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01 Dec 2014, 12:03
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Hi,
Long time lurker, but something has been bothering me recently and don't know where else to ask.
Question:
Basically, was hit by a car on my way to my GMAT but I knew slots were so full I couldn't really rearrange or cancel at short notice just took the test anyway. Expected Score around 750-780 ended up with a 720 (IR: 7, Essay: 5, Math: 44, Verbal: 44, Percentile: 81/60/58/98 Overal: 94). Was VERY shaken in the early part of the test.
Should I be retaking or focusing on other parts of my application? I do not enjoy taking tests or revising at all (and not much free time) so committing to doing it would be a significant sacrifice.
Goal:
Somewhere with a specific China/East Asia focus (HKU, NUS, Hult etc.). Under pressure from family to apply higher. So maybe Stanford or Columbia?
Age: 27
Gender: M
Nationality: UK (mixed UK/Asian)
Education:
Undergrad: 2:1 from University College London (History). Voted to represent students for History at staff/student consultative meetings.
Postgrad: 3.5 GPA from a top Chinese University (Pol. Science). Scholarship as a top international student (awarded to 3 out of 3000+ international students)
PhD: (part time) Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies
Leadership Work:
1 year at large European drinks company in China, started as intern, promoted to manager in 1 month led regional department for rest of year before going to Europe for phd
Run my own property management company for 2 years now whilst doing phd. Company worth around $10m
1 year consultancy (part time) at a international game making company (after being headhunted)
Summer job managing IT transition at a small Malaysian company
Referees:
1 from VP of company in China
1 from Department Dean in Chinese University (Could replace with a business partner, but worried about MBA programs considering conflict of interest issues)
Extra:
5 years english teaching to pay for uni (part time + gap year)
Lots of society and volunteering (events organization, editing student publications, teaching english)
2 sports coaching qualifications (netball/football)
Play 3 musical instruments to grade 7+ and have performed in various rock/pop bands at uni (is this a plus?)
Played sports to high level at school, and to a moderate level at university (mainly coaching)
Speak 4 languages (2 fluent)
Played a certain game to a professional competitive level (but gave it up for studies)
Short term goal: Make company self sufficient so that I can provide for wider family without needing to worry about them
Long term goal: Something mentally challenging, consultancy at big 4 or building a company in a more challenging industry than property
Extra:
Doing MBA to improve business knowledge (don't come from a business background and most of my training is academic). Would like a top school if its possible to get in, but I only just have 3 years management experience, so probably going to compromise. Will go to the good school that matches what I am looking for and gives me a scholarship. Not willing to wait for 2 years to improve experience, its important to do the MBA soon.
Questions:
Should I redo GMAT given that I need a scholarship and that I am under pressure to apply for top schools (720 is not good enough for Stanford with my lack of work experience?)
Is being in a rock band a positive?
Tried to be as brief as I could be, thank you for any help you can give.
Long time lurker, but something has been bothering me recently and don't know where else to ask.
Question:
Basically, was hit by a car on my way to my GMAT but I knew slots were so full I couldn't really rearrange or cancel at short notice just took the test anyway. Expected Score around 750-780 ended up with a 720 (IR: 7, Essay: 5, Math: 44, Verbal: 44, Percentile: 81/60/58/98 Overal: 94). Was VERY shaken in the early part of the test.
Should I be retaking or focusing on other parts of my application? I do not enjoy taking tests or revising at all (and not much free time) so committing to doing it would be a significant sacrifice.
Goal:
Somewhere with a specific China/East Asia focus (HKU, NUS, Hult etc.). Under pressure from family to apply higher. So maybe Stanford or Columbia?
Age: 27
Gender: M
Nationality: UK (mixed UK/Asian)
Education:
Undergrad: 2:1 from University College London (History). Voted to represent students for History at staff/student consultative meetings.
