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Advice on retaking and scholarship chances

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pbabyfly
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Advice on retaking and scholarship chances [#permalink] New post   04 Aug 2004, 11:52
Dear Linda and all at GMAT Club:

I am wondering whether or not to retake the GMAT, since scholarships/TA's/other types of financial aid are a must for me to go to business school.

My profile:
Female, Latin American (Peruvian-Japanese), 27 yr old
Economist, graduated top of my class and top of the year from the most important Business and Economics university in Peru (GPA conversions in my case are hard to do since even though we are graded in a 20 scale, hardly any professor in top colleges would give a student a 20!!). Diploma in Applied Statistics after graduation.
Distincted with a Honor to Merits Award by a strong Peruvian corporation.
67 mos. experience as consultant in the top Peruvian consultancy firm. Began as Economic Research Sector Analyst, then changed to Telecommunications Management Consulting, where I have worked in projects for the top telecommunications firms in Peru and quite a lot for IT and development projects for the World Bank/IADB in developing countries. Progressive responsabilities and pay.
International experience (Bolivia, Guatemala, Tanzania, South Caucasus countries). Fluent in Spanish, English, and able to read (and somewhat to write and speak) in French.
Participation in the 2002-3 Christmas Gift-Giving campaigns organized in my firm for kids in an orphanage in Lima.
GMAT score: A so-so 650 (stronger Q than V, first one around 85%, second one in the 70's%), still have to receive my essay grades, taken last July. :oops:

I am not planning to apply to any Top 20, but to Maryland, Madison-Wisconsin, and ESADE in Spain. I am currently in the search for a couple more schools as backup.

So, I have some questions:
1. Would my GMAT score hurt my application to those programs?

2. Would my GMAT score and my credentials as a whole be sufficient for scholarships/TA's/GA's or do I need to retake the GMAT? I desperately need some form of financial aid to begin studying, so if a retake is necessary, I am willing to do it.

3. In case a retake is necessary (and considering my heavy needs for financial aid), what would you advise?:
a. To prepare longer (say, a couple of months) and apply in R2?
b. To take the GMAT in mid-September, to advance in parallel with my essay drafting, and to apply in R1?

Thanks a lot for your help and sorry for the length of this post,
PBabyfly
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Hjort
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[#permalink] New post   04 Aug 2004, 13:02
Hi,

The work experience you have described in combination with your academic background and cosmopolitan experience sounds strong.

I am a bit intrigued by the schools you mentioned- Is there a particular reason you have selected these schools? Does these schools have unique attributes that attracted your interest?

With more insight into why you like these schools, we can have a better idea of other schools that would interest you.

Hjort
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Re: Advice on retaking and scholarship chances [#permalink] New post   04 Aug 2004, 16:23
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pbabyfly wrote:
Dear Linda and all at GMAT Club:

I am wondering whether or not to retake the GMAT, since scholarships/TA's/other types of financial aid are a must for me to go to business school.

My profile:
Female, Latin American (Peruvian-Japanese), 27 yr old
Economist, graduated top of my class and top of the year from the most important Business and Economics university in Peru (GPA conversions in my case are hard to do since even though we are graded in a 20 scale, hardly any professor in top colleges would give a student a 20!!). Diploma in Applied Statistics after graduation.
Distincted with a Honor to Merits Award by a strong Peruvian corporation.
67 mos. experience as consultant in the top Peruvian consultancy firm. Began as Economic Research Sector Analyst, then changed to Telecommunications Management Consulting, where I have worked in projects for the top telecommunications firms in Peru and quite a lot for IT and development projects for the World Bank/IADB in developing countries. Progressive responsabilities and pay.
International experience (Bolivia, Guatemala, Tanzania, South Caucasus countries). Fluent in Spanish, English, and able to read (and somewhat to write and speak) in French.
Participation in the 2002-3 Christmas Gift-Giving campaigns organized in my firm for kids in an orphanage in Lima.
GMAT score: A so-so 650 (stronger Q than V, first one around 85%, second one in the 70's%), still have to receive my essay grades, taken last July. :oops:

I am not planning to apply to any Top 20, but to Maryland, Madison-Wisconsin, and ESADE in Spain. I am currently in the search for a couple more schools as backup.

So, I have some questions:
1. Would my GMAT score hurt my application to those programs?

2. Would my GMAT score and my credentials as a whole be sufficient for scholarships/TA's/GA's or do I need to retake the GMAT? I desperately need some form of financial aid to begin studying, so if a retake is necessary, I am willing to do it.

3. In case a retake is necessary (and considering my heavy needs for financial aid), what would you advise?:
a. To prepare longer (say, a couple of months) and apply in R2?
b. To take the GMAT in mid-September, to advance in parallel with my essay drafting, and to apply in R1?

Thanks a lot for your help and sorry for the length of this post,
PBabyfly


You are a competitive applicant at the schools you are targeting with your current GMAT. RAther than taking the GMAT, perhaps you should take some advanced classes in English to show that you are working on that area.

Although financial aid is not my area of expertise, I don't think your GMAT will doom your finanical aid chances at these schools. Applications are down, particularly from non-US applicants. I think your chances are good and would even encourage you to apply to a couple of top 20 programs and see how you do. You are a Latin American female with impressive and extensive international business experience and a good academic record. Although your GMAT is a little on the low side, it really is not that low for your demographic. Don't sell yourself short.

Good luck!

Good luck!
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pbabyfly
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Thanks! [#permalink] New post   05 Aug 2004, 09:54
Thanks to both Hjort and Linda for your prompt replies! I will begin therefore the essay writing process.

BTW, before I forget, my school choice reasons:
MD - telecommunications focus
UW - AC Nielsen Marketing Research Center. Quite a lot of what I have been doing (and am passionate about, hence the Diploma on Applied Statistics :) ) as a consultant is Marketing Research
ESADE - convenience, as some relatives are living there (IESE was out of the question due to the price tag!!); also, I think I'm lacking some Western Europe experience. Furthermore, there are some ties between Spain and LatAm regarding commercial relationships

My career expectations are to remain in the track I have already begun (Telecom Management Consulting), up to Telecom Senior Project Manager.

Thanks again!!
PBabyfly
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Hjort
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[#permalink] New post   07 Aug 2004, 10:00
And I thought I was the only one who loved statistics . . .

I must say that the Marketing Research Center at Wisconsin looks like a great opportunity.

Here are some other schools that might interest you-

First, I would consider both UC Irvine and Texas(Austin) since they are strong in IT in regions with many connections to Latin America.

Second, I would like to call your attention to Southern Methodist University which offers full-tuition scholarships and a specialization in Telecommunications.

"The Cox Distinguished MBA Scholars Program awards up to 10 MBA full-tuition scholarships per year to the most outstanding students admitted to the Cox MBA full-time program. You could be one of them."

Hjort
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07 Aug 2004, 10:00

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