Profiles - Admitted to Top B-Schools w/ Low GMAT or Low GPA

mbabound10, congrats on the acceptances. here is the consortium thread for this year - please feel free to post there as well: calling-all-fall-2010-consortium-applicants-merged-87799.html

I'd like to echo the words of a wise friend

"Don't worry about the past, focus on what you CAN change."

Had a chat with a staff member at Wharton recently and discussed my 50 percentile quant score. Before I could jump into my standard explanation, she looked at my resume and said......"your work experience and undergrad econ major are all the examples I need of your quant ability, don't worry about it."

Guys - Don't let these +700'ers psych you out if you have other components of your background which can speak to ability.

Thanks.. that gives some hope!

Great post! Let's keep our hopes up.

How did you initiate this conversation and what is your standard explanation? Looks like you and I are in similar situations.

Thanks!

[quote="JoeKaneForHeisman"]How did you initiate this conversation and what is your standard explanation? Looks like you and I are in similar situations.

Thanks![/quote]

I was on campus and made an appointment to discuss my application.

As for the explanation, is pretty simple...I took the GMAT a bunch of times and was not able to crack it. Everyone has weaknesses and GMAT math happens to be one of mine. With that said, I have a pretty quant heavy job, such as projects x, y, z and am confident I can meet the quant rigors of the program...but if there is any additional classes/tests that the admin committee would like me to take, I am happy to do so.

So what is your situation?

Well put aa5786.

I hope there are adcom's who look beyond numbers.

not sure if my GMAT counts as "Low" and not sure if Darden counts as "Top B-School" but...

GMAT: 660 on application, 40/40. i've retaken it for round 2 to 730, but as far as darden was concerned, i was at 660.
School: Darden, R1.
BG: MNC employee then Entrepreneur.
Age at Matric: 29.
Nationality: Filipino.

i should note that last year, with my 660, I got dinged for my 3 schools: HBS (no interview), Wharton (no interview) and Kellogg (w/interview)...

My gmat score was below 600, however many people encourage me to apply anyway because of my profile.

Female (latin america)
27 years old
4 years of work experience (3 years leading teams)
3 years of volunteer experience
Undergrad studies: the best and largest university of my country (business degree)

I applied to (2nd round):

Boston University (submitted)
Boston College (submitted)
Babson College (submitted)
George Washington University (submitted)
University of Illinois (submitted)

All of these business school have an average gmat score slightly above 600. According to a study of manhattan gmat, south america gmat takers obtain a score considerably lower than american, european and indian takers. In addition, woman average score (average 500) is also lower than men.

Do you think I have chances???

Interesting. So you just made an appointment to point out some aspects of your application? That's a pretty good idea.

My situation is fairly similar to yours. I work in project finance but also couldn't conquer the math for some reason. I addressed in optional essays but your approach seems more proactive.

I'd consider Darden a top.

How do they factor athletics into the low GPA equation? IF you had a low GPA but were also playing football do they take that into consideration?

I'm guessing athletics figure below full-time work, and even heavy part-time work, as excuses for a low GPA, but certainly above drunken stupor. If you were a captain of a team, or levered that into a leading position in a work team (something that shows leadership) it can probably help build your profile.

I think you have a chance at all three Boston schools if your work experience is strong. Don't know anything about the others.

Hey everyone ! I've had my eye on this thread for a while now, but was waiting to post until I was actually admitted somewhere. Well, now that that dream has come true, here we go:

GMAT: 680
GPA: Not too sure. Went to a Canadian university that didn't use the GPA system, but if I were to go by what some of the online calculators tell me, its somewhere between a 2.0 and 3.0
Education: B.Eng from a top Canadian university
Current age: 28
Nationality: Canadian - Indian
Work Experience: 1 year in a Bus. Analyst role at a major bank, 4 years as an engineer/strategist at a major telecoms company

I was dumbstruck when I was my GMAT score. I spent many weeks agonizing and debating over whether to retake it or not. I never ended up doing it though, because the majority of advice I got indicated that I should spend more time focusing on my essays. And boy, did I ever focus. Putting modesty aside for a second, I never though that I could be capable of producing such good written work ! So if you take anything away from this post, let it be: FOCUS ON YOUR ESSAYS !

I applied to three schools in R1: Kellogg, London Business School, and Darden. I didn't get in at the first two, but did get in to Darden, which Im very happy with. I was selected for an interview at LBS, but felt that the interview was actually my downfall. I dont think I spent enough time knowing my story, and it didnt help that the interview was the week I got back from a 3 week Spanish vacation .... but those are the breaks !

About a year ago, I was a nervous wreck because I thought I didnt have a chance without a 700+/3.5 to back me up. Im happy to report otherwise, and would love to answer any questions.

Cheers, and good luck !

Congrats, TheDream! I'm pleased that your story refutes theories on "if you don't have 700+ on your GMAT, don't even think of applying to schools". I'm sure you'll have a great time at Darden; good luck!