I saw another thread about admission results and profile sharing here on this forum. All of the profiles have very good GMAT scores. It seems very discouraging for those who are applying to top B-schools with low GMAT scores. If you've been admitted to top B-schools with a GMAT score not higher than 650, please share your profile with us. I hope your profiles can give some encouragement to those who are beaten by the GMAT. Please follow the format as follows: GMAT: 6XX (Q:XX, V:XX, AWA:X) University attended: Major(s): GPA / Honours: Nationality: Age: (at matriculation) Gender: Work Experience: No. of Years / Industry / Role Extra-curricular Activities: Community Services: Business Schools (Admitted): Business Schools (Applied but Dinged): What do you think is your biggest advantage? e.g. Diversity, Leadership, Good Essays... NO DISCUSSION!!

Last visit was: 17 May 2026, 19:47

It is currently 17 May 2026, 19:47

Toolkit

Business School and MBA

The B-School Applications

GMAT Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

May 21
How Adcoms Actually Read Your MBA Resume
10:00 AM EDT
-
10:30 AM EDT
Most candidates submit a resume built for a recruiter. Admissions committees are reading for something else entirely. This session covers what adcoms actually evaluate, where strong candidates lose ground before a single essay is written, and why...
May 22
Emory MBA Info Sessions (Online)
08:30 AM PDT
-
09:00 AM PDT
Get the inside scoop on what makes Emory’s Goizueta Business School great and how you can present a strong MBA application. Explore the difference between our One-Year MBA and Two-Year MBA programs, talk to our admissions team, and meet students.
May 22
Prep-MBA Career Acelerator
03:00 PM EDT
-
04:00 PM EDT
The old MBA recruiting playbook is dead. Here’s how top admits are getting ahead this summer.
May 23
FREE Prospects Evaluation!
08:00 PM PDT
-
09:00 PM PDT
Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!
May 29
FREE access to the largest MBA database
10:00 AM PDT
-
11:00 AM PDT
Download the MBA Launchpad App, for FREE access to the largest MBA database - Data backed read on your profile - Identify gaps before you apply - Build a balanced school list - Track your deadlines - Mock interviews - Extensive content library
Jun 10
MBA Spotlight Fair
06:00 AM PDT
-
06:15 PM PDT
Register for the GMAT Club Virtual MBA Spotlight Fair – the world’s premier event for serious MBA candidates. This is your chance to hear directly from Admissions Directors at nearly every Top 30 MBA program..

Back to Forum

Create Topic

Profiles - Admitted to Top B-Schools w/ Low GMAT or Low GPA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Ntang

Joined: 09 Sep 2008

Last visit: 26 Jan 2009

Posts: 162

Own Kudos:

Posts: 162

Kudos: 19

02 Jan 2009, 14:18

Kudos

Bookmarks

FYI, it's very tough to get a job at a high-level, well-known non-profit right out of college with no experience. They don't recruit and get a truckload of resumes - every liberal arts major at every university within 100 miles applies for the lowliest administrative assistant position. To get in doing something substantive is even harder, and usually requires that you know someone (either through an internship, a fluke, or nepotism). Just my experience.

gixxer1000

Joined: 26 Jul 2007

Last visit: 05 Aug 2009

Posts: 357

Own Kudos:

426

Concentration: Real Estate Development

Schools:Stern, McCombs, Marshall, Wharton

Posts: 357

Kudos: 426

15 Jan 2009, 11:53

Kudos

Bookmarks

spiridon

However, I am wondering why not so many females score high in GMAT since they usually have much better test scores at school and much better GPA's.
Also, there was some data showing that much more females attend college these days than males

It would be interesting to see by gender and by race type of stats breakdown on the GMAC website but I think they just have scores from different countries and thats all they disclose to the public

If you go to the GMAC website they have a report that details everything by Male, Female, Race etc. I think I remember the average white male around 550 and average white female slightly lower. African-Americans were the lowest around 440.

spiridon

Joined: 04 Aug 2008

Last visit: 25 Jul 2011

Posts: 274

Own Kudos:

127

Given Kudos: 1

Posts: 274

Kudos: 127

15 Jan 2009, 11:55

Kudos

Bookmarks

gixxer1000

spiridon

Can u post that link, I doubt that GMAC would have such a thing

spiridon

Joined: 04 Aug 2008

Last visit: 25 Jul 2011

Posts: 274

Own Kudos:

127

Given Kudos: 1

Posts: 274

Kudos: 127

15 Jan 2009, 13:22

Kudos

Bookmarks

greenoak

spiridon

Can u post that link, I doubt that GMAC would have such a thing

The question was not addressed to me - but here is the link:

https://www.gmac.com/nr/rdonlyres/f3b73942-8a93-4fc2-bb8d-1e8735158b80/0/profileofgmatcandidates0408.pdf

You can see the stats by gender, race, age etc. Data from earlier years is also available.

