GMAT 680/ GPA 3.2/ Need advice

[smash]

Hi,

I need some guidance with respect to my GMAT score. I took the exam yesterday and scored a 680 ( Q 48 -84 percentile & V 34- 69 percentile ). I know for sure that i can do a lot better than this (30-40 points more) but since i have only about 6 weeks to go to complete all my essays and submit my application before R2, i am not certain what my next step should be.
I am only applying to 5 schools: LBS, INSEAD, Wharton, NYU and Columbia.
Just to give you a brief background about myself. I have done my UG in electrical engineering ( i am indian btw) at Purdue and graduated with a GPA of 3.2
I have also done a 1 year part-time certificate program in finance and accounting from Wharton and graduated with a GPA of 3.93.
I have 5+ years of work ex in a Fortune 500 medical device company in the US with international experience in India and the UK.

Do i really need to take my GMAT again to apply to the aforementioned schools? Accordingly, I can plan on studying as well as working on my application simaltaneously.

Thank you.

[MBAApply]

Your verbal is on the low side, but when it comes to tradeoffs, you are better off focusing on your written applications rather than trying to retake the GMAT again. But if you really can't sleep at night because you're constantly thinking about the GMAT, then by all means scratch that itch and re-take it, but in my view if it takes away time from writing those essays, then I wouldn't recommend it.

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

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Thanks Alex!

One more question- Do you believe that all the schools that I am applying to are "stretch" schools or are there any that are in my "sweet spot". Also, is there any other school that i should consider applying to? I dont want to waste my time if you believe that all the schools i am applying to are out of reach. Thanks.

[MBAApply]

NYU would be a sweet spot, with the rest of the schools you mentioned as stretch schools.

Schools in the NYU range would be Haas, UCLA, Cornell, Yale, Darden, Duke, and Michigan. These are the range of schools you should be focusing on (irrespective of your GMAT score).

With the stretch schools, choose one or two schools -- choose INSEAD/LBS if you have no plans of working in the US immediately post-MBA (i.e. you want to work in Europe), or Wharton/Columbia if you want to work in the US post-MBA.

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

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Thanks a lot for your help, Alex!