe not totally persuasive. You need to do better than that.


TBDs:

- The strong writing skills are great but a well-written set of GMAT essays requires a bit more. As I explain in my Laws of MBA Admissions, your application must tell a story and must be internally consistent (i.e., don't be like one fellow I know who had a strong finance background and wanted to stay in finance but explained that he wanted to go to Northwestern because it is so strong in marketing...).

It is often very difficult for the writer --even a very strong writer-- to be able to pick up on internal inconsistencies that can red flag an application that an outside observer can.


IN SHORT:

In short: solid though not extraordinary candidate; might have a hard time at top two or three programs, should be a solid candidate at others; main risks are years of work, competition from other finance people, and reason for wanting to go to business school. Main opportunities, experience in the real estate market and and solid GMATs and undergrad grades.


Did this answer your question? How else can I help you?

Cheers--

Paxton

[eparjn]

Paxton,

Extremely helpful. You confirmed what I thought about the GMAT...While it's not an absolutely unblievable score, it's sufficient enough for the top schools that they will actually consider my application (as in, it won't keep me out).

Oddly enough, this financial crisis IS the reason I want to go back to school. I've seen a lot of carnage here in NYC, and I understand the way the rest of the country has been affected and I truly believe there is opportunity to fundamentally change so that this sort of thing can be averted in the future. It's funny how much one can learn by simply sitting and watching the world burn down around them. In any event, I plan to convey this in my essays. The fact that I'm not trying to "spin" anything (the fact that I'm writing what I really believe) should help my consistency.

I'm very well rounded, with various personal interests that I will touch upon. The top 3 are tough, but I will try to be persuasive enough. Otherwise, I'm considering many Top-10 schools. Do you think this is reasonable?

Sounds like you have a very solid academic record and the fact that you improved so much over time should ease any doubts about your GPA.

As I see it right now:

PROS:

- The work experience is good and the fact that you were in commercial banking rather than investment analysis, hedge funds, etc., gives you a nice comparative advantage over the many folks from those areas of finance that will be applying. You will also (hopefully) be able to draw out some lessons from this rough period and maybe even talk about managing through tough times. There is a lot of rich material to mine here.

- GMAT is very good but not extraordinary if you are applying to top programs. Your GMAT definitely makes you a candidate but is more of a necessary but not sufficient element.

- Grades are quite good, and I like the improvement.


CONS:

- Three years of work experience may be a bit thin for some places, especially given how many finance folks are going to be applying this year. Not necessarily a deal breaker but you are going to have to make a persuasive case for why business school now rather than one or two years for now.

- Wanting to go back to school is totally understandable but maybe not totally persuasive. You need to do better than that.


TBDs:

- The strong writing skills are great but a well-written set of GMAT essays requires a bit more. As I explain in my Laws of MBA Admissions, your application must tell a story and must be internally consistent (i.e., don't be like one fellow I know who had a strong finance background and wanted to stay in finance but explained that he wanted to go to Northwestern because it is so strong in marketing...).

It is often very difficult for the writer --even a very strong writer-- to be able to pick up on internal inconsistencies that can red flag an application that an outside observer can.


IN SHORT:

In short: solid though not extraordinary candidate; might have a hard time at top two or three programs, should be a solid candidate at others; main risks are years of work, competition from other finance people, and reason for wanting to go to business school. Main opportunities, experience in the real estate market and and solid GMATs and undergrad grades.


Did this answer your question? How else can I help you?

Cheers--

Paxton