profile eval update. upped my score, but it's lop-sided.

[Guest]

I posted earlier saying that I had gotten:

570
590
620

and that I was aiming at schools like:

INSEAD, UT-AUSTIN, UNC, DUKE, etc.

Well, that list has now almost been finalized to: HBS, Stanford, MIT, UNC, UT-Austin, DUKE, and Haas.

I made that list before I retook the test. I figured my chances would certainly be zero if I didn't apply at all (I think Alex said that to someone on this forum).

So with some divine intervention, I was able to get a 710 on my fourth and final attempt. The issue, however, is that the score is very lop-sided. I admit it's the best score yet for both quant and verbal, but I wonder if my score is "nullified" by the unevenness of it. I got 43Q and 44V. That translates to 68% and 97%, respectively, for a total of 92%. I don't know what my AWA is, not that it matters, but I am pretty sure I got at least a 5.5 (I got a 6 last time and I think I wrote just as well this time).

I am going to do round 1 for all of them. HBS is due 10/15, Stanford (I think) 10/29.. and MIT is around the same period... UT, DUKE and Haas or early Nov or late-october I think. Basically, they are all due around the same period.

So my questions are:

Which of my target schools are more forgiving of low quant scores? Should I just focus my time and energy doing apps for fewer schools rather than applying to so many? Thanks!

[MBAApply]

Basically, none of the schools are forgiving of low quant scores. They all want to see evidence that you can handle the quantitative aspects at b-school. If your college major was analytical (i.e. sciences, econ, business, engineering), all schools will let the low GMAT quant slide a little (but it's still a concern). If you were a liberal arts major without any math-oriented electives, then the low quant score will be a big concern.

However there's nothing you can do about the past. Just focus on putting together strong written applications and hope for the best.

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

[Guest]

Hey there,

Congrats on the huge leap. What was your trick? You can't say it was just luck...can you?? Did you take a course? Self-study? Have a smarter identical twin brother?

Just looking for hints since I'm about to take it for the second time and I'm really really hoping for a 30-40 point jump:)

Thanks!