Newbie looking for guidance

Question

Howdy. I'm new to all the business school application stuff, and wanted to reach out to see what valuable insights y'all had to offer. Below I've posted a brief summary of my GMAT study efforts and results thus far to provide some perspective. My target exam date is August 1 and my goal, I suppose, would be to have my GMAT score be a point-positive on my application. I'm planning to apply to the following schools:

Haas Part-Time 
 Booth Part-Time 
 Stanford 
 HBS 
 Wharton

I don't have any interest in applying to schools other than top-tier due to the cost/benefit as I'm currently an actuary for a consulting firm (4 years experience as of July this year) and have decent upward mobility within that existing framework. That said, I'd ideally like to transition from the very technical and less-management-focused actuarial world into something more broadly challenging and, at least to me, significant. I consider myself to be a subpar candidate in most respects in that I'm a typical white dude working in consulting for a smaller firm, I went to a non-prestigious University of California school, and although my cumulative GPA at the UC (not including lower division from various community colleges) was 3.94, it took me a while to finally get to that point due to familial issues (divorce, death) and several years of listlessness (I was even an EMT not going to school for a while). Hence applying to part-time programs.

I guess what I'm looking for is an idea of how realistic my goals are, and what areas I should focus on to bump up that GMAT score, if possible (and also whether there is any significant impact by do so, assuming the below is an accurate reflection of my actual exam performance). How, for instance, on those very difficult math problems do I decide when to give up. How can I better organize my thoughts in under 2 minutes (it always seems like the problems seem simpler when I review and have more time to think).

Thanks in advance and sorry for the ramble.

=======================================================================

Began reviewing practice questions from the GMAC Official 2016 Guide on 6/1, focusing predominantly on verbal (my then-perceived area of deficiency).

GMATPrep Practice Exam 1 - 6/12 
710
Q-44 (didn't finish this section due to time management; much harder than I thought it would be)
V-44
IR-8
AWA (didn't finish in time)

Began studying the quantitative section more heavily after first practice exam, focus on timing, etc.

GMATPrep Practice Exam 2 - 6/15 
760
Q-48
V-46
IR-8
AWA (barely finished)

VeritasPrep Practice Exam 1 - 6/19 
750 
Q-51 (again, I struggled with timing despite finishing. missed last several questions due to haste).
V-42 (found this more confusing than the GMATPrep, for whatever reason. 6/9 missed were sentence correction.)
IR-7
AWA (again, close finish but better than first 2)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jonny1986,

You've named some highly competitive Schools/Programs, so you have to make sure that you have a strong OVERALL application AND that you 'market yourself' correctly to each individual School. You're ultimately asking Admissions questions, so you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

Since your 3 practice CAT scores are all 700+, if you took your CATs in a realistic and test-like fashion then you certainly appear to be in a strong position to score at that level on the Official GMAT. To that end, it's not clear why you're waiting until August to take the GMAT (you could take it in June and retake it again if needed).

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

GMATPILLBILL · Answer

Hey jonny1986,

Your practice test scores are very good -- just keep in context your overall application profile. You may not be the candidate who stands out with a 700+ score, but if you feel confident you can stand out in another way -- your background, your story, your career path -- then this should be a good-enough score for the target schools you want. If you have a clear story/path/reason for business school and can differentiate yourself based on your work experience, then you got a lot going for you.

Remember, optimize for your overall application profile - not just one local maxima.

KarishmaB · Answer

Hey Jonny1986, Have you got a free profile evaluation done? On the forum, you are likely to get more generic advice. For a more personalised response, suitable to your unique situation, get your complete profile evaluated. Here is the link: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#-school/ All I will add here is that your practice GMAT score is very promising but for the top tier, your stories need to be equally convincing. In my opinion, your GMAT score should give you no pain but you will need to take school specific consultant help to ensure you word your stories well.

