Scored 670 Now what?

Question

I need some direction as to where to apply. I wanted to go to MIT Wharton HBS or Columbia, but I don't know if I can make it.

CV:

GMAT: 670 71%Q 89%V
White Female 28
-Rotary Foreign Exchange Student to Spain in Junior Year of High School
-Bachelors Chemistry 3.2-3.3 GPA
 Certificate in Business Spanish
-President of Chemistry Club for 2 years
-Spanish Honor Society
-Vice President of family business for 1 year to liquidate it
-Own Financial Planning franchise for 5 years (Advise small business and high net worth individuals)
-Past Treasurer and Vice President of BNI chapter
-On the board of curriculum at technical high school
-Judged local competition for the business office education group
-On a company's board 

Any insight as to how this stacks up to others trying to get into the aforementioned schools would be greatly appreciated.

Hjort · Answer

Hi,

Relative to Penn, the GMAT is near the far left tail of the GMAT distribution. The GPA is also somewhat to the left of the center of the GPA distribution. The work experience attributes are difficult to evaluate from the brief description.

A few questions:

What attracts you to these schools? 
What attributes distinguish them from other schools? 
It is a coincidence that no schools west of the Susquehanna River are mentioned?

Hjort

Accepted.com · Answer

You are somewhat weaker than most candidates to these schools in terms of your GMAT quant score and your GPA. Your work experience is quantitatively competitive, but I can't say for sure if it is qualitatively competitive. Extra-curriculars are a little light in comoparision to many applicants at these schools. 

As a female at a time when the schools are trying to raise the percentage of women enrolled you have a chance, but they are all stretch schools for you. I suggest you that your drop at least two of these schools and look for schools that support your goals and where your stats are more competitive.

Good luck!

gfbroke · Answer

I've been a financial advisor five years (series 7 + insurance license). Own my own franchise. I won 2 quality of advice adwards for providing outstanding advice to clients. I am willing to retake gmat but will that help? I still have a month to study for gmat before round 1 deadlines. Should I consider strengthening my app before applying to top 10 like doing more volunteer work etc? 28 seems to be pushing the age limit though :cry:

I really want to go to a top school. Appreciate any suggestions on how to better my chances. PS The schools I chose have graduates that end up with the top positions, the schools just happen to be on the east coast. I would go to Stanford if they would have me. :-D

Hjort · Answer

Thanks for the update.

I agree that the schools you mentioned have graduates that end up in top positions. However, if this is your primary selection criterion, then your portfolio is highly underinclusive since schools such as Northwestern and Chicago (among others) are extremely effective at placing students in top positions. 

While far from conclusive proof, consider that in one recent year Mckinsey hired a similar number of students from Penn and Northwestern and more students from Chicago than from MIT or Columbia. Further, Merrill Lynch hired more students from Chicago than from either Penn or Columbia. 

Have you actively evaluated other elite/transelite schools?
If so, what was your rationale for rejection in each case?

Hjort

Accepted.com · Answer

I see Wharton and Columbia as being more likely admits than MIT or Harvard. (or Stanford

) Also consider schools like NYU, Chicago, Michigan, Yale, UCLA, and Haas. I'm concerned that your GPA and GMAT are a little under these schools' averages. The combination is a problem. To be on the safe side, I think you should retake the GMAT, unless this was a higher score than you anticipated. So yes, prepare again for it and retake. If you don't raise your score, then also apply to lower ranked schools, like Georgetown, or Rochester. A consistent volunteer responsibility would strengthen your app, but don't wait a year to create it and apply. As soon as you complete prep for the GMAT, make a community service commitment, which you will be able to talk about in interviews and write about in wait-list letters, if necessary. You probably will not have much to say about it in your application. If you are rejected, then next time you will have a lot to write about. If you are accepted, well then, look at all the good you will have done. Good luck!

gfbroke · Answer

Linda and Hjort,

Thanks you for all your insight. I was hoping to score 700+ on my GMAT that I took on Wed. but alas I didn't. This is why I'm frantically trying to collect as much info as to whether I should keep shooting high and take the Gmat over or I should resign myself to a lower ranking school. However, in my rush to get feedback, I forgot to mention that I mentor a student, which hopefully counts as volunteer work. I am also fluent in Spanish. Because I don't have company sponsorship, and I have a really good job now, I am being picky. One of my friends graduated with an MBA and she can't find a job that will use her for her MBA (she is in the same field)

I looked at other schools that definitely interest me: Yale Cornell NYU Dartmouth are also on my short list. Do I have a better chance at these schools? However, I'm leaning toward international business or I banking. I was hoping to apply to 1st round Wharton, but perhaps I should wait until I retake the GMAT? If I retake the GMAT over and do not score as well, what schools should I look at?

I am open to looking at any school that has good stats at getting their grads a good job that pays well in the fields I am looking at. I don't know if you know where P&G or GE grabs new MBA's but that info would be helpful as well.

I appreciate all the advice as I try to make my mind up quickly. First round deadlines are near :cry:

Hjort · Answer

Which specific fields are you considering?

Please note that shooting high and considering lower ranking schools are not mutually exclusive since some of the best domain specific schools have relatively low general reputations. In this sense, a school such as Carnegie Mellon might be a superior choice to an elite school depending on one's exact goals. Likewise, an elite school such as NYU might offer 
advantages over some ultraelite schools in specific fields. 

Consider for one recent year (not necessarily representative of other years):

NYU placed more students at Merrill Lynch than at least one ultraelite.
NYU placed more students at JP Morgan Chase than at least one ultraelite
NYU placed more students at Goldman Sachs than at least one ultraelite
NYU placed more students at Lehman Brothers than at least one ultraelite

Of course, one should not read too much into such comparisons since different student bodies vary in their demand for certain types of positions and some schools have far more grads than others. 

Further, note that a transelite such as UNC placed more students at Lehman Brothers as at least one elite school
Likewise, USC placed more students at Lehman Brothers than at least one elite school

P&G hired students from Duke as well as Purdue, Rochester and Georgetown (among others)
GE hired students from Indiana, Purdue, and Michigan State (among others).

Hjort

Accepted.com · Answer

Yes. You would be slightly more competitive at Yale Cornell NYU and Dartmouth than at Wharton. That doesn't mean you shouldn't applyto Wharton; it does mean that you can't count on Wharton, but than again, not too many people should. I also urge you to consider Chicago and Michigan. 

Thanks for the additional information about your volunteer commitments. Yes it does strengthen your profile.

Good luck!

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