Wonderful stuff bunch of kudos for you!

Superflux

Joined: 13 Jan 2010

Last visit: 23 Jan 2010

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

18 Jan 2010, 07:21

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi all,my gmat score at my first and only attempt is 400.Very discouraging you'd agree with me!

shadow

Joined: 25 Aug 2009

Last visit: 01 Nov 2016

Posts: 928

Own Kudos:

252

Given Kudos: 113

Affiliations: Consortium (CGSM.org), NSHMBA

Location: New Haven

Schools:Yale SOM Class of 2012

WE 1: Investment Banking Summer Associate (Boutique tech M&A)

Products:

Posts: 928

Kudos: 252

20 Jan 2010, 09:35

Kudos

Bookmarks

theoutlawfades

I spent most of my life until now refusing to "check the box" because I would rather know that I got somewhere in my life because I was great at what I do not because of my heritage. I was OK with my grades, OK with my test scores my entire life but always was the leader of everything I did and received several awards all through HS and Undergrad.

I only check the box now because I had a conversation with an AdCom member from a top 10 B-school who articulated to me that they don't see the URM status as being more lenient but they want and need a diverse program. Whether I check the box or not, they're going to maintain a diverse program either way and I may fit into one of the other "boxes" that they're looking for (career background, career goals, and life stories, etc.) given my solid marketing/advertising background and desire to go into a non-traditional career in Media and Entertainment. The big thing I might be passing on by not checking the URM box is scholarship money. Which, given the prospect of paying for everything myself with no help, is a BIG reason for me to check the box.

+1 on all counts, especially the bolded parts

sapphireka

Joined: 05 Jul 2009

Last visit: 01 Oct 2011

Posts: 132

Own Kudos:

[1]

Given Kudos: 19

Location: Australia

Concentration: General, Management & Org Behaviour

Schools:Chicago Booth class of 2012

WE 1: Consulting

WE 2: Small business/Start up

WE 3: Strategy - Large Corporate

Posts: 132

Kudos: 31

[1]

21 Jan 2010, 21:36

Kudos

Bookmarks

aa5786

Just received an interview invite from Booth today

NICE! Congrats! Good luck with the interview....

shadow

Joined: 25 Aug 2009

Last visit: 01 Nov 2016

Posts: 928

Own Kudos:

252

[1]

Given Kudos: 113

Affiliations: Consortium (CGSM.org), NSHMBA

Location: New Haven

Schools:Yale SOM Class of 2012

WE 1: Investment Banking Summer Associate (Boutique tech M&A)

Products:

Posts: 928

Kudos: 252

[1]

23 Jan 2010, 17:25

Kudos

Bookmarks

mbabound10, congrats on the acceptances. here is the consortium thread for this year - please feel free to post there as well: calling-all-fall-2010-consortium-applicants-merged-87799.html

snipertrader

Joined: 26 Apr 2009

Last visit: 12 Aug 2010

Posts: 310

Own Kudos:

304

Given Kudos: 41

Affiliations: ACA, CPA

Location: Vagabond

Concentration: Finance, Treasury, Banking

Schools:BC

WE 1: Big4, Audit

WE 2: Banking

Posts: 310

Kudos: 304

26 Jan 2010, 22:37

Kudos

Bookmarks

Thanks.. that gives some hope!

aa5786

Had a chat with a staff member at Wharton recently and discussed my 50 percentile quant score. Before I could jump into my standard explanation, she looked at my resume and said......"your work experience and undergrad econ major are all the examples I need of your quant ability, don't worry about it."

Guys - Don't let these +700'ers psych you out if you have other components of your background which can speak to ability.

tan888

Joined: 22 Jan 2010

Last visit: 25 May 2025

Posts: 100

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 15

Schools:UCLA, INSEAD

Posts: 100

Kudos: 5

26 Jan 2010, 22:48

Kudos

Bookmarks

Great post! Let's keep our hopes up.

