Unbalanced 640 with 14 years work experience

Hi and welcome to GMAT Club!

Are you considering Full time program or Part Time program? I am guessing PT since being in mid 30s makes it very hard to get into a FT. At the same time PT do not award scholarships as liberally or sometimes ever.

Your quant score is low enough to trigger questions or a mandatory math class before starting your MBA. Many of the classes require quant skills and you will have to get math in order one way or another so my suggestion for you would be to take a quick quant refresher or a math course such as TTP or Math revolution to keep anyone from wondering about your math abilities in the first place.

BUT! Before you do that, you want to figure out what type and kind of MBA you want to do. FT is only possible in Europe at this stage in your career. PT is easier to get in usually and counts your WE and allows you to work while you study. And finally I would look at your goals and why you are pursuing an MBA.

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As I mentioned, I want a full-time program. Both Katz and Lehigh have full-time one-year programs that are mid-career friendly, so I just don't think it's true that I have to go to Europe...

I will go ahead and talk to someone in the Admissions Consultants forums.

I want to stay in my same industry but sharpen my business skills in order to move into a strategy role. It's very frustrating because in my 14 years of business, I've never had to figure out how far apart Mark and Sally could be if they started walking in opposite directions at different speeds 45 minutes ago.

Hi wjhallberg,

Since you're not looking to retake the GMAT (if you can avoid it), the logical next step at this point would be to discuss your situation with an Admissions Expert. Beyond that, you might want to reach out to the Schools that you're interested in and ask some pointed questions about what your profile might "need." The Admissions Office at each of those Schools would likely be happy to answer your questions.

Your Q35 would be seen as a 'red flag' at a number of Programs, but it might not be too damaging if your overall profile is strong. Instead of retaking the GMAT, you might end up needing to take a different approach to show that you can handle academic subjects (such as taking a college-level Calculus or Statistics class).

As an aside, many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you studied for just 6 weeks, then that would help to explain why you did not score higher in the Quant section. If you choose to retake the GMAT, then I'll be happy to discuss how you might best continue with your studies.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) What application deadlines are you currently considering?

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

Hi wjhalberg,

I’m glad to see that you plan to reach out to some admissions consultants here on GMAT Club. If for any reason you decide to retake, feel free to reach back out, and I’d be happy to help.

Good luck!

Thanks, all, for the input. I talked to my target schools, and they are telling me to go ahead and apply. With my work experience, they think I can overcome the low quant score with a good application--which a few of you mentioned! They said they can advise me if I need to retake the GMAT or take other steps to improve my quant skills. I appreciate the help. I've learned not to be afraid to talk to the admissions folks! They are quite kind!