GMAT - 640;GPA-3.1;5yrs7mnths-Evaluate Please!!!

Question

Dear all,

I am a female applicant from India. I am targetting for schools in Southern california namely UCLA, USC Marshall, UCI for a full time MBA. 
 
GMAT - 640 ( Q- 46 - V - 31)
GPA - 3.1
Exp - 5 yrs and 7 months in a leading IT organization as a Project Lead

Should i retake my GMAT or can i try applying with this score ? I would want to get into UCLA. 
Please let me know your comments.

Thanks in advance.

bakfed · Answer

Hi there, as you probably know, there's just so many different factors that play into a b-school admission, let alone a top b-school admission. Judging from what you wrote, I have to play devil's advocate and say that your chances at Anderson and Marshall are going to be fairly slim. Anderson is notoriously known for its high average GPA and average GMAT score (look at its class profile) and quite frankly, both your GPA and GMAT fall on the bottom of its applicant pool. You being an Indian applicant basically makes it even worse. You may have a shot at Merage but I can't put any money on it. Looking at Merage's stat, its class of 2012 consisted of an average GPA 3.46 and average GMAT of 673 (80% range includes 640-710) and while you definitely fall within range, again your demographic plays a negative aspect on your profile. At this current moment, my suggestion for you is to retake the GMAT and aim for nothing lower than a 700. If you have time, take some classes outside of work to build up an alternative transcript (and get A's). These will alleviate any doubt of your ability in handling rigorous coursework.

Again, while I may sound negative, I just want to make sure that you're well informed. There are certainly numerous other aspects in your application (letters of rec and essays), strictly reading at your numbers, you'll be at a disadvantage.

Again, while I may sound negative, I just want to make sure that you're well informed. There are certainly numerous other aspects in your application (letters of rec and essays), strictly reading at your numbers, you'll be at a disadvantage.

srivicool · Answer

hi, thanks for the detailed response. i got 80% in my undergraduation ( Engineering). i converted directly and rounded it to 3.1/4. but when i browsed in the websites, i came to know 61-80% = 3.5 in GPA. is this correct ? if so my GPA would increase ...

though my GPA and GMAT is not in the higher end, i have a very good growth in my career. I was promoted to the Lead level at the end of 2 yrs itself which happens for hardly 1% of the candidates in my area of work. will all these help to make my application better. looking forward for your response. thanks again..

bakfed · Answer

Your job will definitely help but because your GMAT score is a variable that you can control, most people would recommend you to retake the test. I'm not sure what 80% would translate to but from what I've read, it's fairly high (and should be higher than 3.1). Should it be 3.5, you're in a much better shape; however, that 640 is certainly going to drag you down. I'd say that if you truly want Anderson, aim for a higher GMAT (680+). Again, the pool of applicant that you'll be applying to also had engineering degrees and probably 700+ GMAT scores.

srivicool · Answer

thanks for the info....

bakfed · Answer

You're welcome! Best of luck!!

GMAT - 640;GPA-3.1;5yrs7mnths-Evaluate Please!!!

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