Hello to everyone. I just got back from the Pearson testing center with a decent score in my hands. I am still quite nervous but I will try to share my experience of the last few months with you as, although I haven't been an active member of this amazing forum, I feel I know you. Firstly, I am not a typical MBA candidate. I come from Greece and I am turning 31 next month. I have a degree in English Language and Literature from the Uni of Athens and an MSc in Translation Studies from UMIST, UK. I am currently working as a Tech Proposal Writer in an international Lottery Services company and have accumulated some experience in the financial software sector also. I got the idea of getting an MBA last summer as I noticed a lack of professional managers in the languages sector, a growing market in my opinion. Furthermore, I am not satisfied with my job and I definitely need a career boost or even shift (since my MSc I am very interested in multicultural marketing and advertisement localisation). I decided that if I was to invest in an MBA I would do it properly, so I targeted some of the top European schools that I could afford. To do this I needed a decent GMAT score, so I started practicing. I set off with Kaplan and the Princeton Math Review, as Quant was obviously my weak spot. As I progressed with my prep, I came across Gmat club and realised I would do nothing without the OG, both resources proved invaluable. I was getting the grasp of the test and was planning to sit for itsome time before the Holiday season in order to apply for the first applications round. At the beginning of October though I had the opportunity to switch jobs to a better company. The money was good and the switch would look good for my resume. Like that, I let go of the test for the first time and focused on the new job, that proved to be very demanding, the working hours especially were exhaustive. At the beggining of the new year I decided to compensate by following a Prep course. My instructor was very cool and I had the opportunity to catch up with some basic math. Nevertheless, when I started was doing well, life got in my way. During the last period of the course and at the point my performance was taking off, my father got very sick and had to be hospitalised. This changed my routine completely as everyday after work I was at the hospital, staying long hours now and then. As the news about my father's health were getting worse, my psychology was weakening, but I was determined to go on. I had arranged to sit for the test at the end of February and I would do it. At that point, one week before the test, Pearson gave another blow: all test dates in Greece got cancelled as the greek government refused to allow fingeprinting. No dates before the 1st of May could be booked; my university of choice (SDA Bocconi) had a deadline for the 28th of April... I decided not to give up. I booked a date for the 28th of March in Istanbul and resumed studying. At a point during March all dates become available again and I managed to reschedule for Athens, the 17th of April. This gave me the strength to reach last week when I got Friday off to study and Monday to sit for the test. Life had again other plans for me and at Tuesday the most unbelievable scenario unfolded. My brother called me at 8:00 to tell me that his wife was giving birth. I went to the hospital, saw the newborn at 12:00 and got some strength as finally a happy incident occurred. I went back at the hospital next to my father to give him the news and stay with him so that my mother would go and see the baby. At 15:30 my father passed away... The weekend is a blur as we had to deal with both facts, the funeral and the birth. I tried to sit through PP2 on Saturday morning but never made it thorugh, I stopped after the Quant. The last act was played today: the GMAT, satisfaction, my niece arrived at home happiness. I miss my father immensely, but life will go on... I apologise for the rambling but I just had to let you know of all the factor that has helped me get through this, apart from my girlfriend that practically endured even more as she had to cope with me too, has been you guys s, no matter what, during the last six months I would everyday spend a good 1-2 hours here for inspiration and morale boost. There is a video clip of the 90's called "No Rain", the band is Blind Mellon, the old timers here might remember it In this video there is a little girl dressed as a bee and everybody is making fun of her because of this. Sad, she wanders the street when finally she arrives at a meadow where the members of the band are also dressed like bees and everybody dances together. This, my friends, for me defines happiness. This is what takes place in this forum, people with common goals, recognising a little bit about themselves and the ordeal they are going through in the other members and everybody, no matter who they are, standing by each other. I have visited other fora regarding the Gmat and MBA studies and I saw people getting obsessed with trivial things such as getting a 750 while aiming for a 770 or the likes. In Gmat club, on the other hand, I found people really heling, really standing next to each other. No matter what happens with your Gmat or the Business School itself, if you carry this attitude throughout your careers, will be succesful. Period. I still don't know what will happen with my applications as my score is not phenomenal and it is not balanced as the breakdown makes obvious the fact that i ahve played my strengths. Furthermore, my GPAs are not excellent themselves. But I will let you know. And I have one last thing to tell you as I break the record for the longest post here: Never, ever give up. G.

Last visit was: 01 May 2026, 21:38

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680 - 38 Q, 44 V / With a (long) story to tell...

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praveen_rao7

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20 Apr 2006, 22:39

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I am little late here, Goreg congrats on the wonderful score. Sorry to hear about your father. I am sure you made him very proud. Keep your spirits up, everything will fall into place. Good luck with your application

Regards

remgeo

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21 Apr 2006, 07:27

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I was thinking of your story whilst driving back home.
Very touching and very inspiring as well. I'm sure you'll do very well in all your endeavours. Good luck !

700+target

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26 Apr 2006, 04:12

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Hi,

U R story is truly inspirational. Wishing you luck in your apps. :

Goreg

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26 Apr 2006, 06:33

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Hey all.

I just got my official scores. Got a 5.5 in AWA.

Does anyone know how long does it actually take for the schools to receive the official results? Does the 20-days rule reflect the truth or does it generally take less time than that? If you have experience in applying to European Business schools, I would be glad to know how long should I wait in case of a positive response.

Thanks to all for your help.

Regards,
Goreg

shampoo

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27 Apr 2006, 22:00

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Congrats! and sorry to hear about your dad. I have to say I am impressed by your acomplishment. I think under the conditions you pulled it off, your score is better then some 700s.

shampoo

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27 Apr 2006, 22:01

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Goreg

Oh, and great score on AWA too!

tl372

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15 May 2006, 08:54

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Congratulations on the score and on completing the test! I'm sorry to hear about your father though. I'm sure he's extremely proud of you.

Thanks for sharing your story...your experience inspires me to press on with my studies.

biggamejames

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25 May 2006, 07:33

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Great story

Goreg

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08 Jun 2006, 04:50

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Hello to everyone.
As a follow up to this thread, and as promised, I am writing to tell you that I was admitted in the Bocconi MBA. I am not going to apply to another institute as this is probably the best university I can afford and a vital step in my dream to relocate to Italy.
I wish once more to thank everyone on this wonderful site, the inspiration I got from the people here was of decisive importance. I also want to say that i will seek to be an ambassador of the programme which I think deserves to be represented as one of the best in Europe.
I wish Health, Peace and Prosperity for everyone. Grazie!

selene

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08 Jun 2006, 05:27

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Hey Goreg,

It is very nice to hear about your good news.. Hope you will achieve all your goals..

All the best :king

yash500

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08 Oct 2007, 20:36

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Goreg, I suggest you to take print out of this page and attach it with your application forms.

In Indian culture, we believe that when someone takes birth in our house and at the same time someone passes away, it means rebirth has taken place. What I mean, your father is there with you, he took rebirth as a kid of your brother.

ur story is really moving..

wish you good luck for your MBA career.

- Yash500

uphillclimb

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12 Oct 2007, 06:36

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What wonderful news, Goreg. Sincerest congratulations and best wishes for your future - your story touched my heart.

TheCloakedMonk

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10 Oct 2010, 10:07

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Super awesome. Thanks for the inspiration.

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680 - 38 Q, 44 V / With a (long) story to tell...

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