BRUMAR
Hi!
I’m here to ask for a honest opinion on my profile, is possible.
I’m a 28y old male from Spain. I’m a medical doctor, and I’m finishing my residency on cardiology next year at one of the top 10 hospitals in Spain. I have a 5 years experience.
A couple of months ago I decided to take an MBA, since I think it’s a good option for turning my career into the pharma industry vs. Healthcare consultory.
My GMAT is 650 (Q37/V42). Is the first time I take the exam. I’m looking forward for European schools, particularly IESE, LBS and HEC Paris, with the 2 year programme.
What are my real chances? Should I retake the exam. I actually got time, because I want to apply for Class of 2023, but I’m not sure if I will be able to score higher.
Thanks.
Posted from my mobile device
Generally you want to be near or above the GMAT average for the schools to which you apply in order to be competitive. In your case, you are meaningfully below the average for several of these schools. However, that may not matter depending on the other academic credentials in your application package. Admission to medical school is different from business school, but business schools realize that med school is also very competitive. The GMAT matters because it demonstrates how well you perform on high-stakes testing for business disciplines. As a medical doctor, you have already been through a lot of high-stakes testing and you have clearly done well enough to become licensed, so you may be a case where the GMAT doesn’t matter quite as much if you can put together a great application package.
Still, you want to apply with as strong of a GMAT as possible. My vote is to give a practice GMAT another try. If you are able to improve your score on your practice exam, then you should definitely sit for the GMAT again. If you are unable to improve your score, work on maximizing your existing application profile as much as possible. If your GMAT is lower than the school’s average, you’ll want your story and your post-MBA goals to shine that much more. What about pharma is more interesting to you than healthcare services? What impact do you see yourself making in this area? What are your short and long term goals, specifically? You’ll want to make sure that you have a water-tight strategy answering these questions.
You mentioned delaying your application. This is probably okay for the European schools you mentioned since you are still on the younger end of their age range. However, if you consider similar-caliber U.S. schools, I wouldn't wait much longer, as you are at or above the average age range for many now.
If a free consultation with an admissions consultant on your MBA admissions strategy (and talking about school selection, timing, GMAT) might be helpful to you, feel free to sign up here:
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