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Question

Dear Accepted,
 
I hope you are well. Being knee deep in admissions prep, I have an admissions related question I hope you can answer...
 
I am having some real trouble with the GMAT and it is all maths related. I have no real maths background (Lawyer), so it has been a case of building my skills from the ground up and chipping away over the past 3 months and studying hard. The fact my job is so busy I think I burnt out trying to juggle both study and work, and I sat the GMAT last week and was disappointed with my result - the quant really ruined my score.
 
But if I can take a month or two off before the deadline (I am applying third round) and devote it to building on my quant skills, I know I can can do the proper study to get a good score to apply to W, H, UCLA - would Admissions look unfavourably at the fact I would take two months off work for this purpose pre-MBA? I know that time management is a big factor of attending business school, but I feel the issue here is for me to get the necessary quant skills to get into school, and managing my time and working every night and weekend has not been enough so far to do this! 
 
Getting accepted is paramount for me and my career, and I do not want to look back and think I have given this anything but my best shot.
 
Thanks,
 
J.

jsnooky33 · Answer

Getting into the 3rd round is extremely tough, and downright impossible for the W/H/S schools.

To be honest, I wouldn't bother sending this to any admissions people (I'm assuming that is what you are asking by your forum title). This comment would be viewed as an excuse, however true it is, and they may not even read the rest of your letter.

 

Is it possible for you to wait a year and just chip away at the math slowly? I was going to apply this year but FUBAR'd the math section (even though I'm an engineer, grrrrrrrrr) so will spend a long time slowly re-learning the math from the ground up. Maybe a prep class would help you too? That requires you to study at least a minimum amount and could help with motivation. We are all busy people, so unless you are working 16 hours a day, someone has found time to study.

Duffer · Answer

Thanks for your reply.

No, my question wasn't if I should send them a letter, just if they (adcom) would view the two month gap (on my CV) I used to study for and resit the GMAT as a bad thing? Would it be seen a dedication, or lack of ability? Obviously I would only be applying with a 700 score...which I totally know I am capable of.

Paul?

J

PaulBodine · Answer

J., 

I agree with the previous poster about your odds in the third round; it's not a good round to be aiming high in. As for taking two months off to ace the GMAT, by all means do so if you can afford it and know it will help you. I don't think you need to volunteer *why* you took the time off in any of your essays, however. If they require you to account for any 2- month employment gaps anywhere in your application then you have admit it, but you don't have to mention it in any essays. Perhaps you could devote 75% of your time in those 2 months to GMAT prep and the other 25% to some interesting community project. Then you would have something positive to give them when explaining the gap.

Good luck,

Duffer · Answer

Hi Paul,

Thanks very much for your reply. Yep, third round is a long shot I agree, but we'll see how it goes.

That is a great suggestion regarding a community project, I will definitely formulate a plan with this in mind.

All the best,

J.

PS. Thanks for the great essay book! Very helpful.

PaulBodine · Answer

You're welcome.

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