Competitveness.

Question

How does one judge his/her competitiveness for a business program?

Are there any free resources using which I can do an objective analysis to get to a list of schools? Any help regarding this will be appreciated.

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

I would recommend setting up a list of target schools that fit your criteria: geography, MBA focus, reputation, recruiting, etc. Once you identify your target schools I would compare your key stats to those of your target schools.

Examples of key stats include:
GMAT
GPA
Work Experience
Undergraduate Program (You can look at if your school is a common feeder)

This is one of the easiest and a FREE way to assess your competitiveness. Also, great admissions consulting companies like Veritas Prep will often also offer free assessments so make sure to utilize these great resources

avik629 · Answer

When I look at GMAT averages of schools they range from 650's to 720's. However I have a 730. How do I grade my competitiveness with that respect? Like, if I am within the top 30%, I am competitive? or if I am 50%?

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

Again, the GMAT is only one aspect of the evaluation process so you should really take a balanced perspective when gauging your competitiveness at specific schools you really want to look at things from a 360 view. But with the GMAT I would say that you would first want to be in the school's listed range and the higher you are on the scale the more competitive you are on the GMAT alone for the school. Again, this is just one factor but def a positive if you score well on the GMAT like you have done

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hey there,

We have a really good resource that covers the 4 main components of your profile and what you should be thinking about. Here's the link:   .

I hope that helps!

Bhavik

MAC · Answer

Hi Avik629,

Great question. Yes, your score is within the competitive range for top-tier programs and you have done a nice job bringing it to a 730.

I remember that several years ago, when I was in admissions, a 620 was considered a competitive score without considering the other components in an MBA application. From our experience last year, a 680 was strong enough for certain candidates to receive invites from HBS, Wharton and Stanford. Equally, there were many posts in online forums who claimed that they were denied by these same schools with a 740 - 780 GMAT score. This is a great example which demonstrates how AdComms view the GMAT score truly as  a  component (out of 6 total components) when conducting their evaluation.

Regardless of the opinions you receive from forums, please apply to the top ranked programs and do not underestimate the other components (professional and personal) in your background that you possess. I find that 90% of top-tier candidates I work with tend to "opt-out" of the application process as they feel that they do not stand a chance with certain top tier programs. These candidates do this before the school can even receive their application. Regardless of where you fall with your competition, let the top-tier school make the ultimate decision on your candidacy. Most candidates share with me how they are pleasantly surprised when they are accepted and never thought they stood a chance in top tier programs.

Hope this helps you. Please let us know if we could be of further help. Our consultants come from an top 5 AdComm background and would be happy to answer any further questions.

Yours truly,
Sue

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