McCombs Recruiting?

From what I am hearing, consulting companies will cut off at 700 or some high end companies even at higher scores (750 or 760) from some of the "scary MBA stories" i have heard.

I think MBB will be hard but Deloitte (which is solid) may be doable.

Thanks for the response. I may need to ask this to the program itself, but if I gained my admit on the 690 but was able to retake and improve the score but not have it officially on file at the school, could that help me?

Yes and a number of people have done that. Taking the GMAT again in between the 2 years. Mostly it’s consulting and a few other specific companies that are number centric and that use GMAT scores to shortlist applicants.

Posted from my mobile device

Great, this is very helpful (as always). Thanks!

What other specific companies use GMAT as recruiting tool...? I was aware of consulting but not any other industry. I mean I have 720 and have no intention to retake whatsoever, but for pure curiosity.

Usually it will be IB and any high level finance companies/positions where they are looking for very strong quant skills and have thousands of applicants per seat.

I found banks will do that sometimes. I was once in a Barclay presentation where they said outright that if you have a score lower than X, don't apply. (The X changes from company to company and industry to industry. Usually X is around the score the recruiter/presenter scored and starts at 700 and goes up to 760 for some other industries/levels). That statement made me happy but it discouraged a number of my classmates, which frankly, were a lot more qualified and interested in the jobs than I but it gave me an advantage over them.

I will ask around to see if anyone has fresh examples.

Just heard back from souvik101990 who mentioned:
"Most companies don't seem to care about one's GMAT Score in my experience. Maybe consulting companies look at them on the resumes but lots of examples of people breaking into consulting with low ish GMAT"

Congrats on getting into McCombs.
This is my experience talking to consultants and students who are recruiting for IB, Finance, Consulting. And I'm going to echo souvik101990 & bb 's comment.

I don't think many companies care about GMAT. They especially look for leadership, accomplishments, & people skills more. They know you are an MBA so you can do Math. IB relies more on networking. I know there are ppl who had 740 GMAT score did not get called for the super day but ppl with lower GMAT, but a good experience, people skills got the call and landed the internship/ full-time role. Same with Consulting. They are providing client service, so nail your behavioral & cases and be humble in answers. They can surely smell know it all & arrogant person. Product Management- They will more look for the same but I don't think they really care about your GMAT or will not even look at it.

If you are looking for a recipe to get into Management consulting at MBB or big-4, then there isn't a clear cut roadmap that one has to follow so that they will get a job. It all comes down to your GPA, leadership skills, experience, people skills, Networking skills and how well you do in your case interview. Sure, GMAT add some Garnish to your resume but it isn't the only factor.

McCombs is really a great school- employers will look that on the resume more than your current GMAT score. I have heard some ppl who took GMAT again in summer before full-time recruitment did not even get a call for the interview even though they got higher GMAT scores. If you did not make it to MBB or other consulting firms for the internship, then focus on maximizing your internship experience, and reach out to Alums and employees of your desired company to focus on full-time roles. But careful so that you don't come as too forward or needy.

So focus on GPA, Network, Case Interview Prep, People Skills/Behavioral.

Welcome to scary MBA world!

I saw being mentioned here twice and I have a slow day at work today, so I am happy to chime in.

GMAT scores are bonus for recruiting. Some HR folks who scan resumes might be impressed that you have a 740+ score on the GMAT but it is unusual. I am going to try to break it down across several industries and functions so that its clearer.

For IB and Consulting, companies have their own job application portal (think of all those stats and work experience stuff that you filled out for your business school application). For most consulting companies there will be a field for your GMAT, so they clearly have access to your score. Do they really look into that with a lot of significance? It depends. Your quant scores are more important than verbal so a Q40 may not cut it. But I see many examples of a 650-700 GMAT scorers recruiting with MBB and other consulting firms. I think Indians and international students generally end up with stronger GMAT scores but that's not saying much because they have higher than average scores in the school anyway. FWIW, two of my friends got into consulting (not MBB but very very close and above Deloitte) with 730 GMATs and they did just fine. Also both of them went to final rounds in MBB recruiting.

For Tech PM roles, I doubt anyone cares. I have a high-ish GMAT so I put my GMAT out there on my resume, but most people recruiting for tech do not. I ended up at a PM role in a big tech company and I can guarantee you that the GMAT had nothing to do with my success. Companies such as Microsoft and Google hires from Ross a lot and many of them have lower than average GMAT but incredible work experiences that are bound to impress.

For finance roles (non IB but more like corporate finance), GMAT is again not important. You're CFA/CPA levels and your finance class grades carry more weight than whether you can do quick math in a standardized test.

Bottom line is, do what you think is the best utilization of your time right now. Recruiting will get hot and heavy early October, so if you can hack around a great GMAT before then, that's great. If you don't, that's OK too.

Also, recruiters won't ask career services for your GMAT scores. They will look for that in your resume or their own application portal.

Congrats jch103020

I have a friend in Darden who were recruited by Mck with 710 with math above 46. Also, I know someone in KF who took the GMAT exam during his first year to apply for consulting. GMAt ic a concern for finanace, IB and consulting. I know friends in supply chain and marketing whom told me that nobody asked them or paid attention to their GMAt scores.

Good luck