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13 Jan 2020, 10:48
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Hi I am from Chile and I am looking into applying to the top MBA programs in the US (HBS, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Chicago, Kellogg, Berkley, etc.) and probably LBS as well. I did my first GMAT about a month and a half ago and scored a 700 (Q48, V37, IR5, AWA 6.0).
This for me was a pretty acceptable score for a first attempt, especially considering the fact that I have known several people from my country who have been accepted to these schools in the las 2-5 years with scores ranging from 690-720 and similar with background than mine. The think is I don’t know if that is influenced by the fact that scores have been systematically increasing and 700 isn’t know as good as it was a couple of years ago.
The thing is that I spoke with an admission consultant and she told me that of course it would be ideal for me to improve my score (which of course I know and I will be reattempting the GMAT soon hoping to get a 720); but she felt that what would help me the most would be improving my Quant percentile, although Q48 I feel is pretty decent the 67th percentile does seem a bit low, she said that with Q49 and 74th percentile that could be enough. The thing is that I feel capable of improving my score, but I am not sure if I will be able to do that in the quant section as there is less room to improve.
I have read contrarian opinions regarding this, some who say that what matters is the score others who think percentile is important too. What do you think of this?
Just to give you a bit of context of my background in case this helps for the answer, I studied at one of the top 3 b-schools of my country and graduated at the top 5% of my class and worked as TA in two courses, Econometrics and Entrepreneurship workshop. After this, I have worked in: corporate finance at EY, Equity Research at JP Morgan and currently I work at the family office of the richest family in my country, where all my bosses are MBA graduates from top schools (LBS, HBS, Chicago, Stanford, etc.), all of them entered with similar scores to mine, some even lower.
I want to know what do you think, its imperative for me to improve on Quant? Is it better to focus on just improving my general score? Do you think I have a shot with my current score? If not, what do you think is the least I need.
This for me was a pretty acceptable score for a first attempt, especially considering the fact that I have known several people from my country who have been accepted to these schools in the las 2-5 years with scores ranging from 690-720 and similar with background than mine. The think is I don’t know if that is influenced by the fact that scores have been systematically increasing and 700 isn’t know as good as it was a couple of years ago.
The thing is that I spoke with an admission consultant and she told me that of course it would be ideal for me to improve my score (which of course I know and I will be reattempting the GMAT soon hoping to get a 720); but she felt that what would help me the most would be improving my Quant percentile, although Q48 I feel is pretty decent the 67th percentile does seem a bit low, she said that with Q49 and 74th percentile that could be enough. The thing is that I feel capable of improving my score, but I am not sure if I will be able to do that in the quant section as there is less room to improve.
I have read contrarian opinions regarding this, some who say that what matters is the score others who think percentile is important too. What do you think of this?
Just to give you a bit of context of my background in case this helps for the answer, I studied at one of the top 3 b-schools of my country and graduated at the top 5% of my class and worked as TA in two courses, Econometrics and Entrepreneurship workshop. After this, I have worked in: corporate finance at EY, Equity Research at JP Morgan and currently I work at the family office of the richest family in my country, where all my bosses are MBA graduates from top schools (LBS, HBS, Chicago, Stanford, etc.), all of them entered with similar scores to mine, some even lower.
I want to know what do you think, its imperative for me to improve on Quant? Is it better to focus on just improving my general score? Do you think I have a shot with my current score? If not, what do you think is the least I need.
13 Jan 2020, 14:05
Kudos
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Hi there nalbagli!
Thanks for reaching out. In terms of your undergrad background and work profile, it sounds very strong with high profile firms, progression of roles, and analytical work.
On to your main questions on the GMAT...I think you do have a shot with your current score, as it is in range given your profile and where you are applying from. But a higher score will always maximize your chances, especially at certain schools that may be more GMAT focused in a particular year. And yes you are right that scores are trending up, so alumni from several years back likely will have lower scores.
