Disappointing GMAT, should I retake it?
I just finished taking the GMAT and I am extremely disappointed with my 670 score. In the mocks, I always scored at least 690, and got 740 (Q51 V37) in the last official practice, last week.
I took the exam to apply to graduate school in Europe, I would like to pursue a MSc in Finance. My target programs were HEC MiF or MEF, LSE MiF, Bocconi MiF, or St. Gallen SiM. Of course, with my profile, it would be impossible to be admitted to these programs without a 700+ GMAT. I am considering ESCP MiM since I think I would have a good chance of getting in, but I think it's not very known outside of France.
My plan is to get into IB/MBB in London or the EU to then work with startups (VC or start my own one).
I feel like my profile isn't very strong at the moment, so I was aiming for a high GMAT score to stand out. The first application rounds are very soon and I have no time to improve my cv.
Some information about me:
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From Italy, speaking Italian and 108/120 TOEFL (English test).
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BSc in Business and Economics from the University of Bologna. It is very respected in Italy, always #1 in the public university rankings in the country. However, I feel like it is not well-known internationally. GPA 29/30.
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6 months exchange at a non-target university in the U.S., also good ranked. GPA 3.9/4.0.
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3 months market research internship at a tech startup in Italy.
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Member of the finance consulting association of my university. Working on business plans and investment project evaluations for startups and small companies. Entered with headhunting and a very low acceptance rate.
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Member of an economic think tank, collaborating on analysis for articles that are published in important newspapers.
Do you think I can still apply to my target programs (if I write great essays) or should I try to get a higher GMAT? Do you have any suggestions for a program that would probably accept me and that would help me to achieve my long-term plan?
Thank you
As far as I know, most universities only have a minimum score which they expect (~600). My experience is, that this criteria is just a hurdle within your application and has no big weight in your overall evaluation. Motivation, experience and grades are way more important
Isn’t that minimum score usually 700?
It's pretty high for US top 10 schools. I'm not sure about the UK schools, but it is probably over 700 as well.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/the-short-list-g…
BUSINESS SCHOOL (NAME) (STATE)
INCOMING FULL-TIME ENROLLMENT (FALL 2020)
AVERAGE GMAT SCORE
U.S. NEWS BUSINESS SCHOOL RANK
This isn't true. GMAT is about 1/3 of the consideration and you'll have to look up the average GMAT of the school to see how competitive you are. If you have a low uGPA, or recommendations that aren't glowing, your GMAT score will have to be higher than average.
bump
I would recommend retaking the GMAT. However, if you really don't have time to retake it before the application deadlines, then focus on strengthening the other parts where you can. Most business schools actually let you submit an updated score after you've already submitted the application. So, you can polish up the rest of your app, submit it, then focus on retaking the GMAT, and then submit the (hopefully improved) score a few weeks later.
Hey, I just applied and got into LBS MFA & LSE MFin.
From my own point of view (and be careful that I haven't even started the program yet so don't know much), I would recommend taking it again.
I applied with a 710 and am more of a "diversity" candidate (male, but from a region with few applicants).
As someone above said, unless you have the deadlines coming fast you won't lose much, only more hours and +100usd by taking it again, which I think is worth it to have that brand name on your CV and be happy about the school you are attending.
They will consider all of your profile and application but let's not kid ourselves, all B-Schools take the GMAT very seriously and to me is one of their main factors (if not the main one - I know it is for the MBAs, so I guess it makes sense for the MSc to be the same, where applicants have even less professional exp to differentiate themselves). I think there is also a ton of applicants from Italy, so the need to stand out is bigger.
Not sure about the other schools, but I think LBS had an average GMAT of 708 for MFA last year, although I see you don't wanna apply to that one.
Best luck and let me know if you have any questions!
Also, just to add, the first round of HEC MiF is over (I think the second one opens in Jan - at least it does for LBS) and LSE is on a rolling basis (i.e. you can apply whenever you want - although the earlier the better odds)
How long have you been studying and roughly how many hours a day/week? so I can assess your hard cap, everyone has a short term gmat peak score CEOofCEOs
Have you considered LBS MFA as well? You can get in with a GMAT in the 650-700 range as long as you have relevant work experience / extracurricular activities
Dust yourself off and take the exam a few more times. Your score will be higher next time and the next. It's worth the extra effort to get into a higher tier school. Stronger school > stronger alumni network in almost every industry, and they will be your entry point when you try to lateral. Matters much less the longer you're out but within the first 5 years, it's more than likely you'll need to rely on your alumni network.
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