Hi-- I took the GMAT for the first time and scored a 710 (48Q, 40V). I graduated from a top 50 private university with a 3.2 gpa, worked in at a big 4 accounting firm for 2.5 years (obtained senior title), and now work in finance at a large media company (have only been there 6 months). The only schools I am interested in applying to are NYU, Columbia, MIT, and maybe Harvard (although I imagine that's a huge stretch). Do I have ANY chance of getting into these schools or should I take the test again? I feel like my score was on the low end of what I could have gotten-- on my last 4 practices tests (MGMAT and GMATPrep) I scored between 720-740.

I'm worried about my low gpa and lack of work experience (only 3 years). Does being a female who wants to concentrate in finance help at all? Does the CPA help?

Thanks for the advice!

People have been accepted to all those schools with stats similar to yours. As long as you have a logical story that connects your past/current work experiences with your plans post-MBA, then you have as good of a shot as anyone at these schools and others. As long as you have the quant chops to hack it at Sloan, you should be fine (Q48 is in the ballpark range, though I'm sure a 50 wouldn't hurt either )
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