Should I retake my 700?

47Q, 40V. Lowest Verbal I've gotten since my cold test (was averaging 43-44). Quant is in line with practice tests. White Male, lots of volunteering, 3.4 Econ graduate from top private but non ivy school (think Duke/Northwestern), FLDP at F500 then FP&A at top BB. Want to do investment banking post grad school and have been unable to network my way in.

I'm guessing the answer to this is yes, I'm just looking for some feedback from others. Unfortunately test centers look to be booked up for the next 6 weeks or so and studying for another 2 months after doing so for the last ten weeks is really disheartening to think about. Considering schools mostly with top IB placement, meaning Stern, CSB, Wharton, Yale, and Booth mostly. Possibly Tuck too. Assuming H/S are out regardless.

Thanks in advance.

 

Retake...You can improve your score....but only retake once you're sure that you're going to score higher than before and there are several ways to help you "predict" that(eg practice tests). Like Jim Rohn said, anybody can, whether you will or not, that's the real question. Do loads of practice

 
AllDay_028:

Thanks for the comments. I figured as such. I hadn't scored less than 730 on a practice test in a month so it makes sense I should retake. Also left out I was a D1 athlete so I'm hoping that helps me a good bit.

Also, thanks for the heads up on Johnson, didn't realize it was placing that well.

What practice tests are you referring to? Some are more accurate than others. Scoring 770 on a PR practice test doesn't tell you much.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 
Esuric:
AllDay_028:

Thanks for the comments. I figured as such. I hadn't scored less than 730 on a practice test in a month so it makes sense I should retake. Also left out I was a D1 athlete so I'm hoping that helps me a good bit.

Also, thanks for the heads up on Johnson, didn't realize it was placing that well.

What practice tests are you referring to? Some are more accurate than others. Scoring 770 on a PR practice test doesn't tell you much.

Practice tests taken in order: 640 (Cold GMAC), 700 (Veritas), 730 (Veritas), 770 (Veritas), 740 (Veritas), 730 (GMAC). 700 on actual.
 

I was under the impression that if you know you want to do IB coming into business school, and put in solid efforts when it comes to networking and recruiting, you’re almost guaranteed a BB offer at a T15 school. Therefore, would going to a Ross/Fuqua vs. an M7 really have that much of a difference when it comes to recruiting for the OP?

Sorry to derail the conversation. And to answer your question, yes, I’d retake since you’ve been scoring consistently and significantly higher on recent practice tests. Best of luck.

 
Blueapple:

I was under the impression that if you know you want to do IB coming into business school, and put in solid efforts when it comes to networking and recruiting, you’re almost guaranteed a BB offer at a T15 school. Therefore, would going to a Ross/Fuqua vs. an M7 really have that much of a difference when it comes to recruiting for the OP?

Sorry to derail the conversation. And to answer your question, yes, I’d retake since you’ve been scoring consistently and significantly higher on recent practice tests. Best of luck.

You're not guaranteed a bulge bracket gig from a top 15 school, or even an M7 school. At M7 schools, as has been previously discussed, the hit rates are higher than 90% for banking jobs, but some of those are inevitably at the Robert Bairds and Jefferies of the world.

At the Ross and Fuqua tier of schools, the hit rates will be a little lower for landing banking jobs and you'll see more people heading to middle market banks.

That's why the poster who said Johnson had "stronger IB placement" than Yale because a big slice of the class goes into banking isn't really telling the whole story. Only five percent of HBS goes into banking, but you can bet that the quality of the offers is really high.

 

Not sure if you were the one who threw monkey shit at me, but I never said Johnson was better than HBS, CBS, Wharton or any school except for Yale SOM. I am fully aware that % of class going to IB doesn't tell the whole story. As I mentioned in my AMA post, Johnson's IB placement is about 60-65% BB/EB and the other 35-40% MM (varies a bit by year). However, OP mentioned his consideration set and that he had a 700 GMAT. My argument was that if he were going to include SOM in his set he should consider including Johnson, as Johnson's IB placement is on par with SOM. I would argue that within certain tiers % of class going to IB is revealing (you can see this in CBS vs. MIT/Kellogg), which is why the only comparison I made was to SOM. OP has a 700 GMAT and wants to go into banking, period. Johnson is a good option to get him there. A 700 GMAT is going to be a stretch at M7 schools.

 
Best Response
Masterz57:

Not sure if you were the one who threw monkey shit at me, but I never said Johnson was better than HBS, CBS, Wharton or any school except for Yale SOM. I am fully aware that % of class going to IB doesn't tell the whole story. As I mentioned in my AMA post, Johnson's IB placement is about 60-65% BB/EB and the other 35-40% MM (varies a bit by year). However, OP mentioned his consideration set and that he had a 700 GMAT. My argument was that if he were going to include SOM in his set he should consider including Johnson, as Johnson's IB placement is on par with SOM. I would argue that within certain tiers % of class going to IB is revealing (you can see this in CBS vs. MIT/Kellogg), which is why the only comparison I made was to SOM. OP has a 700 GMAT and wants to go into banking, period. Johnson is a good option to get him there. A 700 GMAT is going to be a stretch at M7 schools.

If you don't mind me asking what would you say the hit rate is for those that want IB? What banks are well represented? What is the OCR vs self sourced breakout? Regional breakout?

Really appreciate any insight you can give.

 

Thanks everyone. I've signed up for 6 weeks from now with a plan of meticulously going through the lessons one more time of each of the major areas I need help on. I sat on it for a day and my CATs were 700, 730, 770, 720, 730 in that order so I don't feel like I'd being doing myself justice to just sit on the 700.

Best place to look for more questions that will help out? Main areas of concern are geometry on the quant side and sentence correction on the verbal side. Any other tips at this point in the game making that next push?

And ya, the hope is to network and make it back to my current bank (MS/Goldman). And, while I might be able to from a myriad of schools because of the network, we hire an exponentially higher amount of people from CBS than Johnson.

 
EvelynRichards:

Veritas Prep has its sentence correction lesson available on you tube (tried posting links but I don't have enough points). It's a little cheesy, but I found it useful.

Actually took Veritas. I agree it's useful. I think I might try MGMATs book just to see if I pick up anything else from it but mostly I will probably focus on more problems.

Thanks though.

 

I think your profile is really strong already for IB and you are just stuck in a place where you are too experienced for an analyst job but not quite there for an associate position. Go ahead with your plans for an MBA but before you spend all that time and money redouble your efforts and see if you can't get in somewhere as-is. If your heart is set on BB you probably need that MBA but if you widen your search a bit you might be able to get in right now or even with a part time MBA if your bank will pay for it.

What feedback are you getting on your networking attempts? Have you been specifically advised by bankers at your current firm that MBA is the right move for you?

How many years did you spend at the F500 and your current job?

 

Rerum quod officiis dolorem eos. Aut quidem accusantium repellendus quas.

Ut facere temporibus sit consectetur expedita reprehenderit. Nemo est qui maiores. Odit dolorum aspernatur et officiis cum ab. Sit consequatur architecto deleniti et unde possimus eos rerum. Et enim alias culpa ipsa.

Corporis ratione molestiae doloribus facere quidem quam. Molestias dolore deleniti ipsum nihil. Magni iure sed delectus nesciunt blanditiis dicta molestias. Eos ad minus amet explicabo.

Aut odio error consectetur deserunt tenetur est. Expedita iure eaque explicabo odio unde enim error.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”