Postgrad: 3.5 GPA from a top Chinese University (Pol. Science). Scholarship as a top international student (awarded to 3 out of 3000+ international students)
PhD: (part time) Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies
Leadership Work:
1 year at large European drinks company in China, started as intern, promoted to manager in 1 month led regional department for rest of year before going to Europe for phd
Run my own property management company for 2 years now whilst doing phd. Company worth around $10m
1 year consultancy (part time) at a international game making company (after being headhunted)
Summer job managing IT transition at a small Malaysian company
Referees:
1 from VP of company in China
1 from Department Dean in Chinese University (Could replace with a business partner, but worried about MBA programs considering conflict of interest issues)
Extra:
5 years english teaching to pay for uni (part time + gap year)
Lots of society and volunteering (events organization, editing student publications, teaching english)
2 sports coaching qualifications (netball/football)
Play 3 musical instruments to grade 7+ and have performed in various rock/pop bands at uni (is this a plus?)
Played sports to high level at school, and to a moderate level at university (mainly coaching)
Speak 4 languages (2 fluent)
Played a certain game to a professional competitive level (but gave it up for studies)
Short term goal: Make company self sufficient so that I can provide for wider family without needing to worry about them
Long term goal: Something mentally challenging, consultancy at big 4 or building a company in a more challenging industry than property
Extra:
Doing MBA to improve business knowledge (don't come from a business background and most of my training is academic). Would like a top school if its possible to get in, but I only just have 3 years management experience, so probably going to compromise. Will go to the good school that matches what I am looking for and gives me a scholarship. Not willing to wait for 2 years to improve experience, its important to do the MBA soon.
Questions:
Should I redo GMAT given that I need a scholarship and that I am under pressure to apply for top schools (720 is not good enough for Stanford with my lack of work experience?)
Is being in a rock band a positive?
Tried to be as brief as I could be, thank you for any help you can give.
PersonalMBACoach
Expert
Personal MBA Coach Founder
Joined: 11 Sep 2010
Last visit: 07 May 2026
Posts: 3,815
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 11
Status:Boutique MBA Admissions Consulting from a Wharton graduate - Helping applicants get into top global business schools since 2008
Affiliations: Wharton, MIT
Location: United States (NY)
Overall Client Admit Rate: 96%
Expert reply
01 Dec 2014, 16:26
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Bookmarks
First, that sounds like a great essay topic! In all seriousness though, I would not advise retaking the GMAT at this point if you are trying to apply this year. A 720 is a good score and while higher would of course help, especially for Stanford, it really only makes a difference if you get in the 750 range. Otherwise, you could spend your time more efficiently on the essays and have that much more powerful essays with the extra time.
Your background is very interesting and I like your profile with the mix of corporate experience as well as entrepreneurial. The fact that you run your own real estate firm worth $10m is fantastic and can definitely be used to demonstrate your ability to succeed.
Stanford would be a bit of a stretch but definitely worth applying to given your entrepreneurial (and very successful!) experience, which will outweigh the other work experience and less than perfect GMAT. I have had success at Stanford with folks who don't have a lot of experience but started a successful operation on their own since it is a nice story to tell. Everything extra is helpful as well, so your music experience and band experience will definitely help. Feel free to reach out by emailing me at [email protected] with other specific questions or if you want to talk about more specific programs. The ones you mentioned are reasonable and you should have a very good chance at most.
Your background is very interesting and I like your profile with the mix of corporate experience as well as entrepreneurial. The fact that you run your own real estate firm worth $10m is fantastic and can definitely be used to demonstrate your ability to succeed.
Stanford would be a bit of a stretch but definitely worth applying to given your entrepreneurial (and very successful!) experience, which will outweigh the other work experience and less than perfect GMAT. I have had success at Stanford with folks who don't have a lot of experience but started a successful operation on their own since it is a nice story to tell. Everything extra is helpful as well, so your music experience and band experience will definitely help. Feel free to reach out by emailing me at [email protected] with other specific questions or if you want to talk about more specific programs. The ones you mentioned are reasonable and you should have a very good chance at most.