I think your score is well balanced, and your Q score is high enough. I wouldn't retake just to increase the Q score. When we looked at our past clients who were accepted to top programs, the average raw score was actually 47. Percentiles can be tricky, because it is so compressed at the top of the Q score range. Some still stick to an 80% rule, but we don't think that's very helpful and plenty of our clients get in to top programs with lower % Q scores. https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2018/03 ... -the-gmat/
To summarize, I don't think you need to retake. You have a strong score, in range for your schools/profile. That said, retaking once can't hurt, so if you feel like you can gain some points or if you were practicing higher, then give it one more shot. You may feel better knowing you fully exhausted that piece of the process. If you do retake, I would just try to increase your overall score, as you pointed out it may be easier to gain points on verbal.
Hope that helps, and feel free to reaach out for a follow-up free phone consult, if you have more questions you'd like to discuss (link in my signature).
Good luck!
Kate
Thanks for reaching out. In terms of your undergrad background and work profile, it sounds very strong with high profile firms, progression of roles, and analytical work.
On to your main questions on the GMAT...I think you do have a shot with your current score, as it is in range given your profile and where you are applying from. But a higher score will always maximize your chances, especially at certain schools that may be more GMAT focused in a particular year. And yes you are right that scores are trending up, so alumni from several years back likely will have lower scores.
I think your score is well balanced, and your Q score is high enough. I wouldn't retake just to increase the Q score. When we looked at our past clients who were accepted to top programs, the average raw score was actually 47. Percentiles can be tricky, because it is so compressed at the top of the Q score range. Some still stick to an 80% rule, but we don't think that's very helpful and plenty of our clients get in to top programs with lower % Q scores. https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2018/03 ... -the-gmat/
To summarize, I don't think you need to retake. You have a strong score, in range for your schools/profile. That said, retaking once can't hurt, so if you feel like you can gain some points or if you were practicing higher, then give it one more shot. You may feel better knowing you fully exhausted that piece of the process. If you do retake, I would just try to increase your overall score, as you pointed out it may be easier to gain points on verbal.
Hope that helps, and feel free to reaach out for a follow-up free phone consult, if you have more questions you'd like to discuss (link in my signature).
Good luck!
Kate
nalbagli
Hi I am from Chile and I am looking into applying to the top MBA programs in the US (HBS, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Chicago, Kellogg, Berkley, etc.) and probably LBS as well. I did my first GMAT about a month and a half ago and scored a 700 (Q48, V37, IR5, AWA 6.0).
This for me was a pretty acceptable score for a first attempt, especially considering the fact that I have known several people from my country who have been accepted to these schools in the las 2-5 years with scores ranging from 690-720 and similar with background than mine. The think is I don’t know if that is influenced by the fact that scores have been systematically increasing and 700 isn’t know as good as it was a couple of years ago.
The thing is that I spoke with an admission consultant and she told me that of course it would be ideal for me to improve my score (which of course I know and I will be reattempting the GMAT soon hoping to get a 720); but she felt that what would help me the most would be improving my Quant percentile, although Q48 I feel is pretty decent the 67th percentile does seem a bit low, she said that with Q49 and 74th percentile that could be enough. The thing is that I feel capable of improving my score, but I am not sure if I will be able to do that in the quant section as there is less room to improve.
I have read contrarian opinions regarding this, some who say that what matters is the score others who think percentile is important too. What do you think of this?
Just to give you a bit of context of my background in case this helps for the answer, I studied at one of the top 3 b-schools of my country and graduated at the top 5% of my class and worked as TA in two courses, Econometrics and Entrepreneurship workshop. After this, I have worked in: corporate finance at EY, Equity Research at JP Morgan and currently I work at the family office of the richest family in my country, where all my bosses are MBA graduates from top schools (LBS, HBS, Chicago, Stanford, etc.), all of them entered with similar scores to mine, some even lower.
I want to know what do you think, its imperative for me to improve on Quant? Is it better to focus on just improving my general score? Do you think I have a shot with my current score? If not, what do you think is the least I need.
