Full Range of GMAT Scores

Question

I know at some point there was some discussion about whether schools ever posted the full range of GMAT scores. I found on businessweek that if you go back to 1999-2000 and look at interviews with admissions directors (Virginia, for example) it shows the full range of gmat scores. Darden had a full range of 490-780. I see why they show middle 80% now!!

pelihu · Answer

UCLA listed their full range as 540-780. No doubt, every school will have a few outliers each year. There are just some people that schools will admit, no matter what.

I have heard that a $10 million donation will get your kid into Harvard. It would probably take considerably less, say $1 million to get your kid into Virginia or UCLA. There are also some backgrounds that are impossible to turn down, an Olympic athlete from an underrepresented country perhaps, or someone with an established name brand in business, science or politics.

I also believe that certain students are admitted so a school an establish and/or maintain recruiting relationships with certain companies. I remember reading that years ago, all of the top business school wanted to get in good with Microsoft. Of course, business (along with pay, benefits and stock options) was so good at Microsoft that the best people didn't leave to go to business school; so schools fought over the few people - likely not the highest achievers - that did apply to business school.

I think normal folks without such backgrounds should remember that people with these super low scores were probably admitted in spite of their scores, not because of them. Heck, I wish I had a $5 million sack of cash to hand over to some school.

standard · Answer

I don't think getting an MBA degree from a reputable university is THAT rewarding.

c00624 · Answer

Yeah, it makes sense that there would be people who have done really exceptional things either in work or community activities (or who have rich parents/ good connections) that allow them to make up for a weak GMAT score, but I wouldn't have expected it to go that low at such a good school. "Weak" to me at Darden or similar schools means 600-650.

pelihu · Answer

There is actually another really significant factor. I haven't looked at data specific to business school, but I know that for law school and undergraduate admissions, there is virtually no crossover between the scores of underrepresented minorities and non-minorities.

I base this statement on official data released for the lawsuits against Michigan undergrad, Michigan Law and Georgetown law school admissions policies. I believe business school is somewhat, but I would not be surprised if there was a 100-150 difference in average GMAT between underrepresented minorities and the general student body. You can extrapolate score range after you establish the average. An equivalent gap certainly exists in LSAT and SAT scores.

died4me · Answer

hack, Bush went to HBS.

I don't want to even guess what he got on the GMAT.

If your grandpa was senator and your daddy is a director of CIA, you can get into HBS. I bet that's how he got into Yale for his undergraduate.

lhotseface · Answer

If I were a senator or the director of CIA, I will ensure that my kids have the best opportunities. What's wrong with that ? B-school and business life in general is all about making contacts and leveraging them. Rolodex matters a lot !

died4me · Answer

Did I say that something is wrong with sending one's kid to HBS???????? :roll:

I just provided an example where a person with a special background can get into HBS without a steller GMAT score.

lhotseface · Answer

Hey died4me, I forgot to remove your message at the bottom. I didn't intend to reply to or challenge your thoughts.

Full Range of GMAT Scores

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards