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Interesting GMAT situation.....feedback requested

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eazyb81
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Interesting GMAT situation.....feedback requested [#permalink] New post   21 Dec 2006, 14:46
Hi Paul,

I am finally finished with the GMAT, and I would appreciate your opinion on my overall profile.

25 year old caucasian male

BS in business management from no-name directional state school

2.8-3.0 GPA

I have taken the GMAT three times and here are my respective scores:

6/06: 610 (Q39 V36)

9/06: 620 (Q34 V41)

12/06: 680 (Q49 V34)

Obviously I have some odd fluctuations in my scores, but i'm assuming that ad comms will focus on my highest test score. Will I be viewed in a poor light since I took the test three times? Are there any schools that will evaluate me using my highest individual Q and V scores (i.e., Q49 and V41)? I've heard Dartmouth will do this, but i'm not sure if that is accurate.

I currently have 2 years of full-time work experience, and will have 2.75 upon matriculation. I am currently employed as a Qualified Plan Specialist with one of the largest retirement plan administrators in the country. Before I started this job, I was a successful financial advisor for around 18 months. I have a Series 6, 63, and 65, in addition to my state's life and health insurance license.

My LORs will be from past supervisors when I was a financial advisor, and they will be highly complimentary.

At this point, I am aiming at schools such as Georgetown, WUSTL, Vanderbilt, and IU-Kelley. Are these realistic options? Can you think of other options that might be in my range? Are there any top 10 schools that will evaluate me based on my highest Q and V scores, rather than my highest overall test score?

Thanks for the feedback!
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Re: Interesting GMAT situation.....feedback requested [#permalink] New post   22 Dec 2006, 13:50
eazyb81 wrote:
Hi Paul,

I am finally finished with the GMAT, and I would appreciate your opinion on my overall profile.

25 year old caucasian male

BS in business management from no-name directional state school

2.8-3.0 GPA

I have taken the GMAT three times and here are my respective scores:

6/06: 610 (Q39 V36)

9/06: 620 (Q34 V41)

12/06: 680 (Q49 V34)

Obviously I have some odd fluctuations in my scores, but i'm assuming that ad comms will focus on my highest test score. Will I be viewed in a poor light since I took the test three times? Are there any schools that will evaluate me using my highest individual Q and V scores (i.e., Q49 and V41)? I've heard Dartmouth will do this, but i'm not sure if that is accurate.

I currently have 2 years of full-time work experience, and will have 2.75 upon matriculation. I am currently employed as a Qualified Plan Specialist with one of the largest retirement plan administrators in the country. Before I started this job, I was a successful financial advisor for around 18 months. I have a Series 6, 63, and 65, in addition to my state's life and health insurance license.

My LORs will be from past supervisors when I was a financial advisor, and they will be highly complimentary.

At this point, I am aiming at schools such as Georgetown, WUSTL, Vanderbilt, and IU-Kelley. Are these realistic options? Can you think of other options that might be in my range? Are there any top 10 schools that will evaluate me based on my highest Q and V scores, rather than my highest overall test score?

Thanks for the feedback!


eazyb81,

I believe all business schools will focus on your high score and will not view your three attempts negatively. It's more than three that concerns them. I also believe that all schools will consider your high verbal score if you take the trouble to point it out to them in an optional essay. The variance between your verbal scores is that great to begin with, though there's not a big downside if they only considering your most recent total score. But go ahead and draw their attention to it in an optional essay, adding any other evidence you have that your verbal scores are good. My sense is that you're overemphasizing how closely schools parse the GMAT. Your 680 is a good score and more than good enough for the 4 schools you mentioned. Assuming your goals are in finance, you might have a chance at Cornell, Rochester, Texas, and Darden -- all ranked finance programs.

Good luck,
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[#permalink] New post   23 Dec 2006, 09:38
Thanks for the reply Paul!

You are correct, my career goals are in finance - IM to be exact. Do you really think I stand a chance at schools like Cornell or Darden, considering my weak gpa from a small state school?

When I discuss my verbal score in the optional essay, what should I mention? Obviously I should point out my verbal score in the previous GMAT, but what other evidence should I use to illustrate that the V34 is not indicative of my true abilities? I'm just struggling to see what I would say to them, other than a few sentences that mention the irregularity in the score.

