Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
-12:00 PM EDT
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors
Apr 2610:00 AM EDT
-11:00 AM EDT
The Target Test Prep course represents a quantum leap forward in GMAT preparation, a radical reinterpretation of the way that students should study. Try before you buy with a 5-day, full-access trial of the course for FREE!
Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
02 Sep 2008, 20:30
Kudos
Bookmarks
Those are my basic stats. My GPA was overall garbage, obviously, and the bane of my existence. The GMAT score has alleviated my fears somewhat in terms of at least being competitive at good schools.
Here's my quandry. My GMAT score breaks down VERY unevenly. I scored in the 97th percentile on verbal, and the bloody 46th percentile on math. I know. Re-taking the GMAT is a potential problem because there is no way my verbal will go anywhere but down, meaning I would have to REALLY dramatically improve my math performance to bring my overall score up from 650. So I figure my time is better spent bolstering the rest of my application.
So, here's my plan. My grades in college trended upward consistently over 4 years. My major GPA in History at William and Mary was a 3.4, and my GPA for the last 2 years was a 3.09, at least. W&M is a top tier school and was very difficult (I know, because I've taken Microecon and Precalculus at UMass Boston and got 2 easy A's...contrary to popular opinion, quite frankly, there is a BIG difference in terms of degree of difficulty between a top tier school and an unranked school). I'm taking Calculus at Harvard right now. I will then take Macroecon and probably an accounting course in the spring. I've already got a B in Statistics from W&M, but I might re-take that at Harvard to get an A.
I'm also getting involved with some extra-curriculars.
The additional coursework with all As will, I hope, prove I am not who I was in my first 2 years in college.
650 GMAT is a solid, competitive score for most people (assuming you aren't an Indian IT guy...those guys need to break 700 because they are a dime a dozen) at top programs. My job now is convincing adcoms at those schools in the 10-30 rank range that I can do the work, but most importantly, that my experience is unique and valuable. I've worked for the past 2 years for a consulting firm almost exclusively in Baton Rouge, LA on a massive housing recovery effort (we manage a $10 billion recovery program for the 250K people that lost homes in Hurricane Katrina). I was promoted to a team leader position in that program. That is what I will use to get in, and I hope to draw the adcoms away from the GPA GMAT stats and get them to say "OK, well, he's probably smart enough to handle the work, and even though his stats aren't anything to write home about, his work is much more interesting than the 5 million essays I've read today from these IT guys who all seem to think I care about how he/she resolved some database glitch."
I realize my stats are probably going to keep me out of the Top 10, maybe even top 20. I think my essays could help me crack the top 30. Geez I hope so. Who knows. Any thoughts or people with similar stats?
Here's my quandry. My GMAT score breaks down VERY unevenly. I scored in the 97th percentile on verbal, and the bloody 46th percentile on math. I know. Re-taking the GMAT is a potential problem because there is no way my verbal will go anywhere but down, meaning I would have to REALLY dramatically improve my math performance to bring my overall score up from 650. So I figure my time is better spent bolstering the rest of my application.
So, here's my plan. My grades in college trended upward consistently over 4 years. My major GPA in History at William and Mary was a 3.4, and my GPA for the last 2 years was a 3.09, at least. W&M is a top tier school and was very difficult (I know, because I've taken Microecon and Precalculus at UMass Boston and got 2 easy A's...contrary to popular opinion, quite frankly, there is a BIG difference in terms of degree of difficulty between a top tier school and an unranked school). I'm taking Calculus at Harvard right now. I will then take Macroecon and probably an accounting course in the spring. I've already got a B in Statistics from W&M, but I might re-take that at Harvard to get an A.
I'm also getting involved with some extra-curriculars.
The additional coursework with all As will, I hope, prove I am not who I was in my first 2 years in college.
650 GMAT is a solid, competitive score for most people (assuming you aren't an Indian IT guy...those guys need to break 700 because they are a dime a dozen) at top programs. My job now is convincing adcoms at those schools in the 10-30 rank range that I can do the work, but most importantly, that my experience is unique and valuable. I've worked for the past 2 years for a consulting firm almost exclusively in Baton Rouge, LA on a massive housing recovery effort (we manage a $10 billion recovery program for the 250K people that lost homes in Hurricane Katrina). I was promoted to a team leader position in that program. That is what I will use to get in, and I hope to draw the adcoms away from the GPA GMAT stats and get them to say "OK, well, he's probably smart enough to handle the work, and even though his stats aren't anything to write home about, his work is much more interesting than the 5 million essays I've read today from these IT guys who all seem to think I care about how he/she resolved some database glitch."
I realize my stats are probably going to keep me out of the Top 10, maybe even top 20. I think my essays could help me crack the top 30. Geez I hope so. Who knows. Any thoughts or people with similar stats?
03 Sep 2008, 12:12
Kudos
Bookmarks
You can crack the top 30 but your other aspects have to look better than the 650 and the 2.8. You have to have some solid essays and get something more than the run-of-the-mill recommendations. To have something to talk about, you might consider volunteering or doing something extracurricular which is management related. Otherwise you might be better off at a local state school getting scholarships.
I agree with you, work experience is more important than undergrad, but have you only had 2 years of work experience? Waiting another year or two may be beneficial, and may also give you more opportunities to lead. Being a team lead is good experience, but having one leadership experience, katrina or not, is still only one leadership experience. I don't know enough about your work or volunteer experience to offer good advice, but based on your post, putting more leadership roles on your belt will help your case.
(I also work on high profile govenrment initiatives, technical and non-technical, but I still feel it would be beneficial for you)
(I also work on high profile govenrment initiatives, technical and non-technical, but I still feel it would be beneficial for you)
