Profile Evaluation- Do I Need to Retake the GMAT?

[AndreaD387]

Hello! I would appreciate any insight or advice on my profile:

I'm planning on applying round 1 next year (thought about round 2 this year but want more work experience).

Age: 23 (applying at age 24)
Gender: Female
Race: White
Undergraduate School: One of the Top 10 U.S. Universities (consistently ranked above than 10 by US News)
GPA: 3.44
Major: Chinese (I'm American born/no relatives or connection or Asian ancestry, just had an interest in the language)
Job: Analyst at a publicly-traded, reputable company that's the top in its field but that field is very niche/atypical professional services and not a feeder for business schools as it only recently began hiring younger employees, though it hires out of b school; part of a rotational program, constantly leads initiatives and gets positive feedback/my boss calls me one of the top performers but only been there for 1+ years now (hence why I want more experience before applying); I also volunteer through my job/have been involved in non-profits that my company partners with, both local (helps homeless children) and a global forum.
Internship: I interned in Shanghai in finance at a not well known (private, PE-backed, industrial) but sizable company for a summer in college as well
Studied abroad in Spain in college and China (Beijing) in high school
Extracurriculars have been lacking, though I constantly lead new initiatives in my job (i.e. Diversity & Inclusion, program improvements, Peer Mentor for several individuals, various other things), and I've been trying to get back into nonprofit organizations as I used to be active in high school; I used to be involved in Green initiatives in university and was a leader of one such project and volunteered at a retirement home then but nothing too impressive (unlike high school, which I guess doesn't count); I wrote a book and write on the side but nothing professional or published, it's a hobby (also had a literary blog and am in a book club, which is also not really professional but what I did in my spare time anyway).

And now GMAT: I only scored a 700 (v42, q42) with a 7 in IR (awaiting AWA but not concerned as writing is something I love and practice ones scored by professionals gave me 5.5 because I didn't proofread like I did on the real exam)

I want to know, if I want to have a good chance and be a serious contender at the top schools (i.e. Stanford, Harvard, Wharton), is my GMAT too low? I know my GPA isn't great but my school is very highly ranked and my major unique/illustrates cultural awareness I hope and also included coursework of advanced Mandarin, economics, international finance, and statistics- and, more importantly, there's nothing I can do about that now.

But my GMAT- I haven't studied that much and don't by any means think I did all I can do, but quant has always been a weak point of mine, I had a 680 in math on the SATs (compared to an 800 in verbal) and am worried admissions will take one look at my weak quant score (and lack of quant in my job, which most closely resembles consulting as an industry if I had to classify) and disregard me. I scored 43 and 44 in quant on the GMATprep CATs but I'm not sure how much that would help my score anyway.

I know the percentiles and everything are skewed in quant, but does a 42 in quant and only a 700 overall make me dead on arrival? Does the IR score of 7 do anything to offset the terrible quant score?

Does my GMAT even matter or am I kidding myself to think I can get into the top schools with my background regardless of if my GMAT goes up?

Thanks so much to anyone who answers! I appreciate any insights.

[mbaMissionKate]

Hello! Thanks for reaching out to us. No, your GMAT score does not make you dead on arrival. But it is an important component, and your score right now is below average for the very top schools. Plus, you've got plenty of time til you apply and schools will look at your highest score, so yes, I would plan to retake it and see if you can get that Quant up a little bit. You may also want to consider taking a supplemental Quant course (depending on what you already took in college) to show you are ready to handle that aspect of the MBA curriculum.

Otherwise, I think you have a really strong and interesting profile, and I like that you're part of a rotational program and top performer -- keep it up! Make sure you're getting leadership experience (teams, projects, ideas, etc.) and also will have accomplishments / results you can point to when it comes time to apply. The volunteer work you do through work will still "count" but if there is more you can restart there to improve that part of your profile and you have time for it, then go for it! I also think your writing is really interesting and that's pretty cool you wrote a book! Can you start up that literary blog again to show continued interest? That may even be more unique than adding volunteer work.

Other than that, start researching / engaging with your target business schools this spring, visiting if you can. That will make the essay writing process go a lot smoother when it comes time.

And if you'd like to get more specific advice on your profile or next steps, feel free to sign up with us for a free phone consult at https://www.mbamission.com/consult/

Good luck!
Kate

Hello! I would appreciate any insight or advice on my profile:

I'm planning on applying round 1 next year (thought about round 2 this year but want more work experience).

Age: 23 (applying at age 24)
Gender: Female
Race: White
Undergraduate School: One of the Top 10 U.S. Universities (consistently ranked above than 10 by US News)
GPA: 3.44
Major: Chinese (I'm American born/no relatives or connection or Asian ancestry, just had an interest in the language)
Job: Analyst at a publicly-traded, reputable company that's the top in its field but that field is very niche/atypical professional services and not a feeder for business schools as it only recently began hiring younger employees, though it hires out of b school; part of a rotational program, constantly leads initiatives and gets positive feedback/my boss calls me one of the top performers but only been there for 1+ years now (hence why I want more experience before applying); I also volunteer through my job/have been involved in non-profits that my company partners with, both local (helps homeless children) and a global forum.
Internship: I interned in Shanghai in finance at a not well known (private, PE-backed, industrial) but sizable company for a summer in college as well
Studied abroad in Spain in college and China (Beijing) in high school
Extracurriculars have been lacking, though I constantly lead new initiatives in my job (i.e. Diversity & Inclusion, program improvements, Peer Mentor for several individuals, various other things), and I've been trying to get back into nonprofit organizations as I used to be active in high school; I used to be involved in Green initiatives in university and was a leader of one such project and volunteered at a retirement home then but nothing too impressive (unlike high school, which I guess doesn't count); I wrote a book and write on the side but nothing professional or published, it's a hobby (also had a literary blog and am in a book club, which is also not really professional but what I did in my spare time anyway).

And now GMAT: I only scored a 700 (v42, q42) with a 7 in IR (awaiting AWA but not concerned as writing is something I love and practice ones scored by professionals gave me 5.5 because I didn't proofread like I did on the real exam)

I want to know, if I want to have a good chance and be a serious contender at the top schools (i.e. Stanford, Harvard, Wharton), is my GMAT too low? I know my GPA isn't great but my school is very highly ranked and my major unique/illustrates cultural awareness I hope and also included coursework of advanced Mandarin, economics, international finance, and statistics- and, more importantly, there's nothing I can do about that now.

But my GMAT- I haven't studied that much and don't by any means think I did all I can do, but quant has always been a weak point of mine, I had a 680 in math on the SATs (compared to an 800 in verbal) and am worried admissions will take one look at my weak quant score (and lack of quant in my job, which most closely resembles consulting as an industry if I had to classify) and disregard me. I scored 43 and 44 in quant on the GMATprep CATs but I'm not sure how much that would help my score anyway.

I know the percentiles and everything are skewed in quant, but does a 42 in quant and only a 700 overall make me dead on arrival? Does the IR score of 7 do anything to offset the terrible quant score?

Does my GMAT even matter or am I kidding myself to think I can get into the top schools with my background regardless of if my GMAT goes up?

Thanks so much to anyone who answers! I appreciate any insights.