I scored very high on the lsat, I'm great at reading comprehension and analytical reasoning, and while not excellent at logic games I find them interesting and challenging. Is there alot of translation into doing well on the gmat?
Has anyone here say scored a 600, and by sheer tenacity raised it to 700. It seems like alot of people throw around 700 and up on this board like it's going out of style, is it that people here are top 1 percentile or that 700 is a realizable goal.
Notice: I've not taken the gmat yet.
Thanks for answering my question to those who care to respond.
Wait, wait... a 700 isn't even that great; not even close to the top 99th percentile. Where are you getting your numbers from?
700 is ~around 95th percentile. Which isn't that great. 720 is 99th percentile. Which is somewhat better.
97th percentile. 740 is 98th and 760 99th. Much harder to jump from 720 to 740 though.
I guess I was wrong.
no one gives a crap after 700, esp not bschools as long as the rest of your application is strong...thats why 700 is tossed around..
Untrue. My fiance got turned down by Stern with a strong Ivy undergrad, a 710 GMAT, glowing references, and hedge fund experience.
Its the story that matters. Essays is one key he may have missed. I see such a long tail at most B Schools, the credentials are one thing...its the story that matters.
No, Street, no feedback. I'm just saying that a 700 GMAT isn't your golden ticket to b-school.... not even with an Ivy-league undergrad and hedge fund experience backing you up.
i may be mistaken here, but ms ind I do believe you were saying that my comment was untrue when in fact, it is true.. bschools dont care about numbers after a certain point as they are only 1 part of the application - essays, recs, interview (if desired/required) are also part of it..
unless you assumed my comment to mean that i was only talking about numbers which i wasnt
Anything less than 750 is retarded.
IBanalyst, the weakest part of my fiance's application was the GMAT, which is why I believe the 710 wasn't good enough.
did he have very convincing essays about why he wanted an mba? did he have some sort of wow factor? the reason i ask is b/c ive seen people with lower gmats get into better schools. generally after 700, unless you score a 780 or a perfect, its a wash and the admissions committee will look at the other parts of the application. i know this b/c i had a friend go to a top bschool and worked in the admissions office as an interviewer.
Yes, he had everything he needed. I made sure of it myself, and I've got plenty of experience at finessing applications (after all, I finessed my way into a top private university, a top-5 BBA program, a MM bank, and two BB banks without high school or SAT's.) The GMAT was really the only thing that wasn't stunning. I'm pretty sure Stern is looking primarily at 720-plus these days, even though their average is slightly lower (a result of the diversity initiative).
I don't know the Stern review process, so I can't be sure, but if you want my opinion I really don't think the GMAT was the real issue, Mis Ind. Stern may place more emphasis on them than my alma mater, since raising the average helps their rankings battle, but I very much doubt it was the decisive factor. Unless the stats are outside of the fairway, the battle for admission is won and lost with the essays.
Sometimes, young finance professionals write what they think are sterling essays, but unwittingly hit the exact opposite of what the adcoms are looking to hear. You'd be surprised by how many top, top candidates fall into that trap.
The dirty secret that no adcom wants to admit to, but is nonetheless very true, is that our process is geared and standardized to select for a particular type of application. It's why (another dirty secret) we hated application consultants with such a passion: they understand our selection criteria and are able to game it, and as a result, substantially improve a candidate's chances of acceptance. Am I condoning the use of them? Absolutely not. But I do admit they work.
would you say someone who has the following credentials would have a good chance at a top b-school (specifically stanford or harvard)?
3.8 GPA (phi beta kappa, magna cum laude) from a top liberal arts college (think amherst...) 760 GMAT (1530 SAT) 2 years at bain consulting
Guys worse than you would get in..guys better than you may be refused...focus on essays.
yeah man, what the fuck
3.8, 760, 2 years @ Bain, and you have a Fortress of an application. Provided you don't muck up the essays, and have decent extracurrics which i reckon you do if you got into Bain.
I'm sure you already know you have a good chance - don't doubt yourself so much.
sorry, i meant more like shoe-in status. i know my gmats are strong, but the fact that i'm not coming from an ivy league, McK or GS makes me think it's not a sure thing.
i dont know where a lot of you are getting your info about bschools, but I got my info from someone who worked in admissions at a top bschool (HBS, Wharton, Chicago level). Its not a numbers game. They could probably fill a whole class with 4.0, 750+ GMAT applicants, but they dont. The entire application's strength is taken into consideration. Thats why a higher GMAT and great work experience can somewhat make up for a lower GPA.
ms ind, the range of scores at Stern is 640-750 with the avg being 700. that means your fiance fell in the upper end of the range which should have been more than enough on this part of his app. im not going to assume that i know exactly why he didnt get in, but i have to believe it wasnt b/c of a 710 on the GMAT, esp since he had a great ivy undegrad background.
to rtaylor, you got a solid start, but again it comes down to essays, recs, and outside activities that will make up the rest of your app. Also for HBS, there is an interview that is required which i have heard is very thorough.
when you guys talk about recs? when your working 100 hrs as an analyst...how do you gain recs?
by recs he means recommendations...ask your superiors to write them for you
As far as the LSAT translating to the GMAT, for me it transferred incredibly well. I got a 157 on the LSAT, hardly prepped for it. 1360 SAT (650v 710m). Hardly prepped for the gmat either, but pulled a 720 (96th%), with 97th% in verbal.
What you will find is that the verbal on the GMAT seems INCREDIBLY easy compared to the LSAT. My advice is to prep almost solely for the math, as all of the verbal will be cake if you did well on the lsat.
i wouldnt necessarily think that transfered incredibly well. in fact, i would say you did a lot better on the gmat. a 157 lsat is not in the top 96%. so good for you, assuming you want bschool, not law.
It transferred incredibly well because my mediocre lsat transferred into a great gmat. I would say that counds as "incredibly well", given that the original poster did well on the lsat and is now looking to see what he could score on the gmat.
LSAT is 1000x harder than the GMAT.
If you score at median on the LSAT, thats about top 15% on the GMAT.
I made a 540 on my first practice test, and 6 weeks later (after intensive study) scored a 740 on actual test.
My practice tests (took one a week) were this:
Week 1 (cold test): 540 Week 2: 620 Week 3: 700 Week 4: 730 Week 5: 670 Week 6: 720 Actual: 740
Edit: sorry for reviving thread -- didn't notice date.
WTF? That improvement is unheard of. I wish I improved mine that much.
He did say cold test, I know if I took a GMAT right now I'd probably do terrible (at least on the quant portion) but after a week or so with the material I'd do much better.
About a year ago, I know someone that got into Harvard with a 490. I was like WTF? But when I checked the Harvard's B-School website, it said the range was from 490-780. I thought to myself DAMN.
A 490? Must be affirmative action, no?
djia5000, are you a jd/mba?
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