How good is 660?

Question

Hi

I have got a GMAT score of 660 (87 percentile)
Q- 49 (90%)
V - 33 (70%)
Essays - 6

I have got almost five years IT experience with a reputed firm.
And 2.5 years (included in the above 5 years) international experience in US in a lead position.

GPA of 3.6 

Good Enough Community Service....

Considering all this, how good is my GMAT score and  what are the best schools that I should be applying ? 
My interest is to change from IT technological lead to General Management and senior leadership in an IT or Telecom firm.

I know I belong to a group of Indian IT male - but, I am confident I can demonstrate my uniqueness.

Thanks A Ton,
Satish.

Hjort · Answer

Hi,

Responding to the subject of your post a 660 would place you a bit above the Gen Rep Near Elite, close to the middle of the Gen Rep Transelite, and a bit below the Gen Rep elite.

I would suggest some Transelites such as Texas and USC and perhaps some Near Elites such as MD.

Hjort

Accepted.com · Answer

I have a few questions:

Where did you go to college?
What did you major in?
Have you worked anywhere else besides India and the US?
Would you be willing to retake the GMAT and do you believe you can improve your verbal score?

svudayag · Answer

Thanks Linda & Hjort !!

I have completed my Engineering in Electrical & Electronics at one of the most reputed schools in India (top 10) ... with 77 % aggregate (Topper % =80%)

I have worked only in US and India, though I was supposed to go to Sydney couple of months back, I choose not to go, because of my GMAT preparation.

My Age: 25

I can consider retaking GMAT if it really helps, but I doubt !! ( I almost fell asleep during my verbal section of GMAT !!, The test was in the afternoon)

Considering my goals and dreams, I am more interested in Consulting. Any ideas of what stream I should be going to taking into account my IT background.

Sorry Hjort, I did not understand the jargon of Gen Rep, Transelite etc, Also, it would be cool if you can write names of the school, so that I don't have to resort to wild guesses and google

Thanks,
Satish.

Thanks, Satish.

Hjort · Answer

Good point- I suppose I was a bit vague about the schools.

For simplicity, consider schools as having two main reputation values
1)Gen Rep= General Reputation of MBA program
2)Domain Specific Reputation(s)= Reputation for each specific subfield (finance, IT, accounting, etc.)

Some schools with outstanding Domain Specific Reputations such as Rochester and Carnegie Mellon have somewhat weaker General Reputations.

General Reputations are represented by clusters. The transelite cluster is just below and to some extent overlaps the bottom edge of the elite cluster. This cluster includes schools such as University of Texas-Austin and the University of Southern California. 

The Near Elite cluster is just below the transelite and to some extent overlaps with the transelite cluster. These are often smaller schools that concentrate on fields with strong Domain Specific rankings but might have few offerings in other fields. I believe I mentioned the University of Maryland (Smith) which is strong in IT.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Hjort

Accepted.com · Answer

I don't think you're going to like this suggestion, but here it is: retake the GMAT. Increasing your verbal above the 80% level would make you a competitive candidate at the schools, like Tuck, Darden, Kellogg, Michigan, that feed the major management consulting firms. A 660 from an Indian IT male is a low score for those schools and is a major hurdle in an intensely competitive sub-group of applicants.

If you choose not to retake the GMAT, consider schools like UT, Cornell, UNC, U of Maryland, Indiana, and USC.

Good luck!

How good is 660?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards