eyjose wrote:
You're a perfect example of the kind of people I do not look forward to meeting during school. Instead of discussing stats, giving examples and maybe making recommendations to me or others who may need it, you come off as a know it all. I recommend you get some feedback on your presentation skills because you will not be well liked at your school if you make judgemental comments such as: "You obviously didn't do enough....Talk about a logical fallacy....Believing you can get into any top b-school with a GMAT below 600 is foolishness, arrogance, or ignorance (or all three!)" I was helping someone by giving my experience. You know, what people do in class at MBA programs. It seems like if someone says something in class that you think is wrong or do not agree with, you will be that dick that tries to put them down. That is all.
Well, I wouldn't be so critical here - although it's only my personal opinion nobody asked for (but hey, we are in a forum, aren't we?).
To improve your GMAT is a perfrect recomendation. The fact that someone wasn't accepted with a low GMAT doesn't imply that it was the only reason, nor it does imply that there is some cut-off score or anything like that.
If the adcom tells you that your profile is great, but the GMAT is the issue - in fact, it doesn't imply that you are an exceptional candidate on all matters, and the low score is the only reason that they turn you down. What it means, is that they see a potential issue in GMAT, but they don't see anything which could mitigate it or add value in some other way. They must have a chance to say - well, this guy has a low GMAT, true, but here is one feature which makes him truly unique in this world, and that's why we must accept him.
Working at Goldman Sachs, having a startup development history, contributing to the students council or working in three countries doesn't give anything unique, they have hundreds of applicants like that each year. If you did it and there is someone else who did, they will chose the person with a high GMAT, all other things being equal.
My personal opinion, but I'd rather have an example like working as a close assistant to Barack Obama, or selling a multimillion dollar business, or let's say heading an iPad marketing team in Apple to make a case with a sub-600 GMAT for a top school.