Admissions Consultants,
I recently took the GMAT and scored a 640. Is this score low enough to warrant an Optional Essay topic for my applications? Q39 V39. If so, what have you seen to be effective in the optional essay in regards to alleviating admissions consultants fears on the candidate's gmat score?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
GMAT Forum
4 postsPage 1 of 1
- MBAApply
Not a whole lot you can say other than "it's not a true reflection of my ability" and no matter how hard you try to justify it with tomes of evidence, the reality is the adcom will either overlook the score, or he/she won't. Nothing really is 'effective' to get around it.
GMAT is like height to basketball. Being tall won't automatically make you a great player, but being short can be a significant barrier to getting on the team - based on your overall skills as a basketball player, the coach will either overlook your height, or he/she won't.
The only way to mitigate a low GMAT score is to re-take it and get a better score. If this is however the best score you can get (some people just simply aren't good standardized test takers), then there's not a whole lot you can say -- and all you can do is to make sure your essays and rec letters are exceptional.
I know it sucks to hear that, but that's the reality.
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogpsot.com
GMAT is like height to basketball. Being tall won't automatically make you a great player, but being short can be a significant barrier to getting on the team - based on your overall skills as a basketball player, the coach will either overlook your height, or he/she won't.
The only way to mitigate a low GMAT score is to re-take it and get a better score. If this is however the best score you can get (some people just simply aren't good standardized test takers), then there's not a whole lot you can say -- and all you can do is to make sure your essays and rec letters are exceptional.
I know it sucks to hear that, but that's the reality.
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogpsot.com
- guest
Alex,
Thanks for the reply. I was also thinking about writing in the lines of it's not a true reflection of my abilities. The optional essay was an area I had initially thought about elaborating on with an additional strength or leadership skill. However, with a 640, and reading more about what the 'optional essay' is supposed to be about, does it make sense to take responsibility for this score and write about how it doesn't reflect my true skill sets? I actually do quite a bit of quantitative work in my job, building financial business cases that have now become the standard template for sales deals, evaluating ROI, and pricing our products. In my volunteer work as a nonprofit consultant, much of my work is financial analysis as well.
I know a 640 is not very high, so I am wondering if it's worth writing an essay on, or use the optional essay to elaborate on a strength instead. Thank you very much.
Thanks for the reply. I was also thinking about writing in the lines of it's not a true reflection of my abilities. The optional essay was an area I had initially thought about elaborating on with an additional strength or leadership skill. However, with a 640, and reading more about what the 'optional essay' is supposed to be about, does it make sense to take responsibility for this score and write about how it doesn't reflect my true skill sets? I actually do quite a bit of quantitative work in my job, building financial business cases that have now become the standard template for sales deals, evaluating ROI, and pricing our products. In my volunteer work as a nonprofit consultant, much of my work is financial analysis as well.
I know a 640 is not very high, so I am wondering if it's worth writing an essay on, or use the optional essay to elaborate on a strength instead. Thank you very much.
- MBAApply
It's not an 'essay' but a few sentences just stating your case that it's not a true reflection of your abilities. Beyond that, and it starts to sound like the guy who goes overboard when explaining to his wife why he came home way way late.
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogpsot.com
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogpsot.com
4 posts Page 1 of 1