Hayabusa wrote:
Hello,
First of all I want to say that your help is greatly appreciated and I have learned a lot from the many evaluations that you have done.
My question is as follows: I see many bright young people on this site that have great profiles. Great work experience, leadership skills and 750+ GMAT scores. You suggest that top schools like HBS and Stanford would still be somewhat out of reach for them. Yet, when I look up average GMAT scores of students accepted at these institutions, I see 700-715. This means that there are plenty with sub 700 scores that get in. What could they possibly have on their resumes to be able to do that?
Hayabusa,
What they can have on their resumes is a track record of extraordinary leadership and impact and experiences that are distinctive relative to the average B-school applicant. When they have these, they can get into elite schools with GMAT scores under 700. There are also applicants from certain underrepresented groups such as African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanic Americans who are cut some additional slack on their GMAT scores. The very top schools want outstanding leaders more than they want effective test-takers or quant jocks.
Good luck,