what's my shot at a top 35??

[crushed by gmat]

I've taken the gmat three times now.

39/29 (v87%, q25%): 570 November 07
35/35 (v75%, q42%): 590 March 08
35/39 (v74%, q55%): 620 August 08

On practice tests, I scored in the low to mid six hundreds. After my second exam, I lived and breathed GMAT. Did pretty much every question on OG, OG Verbal, OG Math, went through MGMAT gudies, did some Kaplan, and some online study guides written by GMAT geniuses. I felt pretty good. I definitely had a better grasp of the test for my third time around. The last two tests: MGMAT and GMAT Prep, I got 680 and 720 (41v and 48Q), respectively. I took them about 2 weeks apart and took the GMAT Prep one exactly a week before the test. Before the MGMAT test on which I got a 680, I also received a 650... so clearly an upward trend. However, this doesn't mean much since I did score 700 on an online kaplan exam and 700 on GMAT before my second GMAT. However, I didn't pay too much attention to those scores because I didn't feel like I had a good grasp of the materials... just was able to guess better.

So I did sign up for my 4th and final. I am going to be very realistic and just hope for a 640-670. But with my current GMAT score and my 3.3gpa (business major) from a top 20 school (in new england), 3.5 years of strategy/financial consulting from pretty respectable firms (not top 5, but certainly not 10 brand), and interesting volunteering work for a month in south america (aids/microfinance projects), and good essays (this is something I am very, very confident about. I love to write. Write well and convincingly... ), and good recs. I also have some international exp. Study in China for a year and speak a bit of mandarin (elementary) and am fluent in another besides English. Def. looking to do something international and entrepreneurial.

What are my chances at

Duke
INSEAD
UT-Austin
UNC
Emory
Nortre Dame
Cornell
BC
BU
Indiana

I realize that's a big range of schools, but I listed them in the order of my preference. How would my chances look if I were to get a 650? Any meaningful difference from a 620?

[MBAApply]

Schools will always say there's no strict threshold for GMAT scores.

Which is not technically a lie, but absolutely misleading.

While there isn't a strict floor, there is a realistic floor -- if you are below that realistic floor, your chances are slim.

For schools like Duke, Cornell and INSEAD, that floor is around 660 (10% or less of the admitted students have scores below that).

For the rest of the schools you mentioned, that floor is around 600 - 620.

Either way, shoot for at least mid-600s if you can.

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

[crushed but optimistic]

Schools will always say there's no strict threshold for GMAT scores.

Which is not technically a lie, but absolutely misleading.

While there isn't a strict floor, there is a realistic floor -- if you are below that realistic floor, your chances are slim.

For schools like Duke, Cornell and INSEAD, that floor is around 660 (10% or less of the admitted students have scores below that).

For the rest of the schools you mentioned, that floor is around 600 - 620.

Either way, shoot for at least mid-600s if you can.

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

thanks. that was helpful.

to borrow a line from dumb and dumber, "So you're saying I have a chance?!?!"

- hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; struck down, but not destroyed... here i go again.

[MBAApply]

haha classic line from that movie!

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

[guest]

I've taken the gmat three times now.

39/29 (v87%, q25%): 570 November 07
35/35 (v75%, q42%): 590 March 08
35/39 (v74%, q55%): 620 August 08

On practice tests, I scored in the low to mid six hundreds. After my second exam, I lived and breathed GMAT. Did pretty much every question on OG, OG Verbal, OG Math, went through MGMAT gudies, did some Kaplan, and some online study guides written by GMAT geniuses. I felt pretty good. I definitely had a better grasp of the test for my third time around. The last two tests: MGMAT and GMAT Prep, I got 680 and 720 (41v and 48Q), respectively. I took them about 2 weeks apart and took the GMAT Prep one exactly a week before the test. Before the MGMAT test on which I got a 680, I also received a 650... so clearly an upward trend. However, this doesn't mean much since I did score 700 on an online kaplan exam and 700 on GMAT before my second GMAT. However, I didn't pay too much attention to those scores because I didn't feel like I had a good grasp of the materials... just was able to guess better.

So I did sign up for my 4th and final. I am going to be very realistic and just hope for a 640-670. But with my current GMAT score and my 3.3gpa (business major) from a top 20 school (in new england), 3.5 years of strategy/financial consulting from pretty respectable firms (not top 5, but certainly not 10 brand), and interesting volunteering work for a month in south america (aids/microfinance projects), and good essays (this is something I am very, very confident about. I love to write. Write well and convincingly... ), and good recs. I also have some international exp. Study in China for a year and speak a bit of mandarin (elementary) and am fluent in another besides English. Def. looking to do something international and entrepreneurial.

What are my chances at

Duke
INSEAD
UT-Austin
UNC
Emory
Nortre Dame
Cornell
BC
BU
Indiana

I realize that's a big range of schools, but I listed them in the order of my preference. How would my chances look if I were to get a 650? Any meaningful difference from a 620?

yeah, I'd be curious to know as well. I got a 650 and relatively same background. Do I have a better chance than someone with a 620 or would I be thrown in the same "consultant with a sub-700 bucket" ? In other words, if I am competeing with my peers, then do I need to do better on my GMAT than someone who is coming from...teaching, advertising, or a science lab? Any thoughts?