Finally, I failed to mention in my previous post that my fiance will be moving with me when I go to business school. Therefore, I am trying to focus on schools located in mid to large metro areas so she can continue working in her career field. I would love to go to school at Cornell, but it doesn't seem like Ithaca has much to offer her in terms of employment.

I am thinking about applying to Yale and UNC, in addition to the previous schools I mentioned (Vandy, GTown, WUSTL, IU-Kelley). Yale seems like a bit of a longshot, but they state that they will evaluate candidates based on their highest individual Q and V scores, which is certainly in my favor. Am I aiming too high with Yale and/or UNC?
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[#permalink] New post   26 Dec 2006, 15:36
eazyb81 wrote:
Thanks for the reply Paul!

You are correct, my career goals are in finance - IM to be exact. Do you really think I stand a chance at schools like Cornell or Darden, considering my weak gpa from a small state school?

When I discuss my verbal score in the optional essay, what should I mention? Obviously I should point out my verbal score in the previous GMAT, but what other evidence should I use to illustrate that the V34 is not indicative of my true abilities? I'm just struggling to see what I would say to them, other than a few sentences that mention the irregularity in the score.

Finally, I failed to mention in my previous post that my fiance will be moving with me when I go to business school. Therefore, I am trying to focus on schools located in mid to large metro areas so she can continue working in her career field. I would love to go to school at Cornell, but it doesn't seem like Ithaca has much to offer her in terms of employment.

I am thinking about applying to Yale and UNC, in addition to the previous schools I mentioned (Vandy, GTown, WUSTL, IU-Kelley). Yale seems like a bit of a longshot, but they state that they will evaluate candidates based on their highest individual Q and V scores, which is certainly in my favor. Am I aiming too high with Yale and/or UNC?


eazyb81,

Cornell, Darden, Yale, and UNC won't reject you for your GPA alone, especially if you had mitigating circumstances for it. Your GMAT answers to some degree the doubts that your GPA raises. These 4 schools may be semi-long shots for you, but I wouldn't be surprised if 1 or 2 came through for you.

The other evidence regarding your verbal abilities you could mention would be good grades in language-heavy courses and some discussion of the amount of writing required in your job, etc. If these aren't relevant to you, then obviously don't use them. You can also have your recommenders give special emphasis to your verbal skills.

Good luck,
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[#permalink] New post   26 Dec 2006, 15:49
pbodine wrote:
eazyb81 wrote:
Thanks for the reply Paul!

You are correct, my career goals are in finance - IM to be exact. Do you really think I stand a chance at schools like Cornell or Darden, considering my weak gpa from a small state school?

When I discuss my verbal score in the optional essay, what should I mention? Obviously I should point out my verbal score in the previous GMAT, but what other evidence should I use to illustrate that the V34 is not indicative of my true abilities? I'm just struggling to see what I would say to them, other than a few sentences that mention the irregularity in the score.

Finally, I failed to mention in my previous post that my fiance will be moving with me when I go to business school. Therefore, I am trying to focus on schools located in mid to large metro areas so she can continue working in her career field. I would love to go to school at Cornell, but it doesn't seem like Ithaca has much to offer her in terms of employment.

I am thinking about applying to Yale and UNC, in addition to the previous schools I mentioned (Vandy, GTown, WUSTL, IU-Kelley). Yale seems like a bit of a longshot, but they state that they will evaluate candidates based on their highest individual Q and V scores, which is certainly in my favor. Am I aiming too high with Yale and/or UNC?


eazyb81,

Cornell, Darden, Yale, and UNC won't reject you for your GPA alone, especially if you had mitigating circumstances for it. Your GMAT answers to some degree the doubts that your GPA raises. These 4 schools may be semi-long shots for you, but I wouldn't be surprised if 1 or 2 came through for you.

The other evidence regarding your verbal abilities you could mention would be good grades in language-heavy courses and some discussion of the amount of writing required in your job, etc. If these aren't relevant to you, then obviously don't use them. You can also have your recommenders give special emphasis to your verbal skills.

Good luck,


Thanks for your help Paul, I really appreciate it.