Mo2men · Answer

I think you can post your profile here.

ask-admission-consultants-124/?fl=menu

I advise you to spend small amount of money with any professional consultant and get profile evaluation. S/he may shed light on other aspects. You can find reviews about them in this link

https://gmatclub.com/reviews/admissions_consultants/

jonny1986 · Answer

Thank you all for the input, the summary of which appears to be "You need to focus on your application holistically and, to that end, seek out professional advice from an admissions consultant." I will do some research on this and make my decision accordingly.

As for the GMAT,  EMPOWERgmatRichC , you asked why I'm waiting until August to take the test. Well, I suppose I see some distinction between a score in the low 700's and a score in the high 700's. I  do  understand that this score is a small part of a larger package, and is perhaps more of a "you need to score well enough" (i.e. a boolean trigger) rather than an input item with a positive slope. But I can't yet let go of the hope that with some effort I can reduce the risk of scoring below a 760 and increase my odds for an even better score. Given that my first score, without much study or exposure, was 710, and only after a week of additional studying was I scoring in the 750-760 range, it seems like a worthwhile endeavor. (Can you say definitively that it wouldn't make much difference?)

Also, thinking ahead a bit about what my narrative will be in my application essays, if I were to be truthful (which I always aspire to be), it would probably focus on a love of lifelong learning (one of the reasons I initially chose to become an actuary), my theoretical and thoughtful nature, and my ability to approach issues and problems holistically and uniquely...or something along those lines. I haven't really fleshed out anything specific yet, but I feel that a lower score might limit the types of things I can discuss in my essays without sounding a bit over-the-top.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jonny1986,

Scoring an 800 wouldn't guarantee you anything at any of these Schools (Harvard even occasionally makes a point of defining how many applicants were rejected even with 800s). As a general rule, the higher the GMAT score, the better, but Admissions Reps at those Programs will see THOUSANDS of applicants who are all scoring in the 700+ range, so scoring 750 or 760 (while beneficial to your application) is NOT going to make you stand out - and THAT is part of what you need to get an invite.

Again, given the competitive nature of each of those Schools, you would likely benefit a great deal by discussing all of this with an Admissions Expert.

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

jonny1986 · Answer

I have an additional question about GMATPrep Exam Pack 1:

GMATPrep Exam Pack 1 - Exam 3 - 6/26 
770
Q-50
V-44 (6/8 questions missed were all sentence correction, which I'd not studied.)
IR-8
AWA (again, close finish)

Began more intense study of sentence correction. Continued some study/practice of other areas.

GMATPrep Exam Pack 1 - Exam 4 - 7/9 
800
Q-51
V-51
IR-8 (missed 1 question, the only one out of the entire exam)
AWA (again, close finish)

It seemed to me like these exams were deceptively easy. Does anyone else have any thoughts on them? I  have  been studying only the hardest questions on GMATClub, sometimes doing strings of 10 or 15 in a row in a timed environment. Perhaps I'm just accustomed to much harder material now?

jonny1986 · Answer

Final Results:

780
Q-50 (problems weren't particularly hard, but rushed through due to fear of needing more time later in the exam. Stupid mistakes likely prevented a 51.)
V-47 (again, problems didn't seem particularly hard, but there was a RC question that I just couldn't concentrate on, and I think I messed it up. Likely a few other mistakes here and there)
IR-8
AWA (finished with plenty of time; felt good about it)

KarishmaB · Answer

Brilliant! Congratulations! 
Now focus on your essays.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jonny1986,

A 780/Q50 is another outstanding performance, so congratulations on achieving that score goal - you can (and should) apply to any Business Schools that interest you - with even more confidence than before. In your initial post, you were somewhat 'downbeat' about the strength of your overall profile. You have to be careful about allowing that type of heavy self-deprecation into your applications/essays/interviews/etc., so you might want to consult with an Admissions Expert going forward.

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

jonny1986 · Answer

Thanks Rich! What you say re self-deprecation makes sense to me, and I'm certainly considering my options in terms of professional assistance. With the GMAT, I knew that self-study was sufficient to meet my goals, but my experience with applications isn't nearly as extensive as it is with standardized testing. So, at this point I'm still fleshing out whether I think there are enough free resources out there to allow me to craft a solid set of applications on my own, or whether I should fork over several grand to a professional.

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