Profile Evaluation - Consider Retaking 710 GMAT?

Question

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to review my application.

GMAT: 710 47Q 40V 8IR 5.5AWA
GPA: 3.86 Industrial Engineering at a state university
Work Experience: 4 years at matriculation in technology consulting at Deloitte

Extracurricular:
Created a start up focused on developing mobile applications focused on health and social impact (strong user base, partnership with health charities, health impact can be reported)
Support the Wounded Warrior Games as a volunteer
Part of a team that plans a yearly charity golf tournament support the Navy Safe Harbor foundation (planned this event for the past 3 years)
Lead a recruiting team at my alma mater for Deloitte
Health and fitness (running, lifting, golf, tennis)

Other Key Points:
I come for a family of veterans and chose to enter the federal consulting space and support various extracurricular to support our military. Throughout working in technology I realized my passion for digital health and helping people to live a healthier lifestyle so I started a company focused on developing mobile applications to help facilitate this.

Round 1 Target Schools:
HBS
Kellogg
Wharton
MIT
Haas

Do you feel that I have a shot at my target schools?

Should I consider retaking the GMAT to make myself more competitive? I took the GMAT over a year ago so I would be starting fresh.

What schools do you feel are in my target range currently?

Thanks again!
Mike

MG4MBACrystalBall · Answer

A few thoughts on your profile Mike:
 
  The thing that jumps out from your profile is the startup. It is not clear though as to its current state. When did you start? Is it still running? What is the scale we are talking about? Those things will be important to articulate and to understand for a fuller profile evaluation.  
  Technology Consulting is a fairly abused term; so the nature of your work will also be important to understand. Generally speaking, with tech consulting, a 710 GMAT isn't likely to do wonders for you at your target schools. The startup may change that, but that really also depends on your overall story/pitch. For reasons mentioned  here , we don't really speculate on the school selection though.  
  The ECs arc seems in pretty decent shape. Use that well to present a good, all-round personality in your applications.

Hope this helps some.

Cheers,

VantagePointMelody · Answer

Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing your profile! One of the challenges you’ll have applying to business school is that you’re in an over-represented segment (management consulting), so differentiation from the pack will be critical to prove you deserve a spot in your target programs. The good news for you is that you already have a good story lined up with your consulting experience and start-up that lead nicely into your post-MBA goal. I would love to know more about your start-up – is it generating revenue (and if so, how much), what is the size of the user base, what impact have you already had, etc. – but based on the information you provided, it’s certainly an asset to your application. Make sure that the passion and drive that comes through under your “Other Key Points” shines through in your essays as that’s something that the adcom looks for.

As for the GMAT, I’m sure you know that your score is below average for your target programs so if you think that you can retake it and score 20+ points higher, then it’s definitely worth the investment since you still have ~4 months before the R1 deadlines. With that said, if you decide not to retake it, your score isn’t out of the question for your target schools. I worked with a client just this past year with a similar profile to yours and he’s starting at Wharton in the fall. So it can be done. However, I would advise you to cast a slightly wider net in terms of school selection and consider applying to 1 or 2 schools in the top 15 in addition to the ones you listed. That way you’ll increase your chances of having options to choose from while still reaching for your dream schools.

I hope that helps! Wishing you the best!

-Melody

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

Mike, It is great to meet you. I always love talking with Deloitte folks. I am former S&O and I work with a lot of Deloitte consultants every year. What office are you out of? I definitely recommend retaking the GMAT. The fact is the others you will compete with will have either 710 or higher so if you want to be competitive at those schools you should retake. Send me an email to discuss further. I may be at your office soon anyway working with a colleague. Scott@personalmbacoach.com Best, Scott

VeritasPrepEdison · Answer

Thanks for sharing Mike!

In addition to the above advices, you will do well to present your interests in health and supporting veterans as a long-running passion, supported with details about your family and the efforts you have personally out in. This could help you stand out, aside from your well-rounded profile.

You can then relate how an MBA at the target program can help you make a greater impact post-MBA on these causes.

Wish you all the best and look forward to your updates.

MikePulner · Answer

Thank you everyone for the insight!

I took a GMAT Prep practice test after not studying for the GMAT for over a year and scored a 680.

Do you believe it is feasible for me to increase to a 730 over the next few months?

Thanks again!
Mike

VantagePointMelody · Answer

Hi Mike,

That completely depends on much you study and practice over the next month. A 50+ point improvement is no joke and may be very challenging to achieve in a short time. However, you know your abilities best, and assuming you're putting a lot of effort into this then yes, it is possible. Just focus on addressing the areas where you're weakest and drill on those to help bring your score up.

Best of luck!

-Melody

VeritasPrepEdison · Answer

Thanks for the update.

Yes, it is feasible. It would also depend on how you prepare and how much you can still improve. You may also choose to engage a test prep service to help you prepare for the GMAT.

Wish you all the best!

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