Profile Evaluation

Question

I appreciate you reviewing my profile.

• Apply in Fall 2015
• Age at matriculation: 26
• Work History (at matriculation): 4 years of investment banking at Barclays in Financial Institutions and Real Estate group in NYC, 1 year as Associate (a post MBA position, promotion confirmed) – top ranked with great deal experience
• College / GPA: Boston College '12 / 3.9 GPA – major in management with concentrations in finance, accounting, & information systems
• GMAT: 700 (41/44)
• Ethnicity & Gender: East Asian Male
• Extras: 
o A career mentor to young adults and students for 2+ yrs (at time of matriculation) – 10 week commitment per cycle 
o Future goal of running and transforming real estate and manufacturing family business in China (currently has over $100mm USD in revenue)

• Schools: HBS, MIT, Columbia, Dartmouth, NYU, Duke, LBS, other? (All R1 or R2 2015-2016)

Question: is my GMAT score any hindrance to my candidacy? or does my GPA and my work experience counter all of it?

Thank you.

Admissionado · Answer

Hey there,
So overall your profile is quite good. You got great grades from a very good school, and have an excellent job in the right industry.

Buuut that GMAT is borderline for Top 10. I mean it's very good, don't get me wrong, but with 30+ points more it will make a world of difference.

So the question is to retake or not. The first good thing is that you have the luxury of time. You got six more months before applications, so plenty of time to improve. The question is, do you think you can do better? How much better? And how much effort will it take you? If you are confident that you can get those 30+ more points with a bit of hard work, then I'd say go for it. If not, then your chances will be a bit lower, and you should then make sure you have a good two safe schools in your application.

Best,
Jon

KNSK · Answer

Thank you for the response! I really appreciate it. Given my job obligations, it is going to be tough to improve on the score. I probably can get to 720 with a lot of grinding, but i'm not sure about 30+. I definitely could do it if i had the time, but I don't. My work hours are too unpredictable for me to study consistently. What do you think my odds are for an interview at those top schools with a 700? 30-40%?

Would spending the time in boosting my extracurricular activities help? Thank you.

Would spending the time in boosting my extracurricular activities help? Thank you.

Admissionado · Answer

Hey,
it's really hard to give a percentile for chances, cause things don't exactly work that way. But basically, if this is the GMAT you are going with, then go with it. At this point, anything you do helps, obviously, the bigger and more important, the better. And the clever thing then to do with your strategy is adjust it a bit to fit your current GMAT score - so like I wrote a bit more safe schools, and overall apply to more schools rather than less, and that should help increase your chances,

Best,
JF

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