Evaluating profile and retaking the gmat

Question

Hi all,

I just took my 3rd attempt at gmat and scored a 690(Q49 V34) with IR-8(93 percentile) . Though I could get a 100 point jump on my score, I really regret not replicating my previous quant performance which would've let me break the 700 barrier.

My dream schools are Rotman, University of Toronto and Foster, University of Washington. I am indian, male, 24 years old.

GPA:
I studied CSE. I do not have a great gpa from college - 6.5 with 6.8 in final year without any backlogs(Concentrated way too much on learning data science in my last two years).

Work Exp:
My work experience and performance at work have been completely opposite to my grades(probably a reaction to my disappointing college grades). I will be having 3 years of work experience by the time i wish to start my mba. 
I work in a data analytics firm(Its a deloitte fast 50 firm for the last 8 years) which was my college dream(Somehow obsessed with data science and data engineering) and i have received the top performer award. I constantly work with the top people of the company, thanks to their trust in young people.

I can get my references from my manager who is a visiting faculty and course designer at IIM-Calcutta and also one from the dean of computer science in my college(He somehow liked me as a student). I believe I am really good at my writing skills. So I am confident of writing good essays.

I served as the head of Public Relations for entrepreneurship development cell in my college.

What I would really like to know are-
Do I really have a profile which is good enough for the schools i want to go to? Or do i have to take my gmat again if it is going to help offset my profile? If yes, What should be the score I will have to target. I am pretty confident about pushing V34 to around V40 or even more with some more focus and organized preparation(I am yet to take a GMATPrep to be honest) and also push the Q49 to Q50 or Q51 but that i think is a matter of my test day focus and management.

My short-term ambition is to do research in Strategic and Operational management. My long-term ambition is to be a professor.

Thanks in advance.

pushpitkc · Answer

Hi  saikiran1003

Welcome to GMATClub.

From the little experience I had in the Rotman application thread in the class of 2020, I would
recommend you to retake the GMAT. The over-represented demographic(Indian-IT-Male) makes
it very difficult for us. Moreover, you have a scored a Q51 in the past and I am certain that you
can do it again.

We have 3 months to go before the Rotman - R1 deadline and if you can bump up your Verbal
score by a few points, you should be looking at a score in excess of 730 and that will definitely
help you.

P.S Have moved your topic to the appropriate forum.

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

Congratulations on your accomplishments at work! It is good to be motivated and turn things around so kudos for that. As mentioned above, retaking is probably a good idea if you want to increase your chances of getting into Rotman. Can it work with a 690? Certainly. The average is 665, however given the competitive demographic and your low undergraduate GPA, you really want to shine here. Even just bumping from 49 to a 50 can make a nice improvement here. Are you considering applying to other schools as well? I would advise you to increase the number of schools you are looking for since you have lower than the average # of years of work experience and the process is competitive. If you do both of those things, your chances will increase quite a bit.

Reach out if you want help crafting your applications. I will be giving a talk in Toronto this summer and would be happy to explore how you could pitch yourself on the personal side as well (how to fit in on campus!)

Best,
Scott

saikiran1003 · Answer

Hi Scott,

Thanks a lot for your advice. Foster and Rotman are my top targets.

The range of schools i am interested in are
Stern - Stretch
Duke - Stretch
Tepper -Stretch
McDonough
Kenan-Flagler
Ross
McCombs
Darden
Emory
Kelley - Backup
Scheller - Backup
UBC - Sauder - Backup

I would really love to know if i am looking at realistic schools for me here.
I do feel that there's a gap between my backup schools and the ones I really want to get into.
So I am planning to give my gmat again in a month.
I really want to apply for most of my schools before the first deadline.
I am not really sure of how true this is, but i have read in many forums that 'Earlier = Better Chances'. Not sure how that makes sense though.(Can you also confirm if this is true :p) 
I anyway do not want to take a chance. I think sending it earlier wouldn't hurt me anyway.

MG4MBACrystalBall · Answer

A few more perspectives for your Saikiran:
 
  The work you do sounds interesting, but it'll be good to understand the actual nature of it. Top performer is great - but always talk about relative quantification; do 1% of the workforce get this award of 10% or 20%. That makes a big difference. The connect with your post-MBA plans is vital too. How would your passion for data science get satiated in those roles? Why not look for Analytics focused roles? Think of what really appeals to you and go from there.  
  In general, most top schools have 4-5 years as the average work experience. You'd have to make a strong case for why they should make an exception for you.  
  Sooner is better. Read  here .  
  For reasons mentioned  here , we do not speculate on school selection. The GMAT is not necessarily a deal breaker though. But since you have confidence in improving the score, you sort of owe it to yourself. Some motivation  here . It does help given the below average academics too.  
  A final note on ECs. I don't see you mention anything. This is why the matter; read  here . Make sure you are not neglecting parts of the profile.

Hope this helps some more.

Cheers,

saikiran1003 · Answer

Hi Manish, Sorry for the awkward tag - Couldnt quote you because it required me to be a user for atleast 5 days(New here) to have links in my posts(Your previous post did). So I could not. Big thanks for your insights here. While I stand by the norm of not speculating schools and admissions, my question here was to know if i have a realistic chance of getting into my dream schools. That is with the profile I have, will improving my score better my chances than waiting for another year and improve other parts. If I figure that I had any chance just by improving my score, I'd jump in straight and book my gmat for July end and start straight away with mocks(Something I couldnt find time for, yet to take one) - Preparing for toefl right now, planning to give it in two weeks and get it done with because i cant write gmat till the 6th of July - 30 days from my previous attempt. And for more details about the specifics I mentioned, 1. The top performer is generally top 1-2%. This varies based on the amount of business impacted through our work, both for the client and us and also the way we share our knowledge to the rest of the firm-Business Review. Thanks for letting me know about this. 2. As per the 'why not analytics role', though analytics is already a very strong course and suits my profile better, in short, me being an analyst at a management consulting firm already wish to take the leap forward to start research(Short term - 5 year goal) on strategic management(Especially intended for management consulting). I believe that the mba is the right step forward to achieve that. 3. As per the ECs, I was the Sports fest organiser in college, Head of PR for Entrepreneurship Development Cell in College(I was one of the team members who started it, so I don't hold anything that certifies me, so I am not sure if I can add this on my profile), I am the captain of my company's corporate football team - Not sure if this counts either. The biggest things i regret about my profile is that I have a really disappointing gpa(Which i most regret right now) and I failed to find time for some voluntary work for non-profit causes. I have spent way too much time of my post-undergrad life on my work. I can pull of a reference from my client too. He works for one of the biggest tech firm(Cant disclose the name :p) as a senior finance manager. He is an alumnus of my top target - Foster(He did three programs there MBA, MS in Finance and a PHd). Thanks in advance

Sorry if this is too much detail on an online forum- Its my first time.

Evaluating profile and retaking the gmat

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