I am sharp I have 35 ACT and a high GMAT Focus (for those unfamiliar they remade the GMAT to drop the average score and raised the max to 805). I went to a non target as I was too young to live away from home. I am wondering if you saw a candidate with these scores would you still ding him for being a non-target? I am trying to do 2 to 3 in IB then PE.
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For an MBA or for hiring?
GMAT is an MBA admissions thing. It's not really considered for hiring. At least in my experience.
For hiring. I am hoping they will see it and say O he's smart even though he's a non target.
You don't need to be smart to get a high GMAT.
It's just practice.
I wouldn't hang my hat on this. If you're struggling then use the good GMAT to try and get a good target MBA and go that route.
Arguably you don't need to be smart to go to a target or do IB/PE it is largely a matter of work ethic. I am long term going PE so I am trying for the usual 2+2+2 IB PE then MBA.
You should swing for a H/S/W with that kind of score, deferred MBA program could work if you weren’t able to secure any employment on the street outside of College.
Did you go to college early or something? Confused by the “too young” comment
If so, (tactfully) play up the kid genius angle. You can use all the test scores (gmat included) to buttress that point. But it’s no more relevant for that purpose than other scores like SAT.
I spent my whole life fighting to get into Uchicago's econ program was accepted a few years before most people go to college and my parents would not let me leave. I am still extremely bitter about it. Thus went to a local school. I didn't want to go to Chicago for the banking placement simply loved Econ and was told to go to Chicago. Now I realize my likely career afterwards would have been IB into PE as I would have learned of it there and pursued it. Alas, I have to claw my way up.
Test scores are the best measurement of intelligence out of any other alternative that's possible on an application, but it isn't perfect because there is variance due to range of reasons but correlation is pretty high
GPA is more of a measurement of work ethic although this is *dependent on major, aligned with individual strengths, class difficulty, personal goals. This is an area that's more subjective and honestly don't believe that it's a good metric to look at to measure potential
I believe test scores + club attendance/external activities are a better measurement than School + GPA personally, coming from someone who went to a t10
Why do you want to do PE? Demand far exceeds supply, and it's a narrow pyramid to the top. Not really a growth industry moving forward either.
If I'm being honest, you've probably missed the boat for this particular path. The ultra-successful people you see at the top have had mostly non-linear careers, find something you're passionate about and kill it
*Don't listen to the guy above saying you don't need to be smart to get a high GMAT score because that's proveably false
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