Do I need to retake GMAT? (Alex, your feedback is helpful)

[2010 hopeful]

Hi Alex,

I am aiming for 2010 entrance.

I scored a 690 on GMAT (44 V, 42 Q). My low Quant score (64 percentile) is a cause for concern. Should I retake the GMAT (I've scored around 42-47 on practice GMATs on Quant, Verbal was about what I expected). I have a 3.8 GPA and 8-10 accounting / econ classes, got A's and B's in those classes.

I'm applying for 2010 entrance. Consultant w/ 3 years of experience at matriculation, want to change into marketing / branding.

Schools I'm looking into:
Cornell
Duke
UCLA
USC
Texas McCombs
Maybe Kellogg or Columbia if I want a wild shot.

Should I retake the GMAT? Will my low Quant score keep me out? And how realistic are the schools I've listed? I expect next year's admission to be brutal thanks to the imploding economy.

Thanks Alex!

[MBAApply]

Re-take the GMAT if and only if you are extremely confident that you can score much higher on the quant section (i.e. the quant score you got was a "bad hair day"). Otherwise, I would focus on the written applications. The 64% isn't good, but it's not totally fatal given your academic background - it's not something that every individual adcom would overlook, but some of them would overlook it and give you the green light if the rest of your application is strong - that's why I think you need to be judicious about retaking the GMAT.

Also, if you want to go into marketing/branding, go for Kellogg over Columbia.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com