help understanding school means and medians

[mjnar1]

Hello,

I took the gmat again today and scored a 570, while not considered good by most on this forum this is 110 points above my previous official gmat attempt 40 days ago (don't ask what happened but obviously something did). However, this score is still below my 600 average on my last two practice test (using GMATprep) and i am considering retaking the test for a third time (i really, really, really don't want to though).

anyway, most of the schools i am targeting have a median around 600-610 and ranges from about 530-650. My question is are my scores considered competitive? How are the admission committes looking at these GMAT scores and what is considered "good enough" to not be an issue?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[mbamission]

Hi there,

While GMAT scores are certainly an important part of an MBA application, they are still only one part of your profile, and are balanced against college GPA, work experience, leadership, extracurriculars, fit with the school, etc. You should check with the schools if the range you listed is the full range, or the 10%-90% range. In the case of the latter, it means that 10% of the class scored below a 530, so you can have more confidence in your score. In the schools that you describe, a 570 seems comfortably in the range you listed. It will neither differentiate you from a point of strength or weakness.

Overall, make sure you’re using your essays to highlight your strengths outside of the GMAT, and provide solid reasons as to why the school is a great match.

[mjnar1]

Thank you for your help!