BASSLJ wrote:
Hello
Admissionado,
In need of some guidance as to whether or not I should take a shot at applying for next fall (2017 start) or if I should hold out another year and possibly retake the GMAT in hopes of getting a higher score.
Demographics:
Male
24 years old
Native American - enrolled on tribe's official scrolls
US Citizen
GMAT Scores:
06/06/15
47 Q
32 V
6 AWA
6 IR
650 Total
11/21/15
46 Q - Extremely disappointed I didn't improve on this section. Had a mishap at the test center and I think it threw me off of my game
41 V
6 AWA
7 IR
710 Total
Previous Education
University of South Carolina
Majors: Business Management, Insurance & Risk Management
Minor: Psychology
GPA: 3.4
Honors: Dean's List, South Carolina Life Scholar, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of South Carolina Scholarship, Foundation for Agency Management Excellence Scholarship, Jane and William Bruce Scholarship
(I have a few others)
Work Experience
June 2014 - Current
Leading Aerospace Company - We manufacture private jets.
Materials Planner - I work within a supply chain focused role and lead several projects to improve operational efficiency. Promoted to Planner II a few months ago.
Extracurricular Activities
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Gamma Iota Sigma
Carolina Entrepreneur Club
United Way Volunteer
Short list of schools:
University of North Carolina
Duke
Vanderbilt
Emory
Georgia Tech
Georgetown
University of Virginia
So yeah, my concerns are that I don't quite have the quant scores I might need to be competitive for my list of schools. I'm also concerned of my lack of work experience being that I've only worked in a professional environment for 2 years now. Also, my current work situation is a bit murky at the moment as my company is going through a bit of a lull and asking for LORs might not be the best idea at this time as I don't want to give them any type of inclination that I might leave. But if push came to shove, I think I can ask my senior manager and possibly my previous manager.
Your guidance and wisdom is much appreciated!
Hey dude,
Good to hear from you.
Well, my main thought to tell you the truth is regarding the GMAT. Now, let's put aside the schools you are planning to apply to for now for a moment, and imagine for the sake of it, you have a GMAT of 750. In that case, especially as a Native American in a good industry, the sky is the limit.
And you're young, so my take is: why rush things?
Meaning, that you should ONLY apply to B-school once you are 100% confident you have reached the maximum GMAT you can get. And everyone has their upper limit, but my gut tells me you can get higher than that. Also, even if everyone has their limit, a lot of succeeding the GMAT has to do with busting your ass to study. Studies have shown that east Asian students for example study THREE TIMES as many hours for the GMAT than Americans. Which may explain why their GMATs are often 50 points higher
So I'll let you make that decision based on your knowledge of yourself. But once, again: You only do this ONCE, so do it with the best GMAT score.
And if you DO delay, think about what ELSE you can do int he meanwhile to boost your profile (like maybe some volunteer work? Esp. things among the Native American community? Or other ECs as well? Or more leadership? etc. etc.)
If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask,
Best,
Jon