Whether to retake GMAT (got 710) targeting top 15 US schools

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Whether to retake GMAT (got 710) targeting top 15 US schools [#permalink]

23 Jul 2004, 07:53

Hi
Please help to resolve my dellimma.
I want to target top 15 US B schools, I had few admits this year from Arizona State Univ, Richard Ivey (Canada), Rochester, Manchester. And had reject from UCLA (was R3 applicant) and reject from ISB (Indian School of Business)
But I left those all coz I was not convinced with the rank of these schools and in Ivey I did not get any help with loans.
So now I want to apply to top 15. And here are my stats.
5+ Years of IT work Exp in companies like Infosys, Oracle.
Indian By nationality.
UG from IIT (one of the top 5 engg institutes in India)
UG percentage is 68%
GMAT 710 AWA 5.5
Toefl 260

I am in a dellimma that whether to write GMAT again or start applying with improving my essays.
I wrote GMAT in Feb 03, so would have to give 2 months to studies at least for GMAT preparation.
Thanks in advance...

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23 Jul 2004, 13:08

As you already know, a 710 is close to the mean at most of the elite schools. If given the choice between applying early and retaking I would work on the essays so that I could apply as early as possible.

The one elite school you mention, UCLA, appears to have rejected you. Have you contacted Anderson to determine why?

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23 Jul 2004, 13:18

I'm itching to find out why you applied to those schools (ASU, Rochester, etc.) knowing that you didn't really want to go to them. But I'll leave that alone for now...

Not knowing much about your profile, I would bet good money that your GMAT was *not* the reason why you weren't admitted to your favorite schools. Your GMAT score was good enough to get you in anywhere. If I had to guess, it was probably a lack of differentiation from other candidates. As I've said on this forum many times, male Indian applicants have a really hard time standing out (and thus gaining admission), at least when it comes to American schools.

I would recommend focusing on ways to set yourself apart from other Indians with tech backgrounds. I bet they all also have 700+ GMAT scores. Bumping your score from a 710 to a 750 won't make you any more attractive to b-schools (trust me on this), but showing how you're unique will!

Scott
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25 Jul 2004, 22:57

I applied to them because I didn't had much idea about how to finance my MBA, and for seeking the schol I applied there, but as I came to know most top US B Schools have loan scheme so now I want to target top ones.

I would like to do software services/product marketing initially and then I want to open up my own consultancy.
Please now let me know some choices.
Anoop

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26 Jul 2004, 09:36

Just give a lot of thought to how you will set yourself apart from applicants with similar backgrounds. I guarantee you that there are a lot of applicants coming from India with tech backgrounds who want to go back into technology. So, make sure that you stand out in some way. That will help you more than anything!

Scott
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Whether to retake GMAT (got 710) targeting top 15 US schools

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