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should i retake?

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mk897
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700 30 Sep 2004, 09:08
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hi,
i would appreciate your help.
I am an English medical doctor currently working in a start up (Previous experience with WHO and health-care consultancy).
I attended a top British university (Imperial College) and qualified in medicine and surgery - with honours. In addition, I have an undergrad business management degree from Tanaka business school, Imperial college.
I want to enter the VC industry and had hoped to apply to Stanford or Harvard.
I got a 700 today (quant 44. Verbal 42)
Really messed up the math section and panicked.
Is retaking an option i have to consider or will my diversity carry me through?

thanks
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mk897
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700 30 Sep 2004, 09:14
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sorry forgot to add percentiles.
math - 73
Verbal - 96
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gmataquaguy
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700 30 Sep 2004, 14:41
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For HBS, your GMAT will not keep you out. I know Stanford is very very picky about the GMAT Score. Everyone i know/have talked to about Stanford say that you should have a 720+ score. I guess the real answer is "it depends...."

Your driving criteria should be "well how much time do i have" & "how much more can i improve on my GMAT". If you feel like ure very close to your "max potential" then dont take the GMAT. However if during your practice test you've been scoring 730+ then you should re-take. Just make sure whatever you do, dont "steal time" away from writing good stories/applications.

i know we all get hung up on the GMAT Score (because its the only "objective" way to compare people). Whatever you do dont try improving your score at the "cost of writing essays"......

regards
gmataquaguy

p.s: I scored a 650 [M-49/90 & V-29/57], so take my advice with lot of salt.......
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Hjort
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700 02 Oct 2004, 15:40
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Could you elaborate on the diversity aspect?

Hjort
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mk897
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700 04 Oct 2004, 14:27
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Hjort,
Sorry should have elaborated further.
My subjective perception of diversity is probably wrong. Please correct me but I thought that a candidate coming from a non-typical background would be evaluated differently to an individual coming from banking or consultancy.
I qualified as a doctor in England but was heavily involved within international health development – experience with the World Health Organization and also conducted field research (lived in an indigenous Indian reservation in South America). I also undertook policy reform research in Chile.
After completing my intern year, I started working for a biotech start-up as an analyst. Probably very typical! I now want to enter the VC industry - even more typical
I have very good undergrad marks (we don't do GPA in the UK) but I qualified in medicine with honours (top 5%)
I just feel that the GMAT score might sour my application package but don't know who to ask for advice. I went to the Harvard and Stanford open days in London. Both stressed that the GMAT was not the most important part of the application. But, I am sure that they want as many people as possible to apply??
Thanks
Mohit
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Hjort
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700 04 Oct 2004, 20:06
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Thanks for the additional info. Educational background, nationality, and career are certainly aspects of diversity. I was a bit concerned because although training in medicine is less common than the seemingly everpresent degrees, there a number of persons interested in medicine who are also considering attending business school. For instance, a number of elite schools have MD/MBA programs including Yale and Cornell.

I think that the experiences with the WHO and in South America could make for interesting essays that would differentiate you from other candidates.

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Accepted.com
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700 04 Oct 2004, 21:55
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mk897
hi,
i would appreciate your help.
I am an English medical doctor currently working in a start up (Previous experience with WHO and health-care consultancy).
I attended a top British university (Imperial College) and qualified in medicine and surgery - with honours. In addition, I have an undergrad business management degree from Tanaka business school, Imperial college.
I want to enter the VC industry and had hoped to apply to Stanford or Harvard.
I got a 700 today (quant 44. Verbal 42)
Really messed up the math section and panicked.
Is retaking an option i have to consider or will my diversity carry me through?

thanks
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Really the question is your quant score so low that it will keep you out?

Do you have other evidence of quant skills? (How were your grades in undergrad business school?) If you have that evidence, I doubt if the quant score alone will keep you out, considering your excellent academic record in medical school, competitive overall score, and excellent work experience.

Good luck!