JoeKaneForHeisman

Joined: 13 Jan 2010

Last visit: 19 Mar 2010

Posts: 14

Own Kudos:

Schools:Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, Johnson, KF, Kelley

Posts: 14

Kudos: 1

27 Jan 2010, 11:03

Kudos

Bookmarks

aa5786

How did you initiate this conversation and what is your standard explanation? Looks like you and I are in similar situations.

Thanks!

snipertrader

Joined: 26 Apr 2009

Last visit: 12 Aug 2010

Posts: 310

Own Kudos:

304

Given Kudos: 41

Affiliations: ACA, CPA

Location: Vagabond

Concentration: Finance, Treasury, Banking

Schools:BC

WE 1: Big4, Audit

WE 2: Banking

Posts: 310

Kudos: 304

31 Jan 2010, 20:56

Kudos

Bookmarks

Well put aa5786.

I hope there are adcom's who look beyond numbers.

aa5786

JoeKaneForHeisman

How did you initiate this conversation and what is your standard explanation? Looks like you and I are in similar situations.

Thanks!

I was on campus and made an appointment to discuss my application.

As for the explanation, is pretty simple...I took the GMAT a bunch of times and was not able to crack it. Everyone has weaknesses and GMAT math happens to be one of mine. With that said, I have a pretty quant heavy job, such as projects x, y, z and am confident I can meet the quant rigors of the program...but if there is any additional classes/tests that the admin committee would like me to take, I am happy to do so.

So what is your situation?

carayae

Joined: 30 Sep 2009

Last visit: 19 Apr 2010

Posts: 5

Kudos: 0

01 Feb 2010, 07:31

Kudos

Bookmarks

My gmat score was below 600, however many people encourage me to apply anyway because of my profile.

Female (latin america)
27 years old
4 years of work experience (3 years leading teams)
3 years of volunteer experience
Undergrad studies: the best and largest university of my country (business degree)

I applied to (2nd round):

Boston University (submitted)
Boston College (submitted)
Babson College (submitted)
George Washington University (submitted)
University of Illinois (submitted)

All of these business school have an average gmat score slightly above 600. According to a study of manhattan gmat, south america gmat takers obtain a score considerably lower than american, european and indian takers. In addition, woman average score (average 500) is also lower than men.

Do you think I have chances???

JoeKaneForHeisman

Joined: 13 Jan 2010

Last visit: 19 Mar 2010

Posts: 14

Own Kudos:

Schools:Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, Johnson, KF, Kelley

Posts: 14

Kudos: 1

01 Feb 2010, 09:18

Kudos

Bookmarks

aa5786

JoeKaneForHeisman

How did you initiate this conversation and what is your standard explanation? Looks like you and I are in similar situations.

Thanks!

Interesting. So you just made an appointment to point out some aspects of your application? That's a pretty good idea.

My situation is fairly similar to yours. I work in project finance but also couldn't conquer the math for some reason. I addressed in optional essays but your approach seems more proactive.

osbornecox

Joined: 04 Dec 2009

Last visit: 26 Jan 2016

Posts: 373

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 4

Schools: Johnson '14 (A) INSEAD '14 (A) Booth '14 (M) Oxford '14 (A) Kellogg 1YR '13 (D)

WE:Consulting (Consulting)

Schools: Johnson '14 (A) INSEAD '14 (A) Booth '14 (M) Oxford '14 (A) Kellogg 1YR '13 (D)

Posts: 373

Kudos: 80

07 Feb 2010, 09:13

Kudos

Bookmarks

pochcc

not sure if my GMAT counts as "Low" and not sure if Darden counts as "Top B-School" but...

GMAT: 660 on application, 40/40. i've retaken it for round 2 to 730, but as far as darden was concerned, i was at 660.
School: Darden, R1.
BG: MNC employee then Entrepreneur.
Age at Matric: 29.
Nationality: Filipino.

i should note that last year, with my 660, I got dinged for my 3 schools: HBS (no interview), Wharton (no interview) and Kellogg (w/interview)...

