PhD Admission - GMAT 550

Dear mzanbagi,
I'm happy to respond. Unfortunately, the frustrating answer is: it depends.

You need to visit the websites of the specific target schools you have in mind. You need to get a sense of the average GMAT scores at a variety of Ph.D. programs for Marketing. I am not familiar with Ph.D. programs in Marketing, but offhand I would guess that these numbers are not enough for admission into the finest programs in the US. Some people getting into those programs have GMAT scores more than 200 points higher than yours. Would there be some program in the US that would accept you? Certainly, some would, but you need to investigate the quality of different programs. What connections would you be able to make at a top school, and what connections at a second or third tier school? What are the other consequences of going to a top notch school vs. a lesser school?

Keep in mind that part of the equation is how you package yourself as a candidate. If you have fascinating word experience, or if you have ambitious plans for some unique goal, that would help. You see, a lot of people get GMAT scores in that range. How do you make yourself stand out?

Of course, you would give yourself many more options if you could put in serious preparation for a GMAT retake and if you scored much higher on your second attempt. That would open up a number of options that I would imagine you don't have at the moment. Here's an article you might find helpful:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/should-i-retake-the-gmat/
If the Verbal section was particularly challenging for you, you might find this article helpful as well:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/how-to-imp ... bal-score/

Does all this make sense?
Mike