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29 Nov 2010, 22:43
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi,
I recently took the GMAT and I am hoping to get some advice prior to R2 deadlines:
GMAT: 660 (45M, 36V, 82 percentile overall)
Undergraduate Degree:
SUNY Binghamton University class of 2007
B.S. in Management, concentrations in Finance and MIS
3.4 overall GPA, 3.6 concentration GPA
Graduated in 3 years
Work experience: Goldman Sachs & Co (3+ years, 4 years by summer of 2011)
Title: IMD Corporate Controller
Level: Associate (promoted to Senior Analyst in 1 year and to Associate in 2 years)
Responsibilities: Various projects for the Federal Reserve and SEC. Lead project designer and coordinator for my group. Responsible for doing analysis on the business and prepare daily/weekly/monthly performance reports for senior management. Also responsible for external reporting of our division's performance to SEC and investors
Activities: Volunteered for the Habitat for Humanity Global Village program, spent 10 days in Poland building houses. Also team captain and volunteer for yearly Community Teamwork projects hosted in Goldman Sachs. Participant and assistant to American Cancer Society charitable events such as Making Strides and Relay for Life.
Goals: Upon completion of my MBA, I would like to work in the finance field in the United States for another 2-3 years and look for opportunities in China.
I've taken the GMAT twice with 660 being my highest score. I understand that score isn't close to the average for top business schools like Harvard, LBS, and Stanford. But I was wondering if my work experience and extra-curricular activities can somewhat make up for my GMAT score if I were to apply for the top business schools mentioned?
Also what other schools can you suggest I apply to with a good chance of gaining admission? I am open to any region/country.
Thank you for your time and help.
I recently took the GMAT and I am hoping to get some advice prior to R2 deadlines:
GMAT: 660 (45M, 36V, 82 percentile overall)
Undergraduate Degree:
SUNY Binghamton University class of 2007
B.S. in Management, concentrations in Finance and MIS
3.4 overall GPA, 3.6 concentration GPA
Graduated in 3 years
Work experience: Goldman Sachs & Co (3+ years, 4 years by summer of 2011)
Title: IMD Corporate Controller
Level: Associate (promoted to Senior Analyst in 1 year and to Associate in 2 years)
Responsibilities: Various projects for the Federal Reserve and SEC. Lead project designer and coordinator for my group. Responsible for doing analysis on the business and prepare daily/weekly/monthly performance reports for senior management. Also responsible for external reporting of our division's performance to SEC and investors
Activities: Volunteered for the Habitat for Humanity Global Village program, spent 10 days in Poland building houses. Also team captain and volunteer for yearly Community Teamwork projects hosted in Goldman Sachs. Participant and assistant to American Cancer Society charitable events such as Making Strides and Relay for Life.
Goals: Upon completion of my MBA, I would like to work in the finance field in the United States for another 2-3 years and look for opportunities in China.
I've taken the GMAT twice with 660 being my highest score. I understand that score isn't close to the average for top business schools like Harvard, LBS, and Stanford. But I was wondering if my work experience and extra-curricular activities can somewhat make up for my GMAT score if I were to apply for the top business schools mentioned?
Also what other schools can you suggest I apply to with a good chance of gaining admission? I am open to any region/country.
Thank you for your time and help.
PersonalMBACoach
Expert
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Joined: 11 Sep 2010
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
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Expert reply
30 Nov 2010, 20:37
Kudos
Bookmarks
Thanks for the overview, makes this process more straight forward. You are right that the GMAT will hurt you, but unfortunately I don't see your work experience or extra curricular activities being all that much more impressive than average to compensate. GS is good, but its not IB, and also the issue you have is your undergrad school / GPA combination and GMAT are both not impressive, which would cause worry for the top business school programs unfortunately.
I would say the top tier schools are definitely a reach for you, albeit this depends on other things about you that may be different from someone else. Assuming you are relatively standard otherwise, H and S will be very very difficult for you to get into.
I would look at these schools:
NYU
UCLA
Tepper
Darden
Let me know if you have any questions, and sorry if the answer wasn't what you were looking for, but I would rather give bad news than falsely lead someone to apply to a school they don't have a great chance of getting into.
-Scott
scott@personalmbacoach.com
www.personalmbacoach.com
--Free application strategy discussion & initial essay review
--Insider tips and mock interview preparation
I would say the top tier schools are definitely a reach for you, albeit this depends on other things about you that may be different from someone else. Assuming you are relatively standard otherwise, H and S will be very very difficult for you to get into.
I would look at these schools:
NYU
UCLA
Tepper
Darden
Let me know if you have any questions, and sorry if the answer wasn't what you were looking for, but I would rather give bad news than falsely lead someone to apply to a school they don't have a great chance of getting into.
-Scott
scott@personalmbacoach.com
www.personalmbacoach.com
--Free application strategy discussion & initial essay review
--Insider tips and mock interview preparation
