Imperial College MSc Business Analytics with GMAT Quant 49?

Question

Hi everyone,

I am a German male with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from a German university and I am planning to apply for some Master's programs in Business Analytics in fall 2021 (application round 1). My top choice would be Imperial College London, because the program seems to be one of the most technically oriented programs and I want to switch to a more technical role after my Master's degree. According to the admissions page at Imperial, they are generally looking for applicants with quantitative undergraduate degrees, but applicants with non-traditional / less quantitative backgrounds are allowed to apply. However, they are recommended to take the GMAT/GRE in order to demonstrate their quantitative ability. In my GMAT online exam I scored 730 (Q49, V41, IR7) and although I am quite content with the overall result, I am worried that my quant score might be a drawback for my application at Imperial, because it only represents the 74th percentile.
Some more background information: Although my Bachelor's was a B.A., around 50% of the credits were earned in quantitative subjects like maths, statistics, economics, accounting, programming, etc. and I did quite well in most of these subjects. My overall grade would probably be a 2:1 in the British grading system, but I was among the top 8% of all graduates of the last three years, so I assume that my grades should not be a real issue. Moreover, I have some professional experience with VBA programming, Robot Desktop Automation and Business Intelligence tools.

Do you think that the 49 quant score will still be a problem regarding my application at Imperial?

VP94 · Answer

@dextrose98..............I personally don't think that Q49 will be a problem. GMAT 730 overall is a solid score. But it also depends on your overall application and your motivation to pursue that aforementioned course. So don't fret about it, put up a good application, go ahead and apply for Imperial.

CArbitragePM · Answer

Please do not listen to him. All top Business schools in regards to Finance, or any Quant-Heavy programs does NOT look at total score. They look at the individual sections. The best is scoring atleast a 80%/80% on both sections, which means Q50, V35, which is 700 blank.

Theoretically, you can score Q40 and V51 and get a 700. It does not mean that it is a good score. In fact, the score weakens your application.

Posted from my mobile device

CArbitragePM · Answer

Also, look at this. At the time written, Q48 was 80%. Now Q50 is 80%.

CArbitragePM · Answer

Sorry for the spam, but here was my first score, which I cancelled. The importance of a high quant score is so underestimated, and it seriously bothers me when people get misunderstands the concept.
Yes, 700 is the 90%-tile, but if you are applying for a top school in a heavy quant program, YOU have to score atleast in the 80 percentile in Quant. Assuming you are a foreigner; you are taking a language test which measures your verbal better than Gmat anyways.

Dextrose98 · Answer

Thanks everyone for your responses.
Then it seems like my quant score might be a bit of a problem, at least to some extent.
 CArbitragePM  Thanks for checking the Imperial admissions page.
I generally have the impression that admission requirements are a bit stricter for MSc FIN programs than for Business Analytics at several universities, so I hope that my Q49 score will not be a total no-go for the program at Imperial College.
I am also planning to learn some Python over the course of the next few months, so maybe I can start an interesting project that might raise my chances of getting admitted. I definitely know that I should find some ways to highlight my quantitative abilities in my application since my GMAT quant score is more on the lower end for this program, but I want to avoid retaking the GMAT, because I would have to go to an actual testing center next time and the closest center is around 250km away from where I am currently living. Moreover, our Covid restrictions make it quite difficult to travel right now...

CArbitragePM · Answer

Can you send your profile besides the GMAT? And also 5 quant courses you undertook during your degree

Posted from my mobile device

CArbitragePM · Answer

You can pm me it if you want too. I am asking because I got a GMAT waiver for Imperial and LBS, all in the latest rounds.

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

Imperial College MSc Business Analytics with GMAT Quant 49?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards