Profile Evaluation: 680 GMAT

[vpimba89]

Hi all,

I recently took the GMAT and am trying to see where my profile shakes out if I'm unable to increase my score.

White male
GMAT: 680 (45Q/38V)
GPA: 3.64, honors program
Ugrad: Large state school, finance major
Ugrad honors: Recipient of the most 'prestigious' ugrad business scholarship at the school following my freshman year: a full ride my sophomore, junior, and senior years based off of 'showing exceptional leadership potential'.... not sure how strong of an impact this will have on MBA apps
WE: 3yrs so far.. 2yrs BB Sales & Trading analyst at the BAML/Citi/Barclays tier in NYC (1yr credit derivative sales, 1yr structured products sales, and 1yr to present (after an internal promotion/transfer) working on business strategy for a new group that is a joint-venture between markets and the private bank. Lots of senior-level exposure in the new role and expect very solid recs.
Extra curricular: significant extra curriculars during undergrad and currently a project leader for a nonprofit that focuses on job readiness and financial education, while also currently a financial counselor focused on helping families build credit and avoid bankruptcy

Post-MBA goal: consulting.. but plan on solidifying my exact goals over the next 6 months.

Stretches: Kellogg, Dartmouth
Targets: UVA, Duke, Michigan

I have been studying for the GMAT for the past 4 months and have only been able to crack 700 on one CAT recently. I am curious as to whether my ugrad degree and work experience will be enough to offset a 45Q if I'm unable to 'beat the gmat'. That being said, I have scheduled the GMAT rd2 for June and of course hope to break 700 to eliminate that uncertainty!

Let me know your thoughts - any and all are greatly appreciated!

[mbaMissionKate]

Hi there, thanks for your post!

I see a lot of strengths in your profile , most importantly...

-Strong GPA and grounding in Finance coursework
-Work experience includes progression of responsibilities, leadership opportunities with your new role, exposure to senior management & strategic issues - seems like a good mix of hard analytical skills and soft skills like relationship building
-Extracurriculars seem strong and linked to your career interests too which is nice, though b-schools will really care primarily about post-undergrad activities

By the way, the undergrad scholarship is definitely impressive and worth mentioning (probably on your resume) as it shows leadership potential, but it's unlikely to make a huge impact - your leadership since then is going to be weighted more heavily.

Definitely work on solidifying those goals but good news is you have plenty of time to do that! Be thinking about why consulting would be a good fit for you, what skills you have already that will transfer to consulting, whether there's a particular industry or specialization of consulting that really attracts you, etc. You should check out our free Consulting Career Primer offered by our sister company MBA Career Coaches (http://info.mbacareercoaches.com/consul ... eer-primer)

Last but certainly not least let's talk about the GMAT. So a 680 overall is a pretty solid score and within the middle 80% range for all the schools you list. So given all the other strengths in your profile I think it's fine to target those schools even with a 680. Ideally you could boost your Quant score just a bit, to a 47, and that would put you in a much "safer" spot. So good luck with the retake in June! The fact that you have a strong GPA and that you're coming from a Quant field helps in your case too.

Keep us posted if we can help with anything else!

[vpimba89]

Hi Kate,

Hope all is well! Thank you for your insight. As an update, I retook the GMAT today, and have both good and bad news:

The good: I was aiming for 700+, and got it!

The bad: I went from 680 (45Q, 38V) to 710 (42Q, 47V).

I was expecting a sharp increase in my verbal, but not that dramatic. I have consistently scored 45/46 on quant and 42-45 on verbal over the last several weeks.

Given this, I have a few questions:
- will the low quant offset the sizeable jump in overall score?
- I know Dartmouth allows you to submit individual splits, do you know of any others? Or will the fact they will be able to see my past performance of 45 help offset the 42?
- will taking statistics courses this summer help offset the score? I have As/Bs in all quant undergrad work, but if there are more advanced classes I can take that will be helpful rather I am open to it
- is a ***gasp*** retake in the works? Would it greatly improve my profile with a 710 and a 45Q/lower verbal split? I say greatly because at this point, slightly will not do it for me... Summer has arrived and the GMAT has stolen too much of my life as it is!

Apologies for the laundry list of questions, but thank you for all of your help!

Best,
Bryant

[mbaMissionKate]

Hi Bryant,
Thanks for the score update! That's great you were able to get an overall increase and break that 700 mark!

So, schools will care about your overall score from a rankings perspective (whether it hurts / helps their average) so I don't see a big concern there now that you've got the 710. Schools also use the score to assess your ability to handle the curriculum. So in your case, I don't think your Quant score is stellar (a 46/47 would be even better) but you've got a good GPA in Finance plus work in a Quant discipline to help prove that you can manage the coursework.

From what I know (and I checked with a few colleagues), Tuck is the only school that lets you split your scores when you report. Some schools (Stanford is one, though I know that's not on your list) may not even see your full GMAT score report as part of your file. So, I would plan to write an Optional Essay that points out your higher Quant on the earlier attempt. This is really the best way to draw attention to that other data point.

If you're serious about improving your profile (especially for your reach schools), then I think either retaking the GMAT or taking a Quant course like Stats would help. I'm not sure I'd do both though, may be too much given your comment about it stealing too much of your life! If you feel like you "left points on the table" on the GMAT then it can't hurt to try again, even just spending a few hours a week on prep and practice so you can be confident you've done your very best there.

Hope this helps and keep us posted if we can answer any more questions!

[vpimba89]

Hi Kate,

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate all your feedback. Just a few more follow-ups based on your advice. I've decided to not sit for the GMAT again, as I'm definitely "burnt out" and don't think the %odds of hitting 46/47 quant while maintaining a high verbal are there. However, I think I am going to take a statistics course this summer. I have an A in "quantitative methods 1" and B+ in "quantitative methods 2" from undergrad, which were essentially intros to business statistics but also supply chain economics. They did not cover more advanced topics, regressions, etc. Also, one of my lowest grades is a B- in Corporate Finance, would it be worth it to retake that course this summer as well? I actually think it could be beneficial to refresh on all these topics before going back to b school. That being said, do you know if there is a preference of Online vs. In-person pre-MBA coursework? UCLA extension has a course called "business statistics" that looks great, but I don't want the fact its online to weigh against me. I live in NYC, and NYU SCPS only had one business stat course for the summer that already started apparently. Are there any other programs you have seen applicants have success with in the past?

Thanks again for all of your help, it is greatly appreciated!

[mbaMissionKate]

Happy to help! Online is totally fine, I would view them equally. I've had lots of clients use the online UCLA courses so I think that would be a great option! Berkeley has some too, FYI, and there's also an option called mbaMath.com, though I'm not sure they provide transcripts/grades. I think starting with Business Stats makes sense and then if you feel up for another one, perhaps something like Finance or Accounting. Good luck!!

Kate