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23 Sep 2007, 00:33
Nobody has asked. Nobody even talks much about prior schools (except as it relates to sports and such) or scholarships. On of the guys on my learning team (now a close friend) found out that I won the scholarship for entrepreneurship and he asked me why I didn't talk about that when when we first introduced ourselves. It's just never seemed like there is any sense of competition between students here. We have internal access to each others resumes, and I've seen several people will full scholarships who have never mentioned them. I will say, from personal observation, that to this point there has been a really really high correlation between students that are performing well in class (it's all case based here, so it's easy to know who's doing well and who isn't) and very high GMAT scores.
As far as recruiting, that's a different story. There's definitely no GMAT non-disclosure here. I've browsed resume books from other top schools and I think that GMAT non-disclosure is pretty unusual. The common procedure around here seems to be listing the GMAT if you scored 700+. We discussed this some last year, but banking and consulting recruiters well assume sub-700 scores for those that don't list it, and this can hurt you.
If you look at the Wet Feet and Vault guides, they point out that some recruiters are rumored to weigh GMAT scores heavily. After 2 weeks of recruiting, I've met with about half a dozen banks, and it's clear that some will be looking closely at GMAT scores. In their presentations, they say they are looking for (actual quotes) "pure athletes", that they are "drafting the best available talent" and that they value "high mental horsepower". I think there are a number of ways to demonstrate this, including high grades in quantitative courses (not an easy thing to accomplish at many schools) or perhaps past success in banking. I guess it's just like admissions, the GMAT is just one factor that they look at, but I don't think many of the top banks ignore your GMAT score. Of course, banking isn't for everyone.
I have attended mostly bank briefings. I have heard from friends that consulting firms are also looking for pure athletes, and at least those at the top will be looking closely at GMAT scores (I heard that McKinsey even asks for SAT scores). On the other hand, I think the GMAT has little consequence for marketing and general management recruiters. Those jobs are, generally speaking, less competitive, and most recruiters seem to be happy with the average candidate from their target schools. I guess even general management has it's elite as well though. I went to a Google briefing two weeks ago and I didn't get the sense that they would hire anything but the creme for their management program; distinguished perhaps by b-school grades, prior academic record and/or GMAT.
I do have some valuable advice to pass along to people applying this year; it's advice that we all heard last year but I didn't realize how valuable it was. Make sure that the companies you are interested in recruit at your target school(s). You will be given fair consideration by any company that recruits on campus, and they are well acquainted with and will be happy to hire people just like yourself. If you are trying for firms that doesn't recruit on campus, the task could be quite arduous.
I'll give an example that I witnessed myself. One of the bulge bracket banks recruits for Investment Banking here, and hires people for that program every year. A friend of mine inquired about a Sales & Trading position, and was told by the recruiter that there were far fewer S&T positions, and they were generally able to fill those positions at 3-4 core schools. He was welcome to apply through the general online position, but it was obvious from the response that this wasn't not likely to bear fruit. This type of situation would only work out for someone with a substantial background in that area. The bottom line is that recruiters will maintain year-to-year relationships, and applicants from non-core school will only be considered if recruiting needs can't be filled at core schools or if the applicant is unusually impressive in some way. My friend, as an average but not spectacular career-changer would have a shot at the banking program with this firm because we go to a core school, but no chance at the S&T job because in that case we are not a core school.