Q41;V27 : 560 GMAT

Hi chandeep01,

Going by the information that you have listed, a 560 might not be enough to get you an admission into ISB as you are from the IT pool. The average from the IT pool is a lot higher for ISB.
You can certainly improve your score with proper preparation and practice.

However, the Round 2 deadline for ISB is 15th of January and that leaves us with around 2.5 months.
You certainly can improve your score in this period.

I would recommend you to opt for a preparatory course if you have not already done so. Most of the companies including ours offer a free trial of the course. You can opt for a course and see if it fits your needs and the style of studies.

Regarding the school selection, ISB is a common choice for the Indian students. For the other schools:

1. Do you want to go for a 1 year MBA or a 2 year MBA is fine too?
2, Which geographical location are you targeting for your studies?
3. Which geographical locations are your targeting to work post your MBA?

An answer to these will help us in suggesting you schools in a better way.

Sure. First, let me tell you that I am not adamant about getting into ISB. I want to but I don't have any problems in exploring other options as well. My only necessary expectations from a b-school include: solid exposure and support in placements. I have applied to Great Lakes, Chennai PGPM but I have very less hope of being shortlisted because they take more than 640.

1. As far as 1 year and 2 year MBA is concerned, I am ok with either of these but prefer 1 year MBA - If its a really good school like NUS/Nanyang etc., I am OK with 2 years.
2. Geographical Locations: Not sure how to come up with choices based on location. I am really confused mainly because there are too many schools out there! If you can help me zeroing some schools, that would be awesome
3. Again, for continuing my Job I am not sure which location to target. I know this depends on my priorities but finalizing the location where I want to study will contribute to the decision of work location.

Also, I was thinking about putting some more effort in my GMAT and therefore aiming for next fall. I won't be able to study for the next couple of weeks mainly because I am shifting to a new location. That leaves me to start my prep again only from December. Does this sound a good plan? I mean shifting GMAT to next year may be somewhere in March/April will give me sometime to give couple of mocks which I was not able to give this time. Really, i consider not giving mocks as my biggest mistake and one of the reasons for the low score.

Any suggestions?

Hi chandeep01
Do not get disappointed
With 2 months of hard work you can definitely improve your score
Prepare for a month - strengthen your basics for each section- and then give a gmatprep test
Your score in that test should give you a fair idea if you have improved
Use that as a marker to decide if you want to appear again

Hi chandeep01,

If you don't think that you'll be able to study much (or at all) in November, then it might be a better overall plan for you to apply next year. It's likely that some of your skills will fade if you're not practicing for a stretch of time. With the proper materials and guidance though, you should be able to score considerably higher than you did on your recent Official GMAT, but that will take some extra time and effort on your part.

You shouldn't give up on your big goal (ISB) yet - it just might take a little longer to accomplish that goal than you originally planned for. When you get back into your studies in December, you should post back here and we can talk through your study options.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Yup. Studying during the month november wont be reqlly feqsible because i will be moving. Definitiely, i will post here again starting nex month. I know it eill take a little effort from mynpart to get to that 700. This time i am gking to make it!! Thanks for your support. Will talk soon

Hmmm, Since you are ready to apply next year, this gives you a lot of time to get prepared for ISB also.
Since you are fine with the geographical locations throughout, that opens a lot of doors for you. Zeroing in of the schools will again depend on your goal after the MBA. I would recommend you to get done with the GMAT and then we can talk about the potential schools.

Do let me know when you start preparing for your GMAT. Also, make sure that you sit for enough full length mock CATs this time around.

All the best!