490 total on GMAT, 6.0 AWA, 3 years work experience

Question

Ok so I took the GMAT once, and scored a 490. Not too good. But I did score a 6.0 on the AWA in the 91 percentile. I was wondering what type of schools would I realistically have a shot at if I do not retake the exam... any help would be great, thanks!

nsspaz151 · Answer

jsam - What were your Q/V scaled scores? It's hard to imagine a 6.0 AWA without an above average Verbal score.

To answer your question - From what I've witnessed, many programs that use the GMAT consider a total score below 500 problematic in the admissions process. There are, however, some programs that do not require the GMAT. It really depends on which program to which you think you want to gain admission.

jsam2024 · Answer

I believe it was 34/Q and 23/V.... I thought it was crazy how well I did on the AWA, but how poorly I achieved on verbal. Does that make any sense? And the program I'm most interested in is University of Iowa, or University of Kentucky.

nsspaz151 · Answer

I'm literally sitting in Blue Grass Airport (Lexington, KY) right now... odd. Neither of those programs' admissions stats would lead me to believe a 480 would not throw up red flags in the eyes of the adcoms. Hopefully you have time for a retake. Lots of experience and advise on retaking the GMAT on this forum.

GMATLA · Answer

Here is my 2 cents:

You have to retake the GMAT, and make a significant improvement. Why? B/C these are the class profiles for the two schools you are interested in:

Iowa: https://tippie.uiowa.edu/fulltimemba/adm ... ofiles.cfm
Kentucky: (See FAQ) https://gatton.uky.edu/MBA/Content.asp?PageName=MBAFAQs

Now for Iowa the average GMAT is above 680, and for Kentucky the average is above 600. At 490, You are well outside what 80% range for Iowa, and I'd assume the same for Kentucky. With that score, it is quite possible that they won't even look at the rest of your application. I had to give you this bad news, but if you are serious about an MBA, a 490 will probably not cut it, even for these schools. Out of the two schools, you would have a much better chance at kentucky with your current score.

Now, I see that you got a 6.0 on AWA, but not to burst your bubble or anything, but this score really means nothing. NOt to mention that the GMAC will be dropping half of the AWA as of June b/c the score really was beginning to mean nothing.

So in conclusion, you really should consider a retake with signficantly more study time to improve your score into a reasonable range. GMAT Club is here to help you, and there are many many success stories of people dramatically increasing their score! Good luck, and let us know how we can help.

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490 total on GMAT, 6.0 AWA, 3 years work experience

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