Rush Through Round 1 or Wait for Round 2

Question

Hi All,

I appeared for the GMAT recently and scored a 680 (Q 49, V 34). I will be retaking the test. Just wanted to know if I should rush through the test in another 4 weeks and apply round 1 or wait till round 2.

Here is some key information about me that might help you evaluate the predicament I find myself in:

Undergrad - BSc in Botany (First Class, no GPA awarded)
Work Experiences - One year at a startup in the education sector, three years at matriculation in a Digital Marketing Firm. I'm pretty much leading an entire vertical on my own
Extracurriculars - I am a musician. I have played with my band for several years now. Pursued it fulltime for a couple of years after graduating
Other Certifications - Google Analytics and Google Adwords
MOOCs - Calculus, Finance, Accounting and Content Marketing through Coursera

Thanks!

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

bongarascal Above everything else, you should apply when you are 100% ready to submit, with perfect essays, a solid story, tight resume and great letters of recommendation that back up your story. When applicants talk about "rushing," it can make sense if it means you do the work quicker instead of doing something else with your free time, but you never want to submit an application that isn't as good as you can possibly make it. The difference between round one and round two is not that big to make up for a subpar round one app. That said, in your situation it would really depend on a few more things about your background. How high do you think you'll get on the GMAT? How have you been practicing lately? What undergraduate school did you go to? What schools are you targeting? What do you want to do after MBA? There is certainly time to still apply for round one if you play your cards right or have great support behind you, but I would need to know at least those answers before advising further. Send me an email if you want to hear about my round one support. I work with applicants on short notice so if you want to hear about what we can do for round one, let's talk. scott@personalmbacoach.com

bongarascal · Answer

Thanks for the reply Scott.

To answer your questions:

How high do you think you'll get on the GMAT? How have you been practicing lately? 
I did take a practice test yesterday and scored a 720. I have realized that my main area of weakness is sentence correction, where I've been relying on my ear and instinct. I'm going to start learning the rules and apply them, I'm assuming this should ensure that I have the resources needed to get near the 740 mark

What undergraduate school did you go to? 
I went to a local college in Mumbai. It's well known and respected here but I doubt it has a level of prestige similar to the IIT's or the Colonial Era colleges. I should add though that in the 'rankings' of colleges in India, my colleges is amongst the Top 5 colleges for my major.

What schools are you targeting? 
My top picks would be Kellogg, Tuck and Columbia. I also want to ask you whether the fact that my undergraduate degree took three years to complete as opposed to the standard four year practice would have any impact on my application.

What do you want to do after MBA? 
I've narrowed it down to two - Consulting or Product Marketing in a Tech Firm such as Amazon, EBay, Google, etc.

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

Thanks for the additional details. To answer your question, graduating in three years will be noticed and that will help your application.

If you get your target GMAT score you could try to do at least one of the apps in round one if your story is well formed and you are ready to draft essays. In terms of how many to apply to in the first round, it depends what kind of progress you can make while also studying for the GMAT. I hope that helps! There is still time for round one but don't feel the need to rush if you don't have the free time to put together a great app.

Good luck!

Rush Through Round 1 or Wait for Round 2

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