Profile Evaluation/Re-take Gmat?

[sash23]

Hi,

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on my profile and whether I could benefit from retaking the Gmat...

Here are the highlights:
GMAT - 710
GPA - 3.9 in Business Economics at UCLA (Graduated in 2005)
Work Experience - Just over 3 years at Mercer HR consulting - will be 4 years by the time school starts plus a summer internship at the same company
Employer - Mercer HR consulting - I work in the healthcare and employee benefit consulting group and have been promoted twice in 3 years.
Extracurriculars - President of a co-ed fraternity in undergrad and very involved in a work-study program between Mercer and a local high school.

I'm planning to apply to Columbia, Kellog, Berkeley and Stanford. I'm also considering UCLA and some of the other top schools (Chicago , HBS and Wharton) but want to narrow my list down to 4 or 5 schools without having too many "far reach" schools and least one fairly sure bet (if there is such thing)!

I was considering retaking the GMAT as I was scoring 20-50 points higher on some practice tests but am struggling with whether it will really improve my chances ...

Any feedback you can provide on my competitiveness and schools that might be too much of a reach would be great!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[MBA Mission]

Thank you for your inquiry.

While the GMAT is not everything, there is a difference between a 710 and a 760. If you think that a 760 is a real possibility, then I would take the test again.

Question: Were your promotions well ahead of schedule? If you were simply a solid employee with one solid extra, I think that even with a 760 you would still be a reach at Stanford. Columbia, Kellogg and Haas would become a bit more interesting though...

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

www.mbamission.com
646-485-8844

Hi,

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on my profile and whether I could benefit from retaking the Gmat...

Here are the highlights:
GMAT - 710
GPA - 3.9 in Business Economics at UCLA (Graduated in 2005)
Work Experience - Just over 3 years at Mercer HR consulting - will be 4 years by the time school starts plus a summer internship at the same company
Employer - Mercer HR consulting - I work in the healthcare and employee benefit consulting group and have been promoted twice in 3 years.
Extracurriculars - President of a co-ed fraternity in undergrad and very involved in a work-study program between Mercer and a local high school.

I'm planning to apply to Columbia, Kellog, Berkeley and Stanford. I'm also considering UCLA and some of the other top schools (Chicago , HBS and Wharton) but want to narrow my list down to 4 or 5 schools without having too many "far reach" schools and least one fairly sure bet (if there is such thing)!

I was considering retaking the GMAT as I was scoring 20-50 points higher on some practice tests but am struggling with whether it will really improve my chances ...

Any feedback you can provide on my competitiveness and schools that might be too much of a reach would be great!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[sash23]

Thanks for the reply. I would say the latest promotion was about 1.5 years ahead of the "normal" progression.
Jeremy/Alex,
Assuming I move forward with my current scores and background, what schools would you say I'm competitive at? Do you think Columbia, Kellog, Haas and UCLA (or NYU) is a good mix to apply to? Is HBS or Wharton more within reach than Stanford because of the much larger class size?

Thanks!