MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Given Kudos: 2
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: Advice
[#permalink]
17 Nov 2010, 21:55
If prepping for a GMAT retake won't take away too much time from your essays (i.e. you have the time and energy to do both in parallel), then retake the GMAT.
If you can't, then roll the dice and go with your current score, knowing that it's going to be a handicap. Yes, it was within the middle 80% *last year*, but I'm sensing that it will continue to creep up this year. As a rule of thumb, 700 or greater, and ideally 720 or greater for Stanford and HBS (especially Stanford, which always had a hard on for monster GMATs especially from traditional applicants like bankers and consultants).
As for your chances, you're up against a lot of other finance guys similar to yourself - some of you guys get in, most of you will get dinged - and what separates those from getting in and getting dinged really comes down to the whims of the adcom assuming everything is in range (GMAT, GPA, pedigree of overall resume, etc.) and whether the individual adcom reading your application connected with your essays and rec letters (which again is a very subjective thing - the Simon Cowell adcom may hate you for the same reasons that Randy Jackson may love you and you don't know which adcom will read your file - I know, a dated American Idol reference). Had you been a consultant, you'd probably be more competitive (yes, consultants generally have better luck at Stanford and HBS than bankers).