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31 Dec 2020, 22:56
Kudos
Bookmarks
[Sorry for the long post - desperately looking for advice]
I'm a Pakistani top-MBA aspirant, and am looking to apply to HBS, Wharton, Stanford, INSEAD or Rotman (for immigration). Here's what my profile looks like:
- Undergrad from the top b-school in the country - BSc (Accounting & Finance) - 3.72/4.0 CGPA
- CFA - cleared all 3 levels with >90percentile score in consecutive attempts
- 1.5 years of work experience at Unilever
- 1 year (till date) work experience at a tech startup with great international exposure across East Africa, South Asia and Middle East
- GMAT 750 Q50 V41 IR8 BUT AWA3.0 - super surprised by my AWA 3.0, it was probably because my essay was very short (I guess).
I believe I have decent writing skills but the GMAT AWA has been a shocker and may reflect badly on my profile overall. Given my target schools and profile, itd be great if you guys could answer the following as per your opinion:
1. Should I retake my GMAT just to improve AWA? I'd personally not, since I may have gotten lucky scoring a 750 and the overall score may decline.
2. Is there any merit in giving and scoring well on TOEFL and/or IELTS to compensate for the low GMAT AWA?
3. What are my chances of getting into any/all of the b-schools I am targeting? What should I focus on next?
4. Should I get in touch with an MBA consultant to help me put up a strong application?
5. To add to question 3 above - getting a partial/full scholarship may be a key factor for me to consider joining a b-school. Which schools and what technique/next steps do you feel would help me maximize the chance of getting a scholarship?
Thanks in advance!
I'm a Pakistani top-MBA aspirant, and am looking to apply to HBS, Wharton, Stanford, INSEAD or Rotman (for immigration). Here's what my profile looks like:
- Undergrad from the top b-school in the country - BSc (Accounting & Finance) - 3.72/4.0 CGPA
- CFA - cleared all 3 levels with >90percentile score in consecutive attempts
- 1.5 years of work experience at Unilever
- 1 year (till date) work experience at a tech startup with great international exposure across East Africa, South Asia and Middle East
- GMAT 750 Q50 V41 IR8 BUT AWA3.0 - super surprised by my AWA 3.0, it was probably because my essay was very short (I guess).
I believe I have decent writing skills but the GMAT AWA has been a shocker and may reflect badly on my profile overall. Given my target schools and profile, itd be great if you guys could answer the following as per your opinion:
1. Should I retake my GMAT just to improve AWA? I'd personally not, since I may have gotten lucky scoring a 750 and the overall score may decline.
2. Is there any merit in giving and scoring well on TOEFL and/or IELTS to compensate for the low GMAT AWA?
3. What are my chances of getting into any/all of the b-schools I am targeting? What should I focus on next?
4. Should I get in touch with an MBA consultant to help me put up a strong application?
5. To add to question 3 above - getting a partial/full scholarship may be a key factor for me to consider joining a b-school. Which schools and what technique/next steps do you feel would help me maximize the chance of getting a scholarship?
Thanks in advance!
31 Dec 2020, 23:19
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi. Welcome to GMAT Club. Congrats on your score!
It is somewhat unfortunate that you got a 3.0 since it is so easy to get 5.0 or 6.0 on the AWA with 1 day of prep: https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-get-6 ... 64327.html and yes, length does matter.
However, I would personally not worry about it. If you are concerned, many schools have an optional essay and I would use that essay to comment on it. However, if any adcom is concerned, schools will see the text of your essay, and they can see that perhaps it is well written but is just short and will discard that concern.
I would not retake; there is not much time for R2 to retake. Or are you applying next year?
It is somewhat unfortunate that you got a 3.0 since it is so easy to get 5.0 or 6.0 on the AWA with 1 day of prep: https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-get-6 ... 64327.html and yes, length does matter.
However, I would personally not worry about it. If you are concerned, many schools have an optional essay and I would use that essay to comment on it. However, if any adcom is concerned, schools will see the text of your essay, and they can see that perhaps it is well written but is just short and will discard that concern.
I would not retake; there is not much time for R2 to retake. Or are you applying next year?
01 Jan 2021, 10:38
Kudos
Bookmarks
hasanjaved:
Thanks for your post! My take on your questions:
1. Should I retake my GMAT just to improve AWA? I'd personally not, since I may have gotten lucky scoring a 750 and the overall score may decline.