This for me was a pretty acceptable score for a first attempt, especially considering the fact that I have known several people from my country who have been accepted to these schools in the las 2-5 years with scores ranging from 690-720 and similar with background than mine. The think is I don’t know if that is influenced by the fact that scores have been systematically increasing and 700 isn’t know as good as it was a couple of years ago.
The thing is that I spoke with an admission consultant and she told me that of course it would be ideal for me to improve my score (which of course I know and I will be reattempting the GMAT soon hoping to get a 720); but she felt that what would help me the most would be improving my Quant percentile, although Q48 I feel is pretty decent the 67th percentile does seem a bit low, she said that with Q49 and 74th percentile that could be enough. The thing is that I feel capable of improving my score, but I am not sure if I will be able to do that in the quant section as there is less room to improve.
I have read contrarian opinions regarding this, some who say that what matters is the score others who think percentile is important too. What do you think of this?
Just to give you a bit of context of my background in case this helps for the answer, I studied at one of the top 3 b-schools of my country and graduated at the top 5% of my class and worked as TA in two courses, Econometrics and Entrepreneurship workshop. After this, I have worked in: corporate finance at EY, Equity Research at JP Morgan and currently I work at the family office of the richest family in my country, where all my bosses are MBA graduates from top schools (LBS, HBS, Chicago, Stanford, etc.), all of them entered with similar scores to mine, some even lower.
I want to know what do you think, its imperative for me to improve on Quant? Is it better to focus on just improving my general score? Do you think I have a shot with my current score? If not, what do you think is the least I need.
15 Jan 2020, 05:31
Kudos
Bookmarks
Thanks so much for the answer, it's really nice to hear that. I really think I can marginally improve my verbal score, I hope then I can repat my Quant score and reach a 720. On last question, if for example once when I perform it again I score 700 again but with a different combination (lower Quant for instance) should I keep or delete that score? If I getanywhere below 700 I should delete it for sure right?
Also, I did score very poorly on IR (despite getting max score on many CATs), do you think that could be a problem?
Thanks
Also, I did score very poorly on IR (despite getting max score on many CATs), do you think that could be a problem?
Thanks
mbaMissionKate
Hi there nalbagli!
Thanks for reaching out. In terms of your undergrad background and work profile, it sounds very strong with high profile firms, progression of roles, and analytical work.
On to your main questions on the GMAT...I think you do have a shot with your current score, as it is in range given your profile and where you are applying from. But a higher score will always maximize your chances, especially at certain schools that may be more GMAT focused in a particular year. And yes you are right that scores are trending up, so alumni from several years back likely will have lower scores.
I think your score is well balanced, and your Q score is high enough. I wouldn't retake just to increase the Q score. When we looked at our past clients who were accepted to top programs, the average raw score was actually 47. Percentiles can be tricky, because it is so compressed at the top of the Q score range. Some still stick to an 80% rule, but we don't think that's very helpful and plenty of our clients get in to top programs with lower % Q scores. https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2018/03 ... -the-gmat/
To summarize, I don't think you need to retake. You have a strong score, in range for your schools/profile. That said, retaking once can't hurt, so if you feel like you can gain some points or if you were practicing higher, then give it one more shot. You may feel better knowing you fully exhausted that piece of the process. If you do retake, I would just try to increase your overall score, as you pointed out it may be easier to gain points on verbal.
Hope that helps, and feel free to reaach out for a follow-up free phone consult, if you have more questions you'd like to discuss (link in my signature).
Good luck!
Kate
Thanks for reaching out. In terms of your undergrad background and work profile, it sounds very strong with high profile firms, progression of roles, and analytical work.
On to your main questions on the GMAT...I think you do have a shot with your current score, as it is in range given your profile and where you are applying from. But a higher score will always maximize your chances, especially at certain schools that may be more GMAT focused in a particular year. And yes you are right that scores are trending up, so alumni from several years back likely will have lower scores.