I'd consider Darden a top.

dcdevil

Current Student

Joined: 18 Jan 2010

Last visit: 15 Apr 2011

Posts: 116

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 1

Schools:UCLA

Posts: 116

Kudos: 8

07 Feb 2010, 09:35

Kudos

Bookmarks

How do they factor athletics into the low GPA equation? IF you had a low GPA but were also playing football do they take that into consideration?

osbornecox

Joined: 04 Dec 2009

Last visit: 26 Jan 2016

Posts: 373

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 4

Schools: Johnson '14 (A) INSEAD '14 (A) Booth '14 (M) Oxford '14 (A) Kellogg 1YR '13 (D)

WE:Consulting (Consulting)

Schools: Johnson '14 (A) INSEAD '14 (A) Booth '14 (M) Oxford '14 (A) Kellogg 1YR '13 (D)

Posts: 373

Kudos: 80

07 Feb 2010, 10:42

Kudos

Bookmarks

dcdevil

How do they factor athletics into the low GPA equation? IF you had a low GPA but were also playing football do they take that into consideration?

I'm guessing athletics figure below full-time work, and even heavy part-time work, as excuses for a low GPA, but certainly above drunken stupor. If you were a captain of a team, or levered that into a leading position in a work team (something that shows leadership) it can probably help build your profile.

shana22

Current Student

Joined: 29 Oct 2009

Last visit: 29 May 2011

Posts: 149

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 19

Concentration: Strategic Management, Finance, Managerial and Organizational Behavior

Schools:Chicago Booth Class of 2012

Posts: 149

Kudos: 38

07 Feb 2010, 10:46

Kudos

Bookmarks

carayae

I think you have a chance at all three Boston schools if your work experience is strong. Don't know anything about the others.

pm4553

Joined: 27 Jun 2008

Last visit: 10 Apr 2012

Posts: 329

Own Kudos:

136

Given Kudos: 92

Concentration: General Management

WE 1: Investment Banking - 6yrs

Posts: 329

Kudos: 136

09 Feb 2010, 11:35

Kudos

Bookmarks

TheDream

Hey everyone ! I've had my eye on this thread for a while now, but was waiting to post until I was actually admitted somewhere. Well, now that that dream has come true, here we go:

GMAT: 680
GPA: Not too sure. Went to a Canadian university that didn't use the GPA system, but if I were to go by what some of the online calculators tell me, its somewhere between a 2.0 and 3.0
Education: B.Eng from a top Canadian university
Current age: 28
Nationality: Canadian - Indian
Work Experience: 1 year in a Bus. Analyst role at a major bank, 4 years as an engineer/strategist at a major telecoms company

I was dumbstruck when I was my GMAT score. I spent many weeks agonizing and debating over whether to retake it or not. I never ended up doing it though, because the majority of advice I got indicated that I should spend more time focusing on my essays. And boy, did I ever focus. Putting modesty aside for a second, I never though that I could be capable of producing such good written work ! So if you take anything away from this post, let it be: FOCUS ON YOUR ESSAYS ! :-D

I applied to three schools in R1: Kellogg, London Business School, and Darden. I didn't get in at the first two, but did get in to Darden, which Im very happy with. I was selected for an interview at LBS, but felt that the interview was actually my downfall. I dont think I spent enough time knowing my story, and it didnt help that the interview was the week I got back from a 3 week Spanish vacation

.... but those are the breaks !

About a year ago, I was a nervous wreck because I thought I didnt have a chance without a 700+/3.5 to back me up. Im happy to report otherwise, and would love to answer any questions.

Cheers, and good luck !

Congrats, TheDream! I'm pleased that your story refutes theories on "if you don't have 700+ on your GMAT, don't even think of applying to schools". I'm sure you'll have a great time at Darden; good luck!

highsandlow

Joined: 25 Feb 2010

Last visit: 24 Mar 2010

Posts: 4

Kudos: 0

25 Feb 2010, 13:52

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi Guys-
Reading your messages really helps with my roller-coasting self-esteem. I'm currently applying to Cornell, Vanderbilt, MIT, and Wharton. They are pretty top schools and I know I am shooting high, but I figured I give it a try. There's always next year if this round doesn't work out- right?

Here's my profile, please let me know what you think(please be somewhat nice):
age: 28
School: earned a Ph.D in the sciences from a top school with many published research journals and international experiences and recognitions
female
asian american
2 years of work experience
GPA: 3.4
Gmat:600 ( I didn't really study for it due to my 16 hours a day work schedule (I know, just another excuse) and regretted it)

I want to go into science management and need an MBA(strong business foundation)

I am applying for the last round and have submitted my applications early for those rounds. I am very nervous! Should I start looking for an alternative (nonMBA) option while I wait study for the GMAT and reapply next year? Soooo nervous. This process is so mentally draining.
Thank you