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me. I was lucky enough to get an offer from an M7 school with my GRE score.
I'd love to help you with any related specific questions, but trying to see "which scores get you to which schools" is totally not the right approach you should take here.
Agreed with ^, but in general, percentile is percentile. When I took the GMAT, a 730 was 96th percentile, so if you understand how far a 730 goes with each school (at least in terms of their averages), then you can equate a 96th percentile GRE to that. There are other elements, of course (like why you took the GRE, how your quant/verbal splits are, etc.), but I think that general rule should work.
Thanks for the feedback, allow me to clarify my interests:
I took the GMAT, got a 710, but landed on the waitlist at 3 top 10 programs.
I took the GRE yesterday, scored a 329/340 overall, 166/170 Verbal, 163/170 Quant, and wanted to see how that stacks up against people who have been admitted at top 10 programs. And determine if I should take the test again.
I haven't come across any schools that provide the average GRE scores of admitted (or matriculating) students. One adcom member I spoke to told me that only 5%-10% of the applicants submit a GRE score, so data is usually insufficient. It's really hard to say, but like BGP2587 suggested, look up your percentile and compare those to GMAT percentile / average for schools you are interested in.
I also agree with BGP that your gmat score was probably not the reason for dings.
Knowing literally nothing else about you, and assumig that the three programs aren't HSW, the GMAT is probably not the reason why you didn't get in. CBS, Tuck, Kellogg, etc. let in a ton of 710s.
Makes sense. I think you guys are right about the implications from the lack of data points on accepted GRE scores, thus why I came to WSO in its infinite wisdom to see if there were any firsthand accounts of success with GRE scores on their application.
As for my background: UG: Top 50 GPA: 3.82 WE: 40+ mos top 5 strategy consulting
And the only dings so far are Wharton and Columbia (+3 WLs).
While I scored a 710 on the GMAT, my quant was only 61%, so I had reason to believe that was holding me back, thus the GRE (where my 87%/ 780 has me feeling better about my odds).
Well, obviously send them that GRE score immediately. The Quant could be the boost you need to get off one of those WLs. Did you take the GMAT multiple times? Just confused why you didn't take the GMAT another time (and AdComs might also be). Have you already taken it 3+ times? Worth a shot either way.
Tough to see why else you got dinged, other than not a ton of work experience, and maybe extras or execution.
Sending my GRE scores in as soon as they go live on the ETS website.
I took the GMAT twice, and for the sake of not jeopardizing any future applications (should it come to that) I was hesitant to retake a third time in case my score went down. I know schools take the top score, but my thoughts are that showing downward trajectory has to come in to play mentally when ad com's evaluate candidates.
GMAT vs. GRE for b-school admissions and MBA internship/full-time recruiting (Originally Posted: 09/17/2015)
Hi all,
I have two questions regarding the GMAT vs. the GRE. I took the GRE and scores were 164 Quant (88th percentile), 160 Verbal (84th percentile).
Question: Should I take the GMAT if I'd like to eventually apply to M7 School? I've read from online sources and heard from others that I've talked to that though top b-schools allow applicants to submit either GMAT or GRE scores, admissions committees may favor GMAT applicants because the committee knows that the GMAT is taken only by individuals who are set on b-school whereas GRE-takers may be interested in joint degrees, have considered business school only after considering a master's degree in another field, etc. Is there truth to this at H/S/W and other M7 Schools?
Question: Should I take the GMAT if I'd like to apply to MBB, VC, PE for MBA internships/full-time jobs? I've heard that GRE-takers may be at a disadvantage during the MBA internship/full-time recruiting seasons because MBB and VC/PE shops take into account applicants' gmat scores when deciding whom to interview. If this is the case, does MBB disclose what their cut-off GMAT is? What is it?
Could anyone shed light on these points? Thanks!
There's not technically a cut-off for gmat scores at MBB firms, but you really want to be 700+. Most of your competition will be.
The consulting firms are capable of parsing GRE scores in addition to GMAT scores. That said, I'm involved in recruiting and if a candidate told me their GRE score or I saw it on their resume, I would have literally no idea what to do with it.
Either way, your GRE scores aren't going to cut it (based on percentile you provided). You're going to have to take another test either way if you want M7 or the top MBA MC/IB jobs. Which test depends on your comfort with the GRE. If you think you can do better, it'd be easier to retake that test than learn how to do the GMAT. If you don't care which test, I'd suggest the GMAT.
do you even know what GMAT is?
If you have a very strong profile otherwise, that GRE will be sufficient for an M7 school. Don't mistake me for an expert on the subject but I believe it checks the box if and only if everything else is very strong. If it were an out-of-the-park GRE score, I wouldn't recommend taking the GMAT, but it could be something to think about. No harm in taking a practice test and seeing where you stand. Ultimately you know your own profile best. I think that MBB looks at GMAT more heavily than most other post-MBA recruiters (although I have heard that some PE firms do as well). Banks take a look but so much of that is about personality and attending all of the events, showing dedication, etc. that it is less emphasized.
bump
Also worth keeping in mind that MBB recruits from PhD programs so they should know what good GRE scores are.
your GRE converts to approximately a 680 gmat score. I'd echo what john doe said that unless you have a strong hook and/or are a URM, it will be tough to get in with that score given the trend of rising GMAT averages among the M7
Just remember that gmat scores affect the school's average. The GRE does not, so in my experience some admissions teams have been more lenient on lower GRE scores. YMMV though.
More and more business schools are getting comfortable with GRE scores, but they may be looking at your percentile breakdowns rather than the GMAT to GRE calculator -- that is according to a colleague of mine in the business, Linda Abraham. That makes some logical sense at this stage. And they are really more interested in quant than anything else (unless you are an engineer/STEM grad). So with an 84th percentile in quant, you are probably in pretty good shape.
Some here may disagree, but as long as you get over the a certain threshold on the GRE/GMAT, your chances at business school aren't enhanced by a few more points. As for getting into PE and other highly competitive careers, what you've done before business school probably has more to do with it than any score -- even if that score is really high.
Risky to Only Study for GRE for T15 MBA Admissions? (Originally Posted: 12/15/2015)
Hi everyone,
I've recently contemplated going back for an MBA at some point in my life. I didn't do great on the GMAT the first time I took it and when I tried to do some practice problems again, I'm still struggling. Since more b-schools are accepting GREs now, I decided to try some practice questions online and I'm doing much better relatively than I was on the GMAT given that I didn't even know the test format when I did those questions.
As such, I'm thinking of doing a 180 and going balls to the walls for the GRE because I feel like I have a real chance of getting a 95%+ score on that vs the GMAT. I liken the GRE to the ACT while the GMAT is the SAT when I was taking tests in high school. For whatever reason, I scored better on the ACT with little effort while the SAT was struggle-bus city.
THe thing I'm concerned about is that I've read that some schools (Columbia/UCLA for example) prefer the GMAT, and at many schools, less than 5% of people are submitting GRE only. I'm already not the typical M7 candidate since I went to a non-target, don't work on wall street/MBB, etc. There's a part of me that's concerned that not taking the GMAT will make me standout even more in a negative way even if I got a really high score. Is this a valid concern or much ado about nothing?
Additionally, assuming the GRE is OK, does anyone have resources for preparing? Is Manhattan still the go-to for GRE prep like it was for the GMAT?
Thanks!
I was in a somewhat similar position and emailed admission offices for all the T20 schools. The vast majority stated that they did not have a preference. I had some theories as to why they might have incentive to misrepresent their position but overall I think that if you're going to score noticeably better on the GRE that you should take that one.
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