A: No. If you are admitting you lucked out on the 750, don't risk it solely for a new AWA score. The school might just think you had a weird experience with the nature of the two 30-minute essays, especially for a foreign candidate. Your verbal score will count way more! Put together excellent application essays and that'll take care of this issue.
2. Is there any merit in giving and scoring well on TOEFL and/or IELTS to compensate for the low GMAT AWA?
A: No, but if you need to take the TOEFL per the schools' requirements then this is a moot point. Again, do not worry about the AWA score.
3. What are my chances of getting into any/all of the b-schools I am targeting? What should I focus on next?
A: You definitely have a shot! I don't see any reason on paper, based on what you have posted, to disqualify you. You're on the younger side but plenty of people get in with your years of work experience. You have to demonstrate strong achievements at work and outside of work to justify your application to show you can hack it with candidates with 2-3 more years of experience.
4. Should I get in touch with an MBA consultant to help me put up a strong application?
A: As an MBA admissions consultant, I always recommend people seek our services. There is a certain cadence and structure to your overall application (including but not limited to your essays) that is very particular to the process. So many times I have seen candidates with terrific profiles but poorly executed applications, and it pains my heart. Working with someone who understands what makes for a successful application can yield a tremendous ROI, particularly for the school to which you are seeking admission.
5. To add to question 3 above - getting a partial/full scholarship may be a key factor for me to consider joining a b-school. Which schools and what technique/next steps do you feel would help me maximize the chance of getting a scholarship?
A: We can discuss in more detail on the phone, but in general it's all about putting forward an excellent application. In the case of HBS, scholarship is not possible (all financial aid is need-based, not merit-based) but the other schools do offer scholarship money to candidates they deem highly desirable as a way to entice them to matriculate. Also, you can seek outside of third party scholarships to supplement any package you might receive.
My best piece of advice: please reach out to us at Admissionado for a free consultation. I, or another experienced consultant, can walk you through our services, your profile and a robust plan of action for your potential applications to these top programs.
https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/
Best,
Seth, Admissionado
Thanks for your post! My take on your questions:
1. Should I retake my GMAT just to improve AWA? I'd personally not, since I may have gotten lucky scoring a 750 and the overall score may decline.
A: No. If you are admitting you lucked out on the 750, don't risk it solely for a new AWA score. The school might just think you had a weird experience with the nature of the two 30-minute essays, especially for a foreign candidate. Your verbal score will count way more! Put together excellent application essays and that'll take care of this issue.
2. Is there any merit in giving and scoring well on TOEFL and/or IELTS to compensate for the low GMAT AWA?
A: No, but if you need to take the TOEFL per the schools' requirements then this is a moot point. Again, do not worry about the AWA score.
3. What are my chances of getting into any/all of the b-schools I am targeting? What should I focus on next?
A: You definitely have a shot! I don't see any reason on paper, based on what you have posted, to disqualify you. You're on the younger side but plenty of people get in with your years of work experience. You have to demonstrate strong achievements at work and outside of work to justify your application to show you can hack it with candidates with 2-3 more years of experience.
4. Should I get in touch with an MBA consultant to help me put up a strong application?
A: As an MBA admissions consultant, I always recommend people seek our services. There is a certain cadence and structure to your overall application (including but not limited to your essays) that is very particular to the process. So many times I have seen candidates with terrific profiles but poorly executed applications, and it pains my heart. Working with someone who understands what makes for a successful application can yield a tremendous ROI, particularly for the school to which you are seeking admission.
5. To add to question 3 above - getting a partial/full scholarship may be a key factor for me to consider joining a b-school. Which schools and what technique/next steps do you feel would help me maximize the chance of getting a scholarship?
A: We can discuss in more detail on the phone, but in general it's all about putting forward an excellent application. In the case of HBS, scholarship is not possible (all financial aid is need-based, not merit-based) but the other schools do offer scholarship money to candidates they deem highly desirable as a way to entice them to matriculate. Also, you can seek outside of third party scholarships to supplement any package you might receive.
My best piece of advice: please reach out to us at Admissionado for a free consultation. I, or another experienced consultant, can walk you through our services, your profile and a robust plan of action for your potential applications to these top programs.
https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/
Best,
Seth, Admissionado