I think your score is well balanced, and your Q score is high enough. I wouldn't retake just to increase the Q score. When we looked at our past clients who were accepted to top programs, the average raw score was actually 47. Percentiles can be tricky, because it is so compressed at the top of the Q score range. Some still stick to an 80% rule, but we don't think that's very helpful and plenty of our clients get in to top programs with lower % Q scores. https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2018/03 ... -the-gmat/
To summarize, I don't think you need to retake. You have a strong score, in range for your schools/profile. That said, retaking once can't hurt, so if you feel like you can gain some points or if you were practicing higher, then give it one more shot. You may feel better knowing you fully exhausted that piece of the process. If you do retake, I would just try to increase your overall score, as you pointed out it may be easier to gain points on verbal.
Hope that helps, and feel free to reaach out for a follow-up free phone consult, if you have more questions you'd like to discuss (link in my signature).
Good luck!
Kate
nalbagli
Hi I am from Chile and I am looking into applying to the top MBA programs in the US (HBS, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Chicago, Kellogg, Berkley, etc.) and probably LBS as well. I did my first GMAT about a month and a half ago and scored a 700 (Q48, V37, IR5, AWA 6.0).
This for me was a pretty acceptable score for a first attempt, especially considering the fact that I have known several people from my country who have been accepted to these schools in the las 2-5 years with scores ranging from 690-720 and similar with background than mine. The think is I don’t know if that is influenced by the fact that scores have been systematically increasing and 700 isn’t know as good as it was a couple of years ago.
The thing is that I spoke with an admission consultant and she told me that of course it would be ideal for me to improve my score (which of course I know and I will be reattempting the GMAT soon hoping to get a 720); but she felt that what would help me the most would be improving my Quant percentile, although Q48 I feel is pretty decent the 67th percentile does seem a bit low, she said that with Q49 and 74th percentile that could be enough. The thing is that I feel capable of improving my score, but I am not sure if I will be able to do that in the quant section as there is less room to improve.
I have read contrarian opinions regarding this, some who say that what matters is the score others who think percentile is important too. What do you think of this?
Just to give you a bit of context of my background in case this helps for the answer, I studied at one of the top 3 b-schools of my country and graduated at the top 5% of my class and worked as TA in two courses, Econometrics and Entrepreneurship workshop. After this, I have worked in: corporate finance at EY, Equity Research at JP Morgan and currently I work at the family office of the richest family in my country, where all my bosses are MBA graduates from top schools (LBS, HBS, Chicago, Stanford, etc.), all of them entered with similar scores to mine, some even lower.
I want to know what do you think, its imperative for me to improve on Quant? Is it better to focus on just improving my general score? Do you think I have a shot with my current score? If not, what do you think is the least I need.
This for me was a pretty acceptable score for a first attempt, especially considering the fact that I have known several people from my country who have been accepted to these schools in the las 2-5 years with scores ranging from 690-720 and similar with background than mine. The think is I don’t know if that is influenced by the fact that scores have been systematically increasing and 700 isn’t know as good as it was a couple of years ago.
The thing is that I spoke with an admission consultant and she told me that of course it would be ideal for me to improve my score (which of course I know and I will be reattempting the GMAT soon hoping to get a 720); but she felt that what would help me the most would be improving my Quant percentile, although Q48 I feel is pretty decent the 67th percentile does seem a bit low, she said that with Q49 and 74th percentile that could be enough. The thing is that I feel capable of improving my score, but I am not sure if I will be able to do that in the quant section as there is less room to improve.
I have read contrarian opinions regarding this, some who say that what matters is the score others who think percentile is important too. What do you think of this?
Just to give you a bit of context of my background in case this helps for the answer, I studied at one of the top 3 b-schools of my country and graduated at the top 5% of my class and worked as TA in two courses, Econometrics and Entrepreneurship workshop. After this, I have worked in: corporate finance at EY, Equity Research at JP Morgan and currently I work at the family office of the richest family in my country, where all my bosses are MBA graduates from top schools (LBS, HBS, Chicago, Stanford, etc.), all of them entered with similar scores to mine, some even lower.
I want to know what do you think, its imperative for me to improve on Quant? Is it better to focus on just improving my general score? Do you think I have a shot with my current score? If not, what do you think is the least I need.