Your book should be delivered tomorrow, I can't wait to put the finishing touches on my essays. :-D
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[#permalink] New post   26 Dec 2006, 16:51
eazyb81 wrote:
pbodine wrote:
eazyb81 wrote:
Thanks for the reply Paul!

You are correct, my career goals are in finance - IM to be exact. Do you really think I stand a chance at schools like Cornell or Darden, considering my weak gpa from a small state school?

When I discuss my verbal score in the optional essay, what should I mention? Obviously I should point out my verbal score in the previous GMAT, but what other evidence should I use to illustrate that the V34 is not indicative of my true abilities? I'm just struggling to see what I would say to them, other than a few sentences that mention the irregularity in the score.

Finally, I failed to mention in my previous post that my fiance will be moving with me when I go to business school. Therefore, I am trying to focus on schools located in mid to large metro areas so she can continue working in her career field. I would love to go to school at Cornell, but it doesn't seem like Ithaca has much to offer her in terms of employment.

I am thinking about applying to Yale and UNC, in addition to the previous schools I mentioned (Vandy, GTown, WUSTL, IU-Kelley). Yale seems like a bit of a longshot, but they state that they will evaluate candidates based on their highest individual Q and V scores, which is certainly in my favor. Am I aiming too high with Yale and/or UNC?


eazyb81,

Cornell, Darden, Yale, and UNC won't reject you for your GPA alone, especially if you had mitigating circumstances for it. Your GMAT answers to some degree the doubts that your GPA raises. These 4 schools may be semi-long shots for you, but I wouldn't be surprised if 1 or 2 came through for you.

The other evidence regarding your verbal abilities you could mention would be good grades in language-heavy courses and some discussion of the amount of writing required in your job, etc. If these aren't relevant to you, then obviously don't use them. You can also have your recommenders give special emphasis to your verbal skills.

Good luck,


Thanks for your help Paul, I really appreciate it.

Your book should be delivered tomorrow, I can't wait to put the finishing touches on my essays. :-D


You're welcome. I hope it helps you.
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[#permalink] New post   28 Dec 2006, 07:30
Quick question Paul:

When discussing my verbal score in the optional essay, would it be too much of a stretch to mention my ACT verbal score of 32 from a few years ago (approx. 7-8)? I will certainly mention grades in English/comp. type courses, but I remembered I scored very well in the verbal portion of the ACT as a H.S. senior, and I thought it might help my cause. On the flipside, it could look like i'm trying too hard since it was so long ago.
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[#permalink] New post   28 Dec 2006, 13:26
eazyb81 wrote:
Quick question Paul:

When discussing my verbal score in the optional essay, would it be too much of a stretch to mention my ACT verbal score of 32 from a few years ago (approx. 7-8)? I will certainly mention grades in English/comp. type courses, but I remembered I scored very well in the verbal portion of the ACT as a H.S. senior, and I thought it might help my cause. On the flipside, it could look like i'm trying too hard since it was so long ago.


I suppose it wouldn't hurt to mention the ACT score in a sentence that referred to several other such minor indications of verbal ability. I'm not sure it's significant enough to focus a whole sentence on though. :-)
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[#permalink] New post   28 Dec 2006, 18:31
Eazyb -

If you're really into Cornell and want to talk to me about it, let me know. I was a trailing Cornell spouse, and have had a wonderful experience working in I-town. If you told me a bit about your fiance's career, etc, I might be able to help out.

Ithaca has a reputation for being small, isolated, and having a poor job market. I definitely would not say that these are all true. Lemme know if you wanna chat.

And in fact, I think I will start a "trailing spouses" thread. My partner is about to try out this role himself, wherever I end up next.

Good luck!
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[#permalink] New post   28 Dec 2006, 20:04
aaudetat wrote:
Eazyb -

If you're really into Cornell and want to talk to me about it, let me know. I was a trailing Cornell spouse, and have had a wonderful experience working in I-town. If you told me a bit about your fiance's career, etc, I might be able to help out.

Ithaca has a reputation for being small, isolated, and having a poor job market. I definitely would not say that these are all true. Lemme know if you wanna chat.

And in fact, I think I will start a "trailing spouses" thread. My partner is about to try out this role himself, wherever I end up next.

Good luck!
amy


Thanks Amy....I made a post in your thread.
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