Took the GMAT. 92nd percentile in verbal but 28th in math (600 total). How bad will this look to MBA programs?
retaking it is not really an option because 1) there's a rolling deadline and 2) i went up nearly 40% in verbal from what i normally score, i dropped down in math from my last test but can't see myself beating the overall score. i'm absolutely shocked it turned out this way but it is what it is.
my overall score isn't bad but the math really sticks out. so how screwed am i and is there any good way to explain this in the essay. i know if you're from a different country you can use that to compensate for low verbal but with math what can you do?
Depends on where you are applying. Top 10 school - You pretty much have no shot with this score unless you have some incredible background. Average state school - Shouldn't be a deal breaker.
no i realize where 600 puts me my question was how much worse does my combination of getting the 600 in terms of 92nd in verbal and 28th quant look compared to say just getting 64th percentile for both quant and verbal. would something like rutgers be out of the question?
if it helps my background is i ran a pretty successful marketing business for 10 years, dealt with all types of clients. my undergrad gpa was 3.7. i'm going into a marketing concentration with my mba not finance or anything.
Are you sure you can't take it again? I'm sure you could get better than 28th percentile with a GMAT course. Or check out a review book that focuses on the math section. I bought Princeton Review Math Workout for the GMAT and it seems like a pretty good book. I think the biggest part of doing well on the math section is getting used to the specific trick questions the test uses.
Seriously, if you already waited 10 years to go to b-school, skip applying for this term and wait til next year. Give yourself some more time to study and get your score way up. That way you can apply to much better schools and give youself more opportunities afterward.
no no i know i can do better in math BUT i know i can't get anywhere even near what i got in verbal again. i was scoring around the 55th percentile consistently on practice tests and on the 1st gmat i took but on this one i hit the 92nd percentile, i don't know how but i know i can't beat the overall score i got considering how much i can realistically expect to go up in math. i could probably manage the 40th-45th percentile in math with a lot of work but i know my verbal will drop far more than that so wouldn't make much sense.
also i didn't wait 10 years, i left college to pursue my business and came back to finish my undergrad just a couple years ago so i'm going straight to the mba once i graduate in may and i kinda know myself, i need to do this now or i probably never will...
i mean 600 is not that bad overall, i just wanna understand how much they will look at the separate scores
I wouldn't worry too much about your split at this level. is your work experience quantitative in nature ( at all)?
no it's not i do marketing, advertising, consulting and project management but i'm applying for a marketing concentration so i would imagine the quantitive nature of the program is not as hard as finance for example
What exactly are looking to get out of your MBA?
a job in a marketing field. my ug major is not related...
i realize top 10 schools are out of reach for me, i might apply to a couple for the hell of it but i wanna know if i have a good shot at some in the top 50. something like rutgers, fordham, maryland would be ok but i know their average gmat scores are still quite a bit higher.
Your UG GPA is strong and 10 solid years of work experience. Why not apply to the top schools? Here's my story...2.2 GPA and 690 GMAT. My UG degree was in chemical engineering....i had 9 solid years of work experience....last 4 in management. I applied to Ross. Got an interview...GPA never came up...interviewed really well and got in.
So why not apply to top 10 schools? If you dont apply, you have 0% chance of getting accepted.
If you are a minority, I'd agree with dshin's advice. If not, there is a big ass difference between a 690 and 10 years (!?) of work experience and a 600 and what i assume to be an average amount of work experience. If you want to take a shot, go for it-it's your money. But I'd focus on more realistic schools.
If I were you, I would spin my experience into a quantitative nature where possible AND build an alternative transcript by taking calculus or some other quant course at a local community college. Regardless of finance v. marketing, you will still have to take accounting, finance, ops, etc and those can all be very quantitative. Your assumed "concentration" is not a huge factor from an admissions standpoint.
would they not ask me to verify that somehow? i mean my business really has nothing to do with anything quantitative in any way, so if i make some stuff up will it come up in the interview?
problem with the "alternative transcript" is as you can tell my math skills are just not there. i'm sure i could pass calc and a couple other courses but i don't believe i would get As or anything to make my transcript look any better...
I agree with Cartwright here, since you cant retake might as well play up your quant side, top B-schools would certainly see a weakness here and one thing they like is "balance"...
I'm not saying to lie per se... but you literally do nothing with data, excel, numbers, etc? Budget? The short answer though is no, they will not verify that in any way.
I'm no math whiz either, but finance isn't real math. You could always do accounting or another business related class instead of calculus (i've never had calculus and had no problem in admissions). You could also pay for mbamath.com which will give you a cert of completion and is provided by many top schools for incoming students.
Don't be intimidated. Accounting and finance are just knowing what to do when, the calculations are not at all difficult.
don't you have to take calculus before starting your mba though?
ok i understand but if they don't check what i say about my business, how will they view my work experience? i mean if they'r enot going to ask me to verify anything i say and considering my company is small/does not have a big name, will my work experience be viewed as less valuable than someone who worked at a regular company? in terms of business and management i think my experience is pretty impressive but if they can't verify any of it, how does that look?
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