Hello All-

I am new to GMAT Club so pardon this thread if it is in the wrong section.

I wanted to gain some insight from y'all about when I should take the GMAT. Let me tell you a little bit about myself so that you all can get a feel for my particular situation.

I am an undergraduate college senior with one more semester until graduation. I have made fairly good grades in college, but nothing stellar. I believe I will be graduating with around a 3.4 GPA.

I have a job lined up for once I graduate; I will be an investment banking analyst with a boutique IB firm. I am very strongly considering doing an MBA program after I get some work experience under my belt. I have read various articles and websites about applying to these MBA programs and all about the GMAT.

I am considering studying and taking the GMAT next semester (my final semester) of school. I just wanted to get some insight from y'all about this. I have read on another site that undergraduate GPA is not as heavily weighted as most think when it comes to MBA admissions.

I also read, however, that MBA admissions offices like to see candidates who don't expect themselves to seek further education until after they have worked for several years. In other words, they like candidates who take the GMAT after they realize that they have the need to go back to school, and thus take the GMAT after they have worked for several years, and not while they are still in college.

Is this true? Is there validity in this idea? I would appreciate any advice/thoughts from you all. Thanks.

Hey IBDawg,

I'll second subhabrata's advice - even though schools will mostly want to see some work experience from you, they can't fault you for having had the presence of mind to take the GMAT early knowing that it's good for 5 years. If anything, I'd see it as a little bit of a positive - you were thinking ahead, knowing that you'd likely be quite busy with work and wanting to keep your options open down the road - but either way I can't fathom a school downplaying your high GMAT score 4 years from now, saying to themselves "he planned too far in advance, we were hoping he'd be more spontaneous with his decision". Your score is valid for 5 years, and that's about it...they won't dig too deeply into the timeline to give it higher or lower value than the number itself.

Now, on the plus side, if you take the GMAT while you're used to studying and using many of those core skills you'll probably have a much easier time posting a high score than you might after a few years in the workplace with less free time and more specialized professional tasks that might diverge from GMAT and study skills. I took the GMAT within a few months of graduation from college, and feel that the timing was instrumental in my success - I was used to taking tests for multiple hours, making decisions using logic and numbers, etc. So I'd highly recommend taking the test while you're young and in the habit!
_________________

Brian

Veritas Prep | GMAT Instructor

Save 10% on Veritas Prep GMAT Courses And Admissions Consulting
For a limited time, receive access to five Veritas Prep Computer Adaptive practice tests when you purchase a Veritas Prep GMAT book! Buy Now!
Enroll now. Pay later. Take advantage of Veritas Prep's flexible payment plan options.