GMAT 670. Where can this get me?

Question

Just took the test this morning. Sigh. 670 (take 2). First try was 490.

Where can this get me? Do I even stand a fighting chance at the ultra elite schools? (nyu, columbia, harvard, upenn) Should I not bother and just retake the test?

Here's the quick tale of the tape.
Undergrad GPA: 3.5
Undergrad School: Large State school (Big Ten)
Work experience: 5 years (currently manager for investment bank)
Extra curricular: some volunteering
Nationality: asian

What do you guys think?

sam77sam7 · Answer

A 670 shouldn't kill your app by any means... I believe that falls within the 80% for most of the schools you mentioned.

If you have the time, you might consider one more shot at it, try to get over 700. But with the rest of your profile, I would say you stand a fighting chance. Not a shoe-in, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

However, I am no expert. I will let some others weigh in here.

~Sam

nink · Answer

It's tough year. Especially now that you are shooting for R2 and R3 deadline.

If you HAVE to go for MBA starting Fall 2009, I suggest you choose about 4 to 6 schools. Using 6 school scale, choose 2 schools that have 670 in low end of 80 percentile. another 2 schools that have 670 in mid 80 percentile and finally 2 more that has 670 in high end of 80 percentile.

Your work background and GPA should be solid.
i say you get the list down by this weekend and crank up on application essays, rec letters and rest of the package. R2 deadline is coming soon.

spiridon · Answer

I think that is a very competitive score to apply at the most schools

terp26 · Answer

if the rest of your app is really strong and/or unique, it won't matter

bigfernhead · Answer

So the general consensus is not to re-take the GMAT? are my chances much better if I break the 700 mark? What happens if I do worst?

From a schooling perspective, I'm not looking to apply for Fall of 2009. 2010 sounds more realistic.

Cmon guys, be honest. I want to be realistic, and prefer not to waste $ on application fees if the results are not good. Bashing welcomed! (and encouraged!)

spiridon · Answer

if u paint ur house and ask 5 different ppl to tell u how u did, everyone is gonna tell u that u did it wrong.

So, if u dont want to apply for fall 2009 for some reason other than ur score then i guess u can retake it if thats gonna make u feel better

however, with that score u r in good standing - it is more than average for the most schools

GMAT has only one purpose - to keep low scorers out of race BUT low score is a very relative term where some students get in even with 500s scores at the top schools

I dont think it really matters if u score 670 or 720 or 780 as long as u have rest of ur app in a good shape

business school is not an engineering or english school
u just need to prove that u r well rounded in quant and verbal, not a wunderkid

jallenmorris · Answer

If you have the time to devote to it and you believe that you left points on the exam, then take it again. If you don't think you can improve it to a 730 or higher, I would really think about it hard. A 30 point improvement to 700 may make you think you've hit the magical 700, but I don't think there really is a magical number. If you do worse, not a big deal. Most schools take the highest score, and depending on how much studying/prep you did for the 670, you'll almost certainly increase your score the second time. If you did a ton of studying, it's possible that upper 600s is where you'll be, but I personally don't think someone has a "plateau" of their score. I think if you studied for 6 months and got a 670, I think you could study for more time and get a higher score, but that may be an opinion no one else shares.

bigfernhead

So the general consensus is not to re-take the GMAT? are my chances much better if I break the 700 mark? What happens if I do worst?

From a schooling perspective, I'm not looking to apply for Fall of 2009. 2010 sounds more realistic.

Cmon guys, be honest. I want to be realistic, and prefer not to waste $ on application fees if the results are not good. Bashing welcomed! (and encouraged!)

nink · Answer

Fall 2010? dude, take the GMAT again and join the 700 club. :-D

If you can better your odds, why not seize the opportunity? Also GMAT score definitely weighs a lot due to its influence on school rankings.

pm4553 · Answer

My 2 cents

I couldnt agree more, your aiming for 2010 (so am I), give GMAT another shot
490 > 670 > ?? I'm sure you'll register your name in the 700 Club....go for another one, since you have the time.

Av · Answer

This is really a difficult question to answer, because it depends on how much effort you think will be required to break 700. If you do choose to re-take the GMAT, you need to take some time off for relaxation first. Go have some fun! As others have cited from experience, like jallen, you should try a new strategy this time around (if you retake).

Here's another idea that might be of interest to you though. Rather than increasing your GMAT score, have you considered taking on a fun new project? Maybe a small/inexpensive start-up? Maybe organize a new group in your community? A fun extracurricular that you actually WANT to do, could really strengthen your application. There's gotta be something that you would enjoy more than studying for the GMAT again. Share your ideas if you come up with anything, because I'm hoping to take on a fun new project myself

Congrats on the 670! That's gotta feel great compared to where you started!

liubhs02 · Answer

I think 670 would be good for all the elite schools. 
Keep in mind that GMAT score is not THE deciding factor in admissions, it's one of the factors. From reading this forum the past couple of months, I get a sense that GMAT is only used as a minor indicator to gauge your intellectual abilities. Most of the focus is on work experience and essays. A 800 GMAT score and a 4.0 GPA will not get you automatic acceptance to a school. Having a low GMAT score probably will keep you out. 670 is the in middle 80% for all the elite schools, so I think you should focus on other aspect of your application and don't stress about the GMAT too much.

jallenmorris · Answer

There was a recent article posted here about how b-schools are looking for great managers. Those people that score in the top 99% might be good managers, but schools are also going to make sure they are team players and not simply brilliant academic types that typically make outstanding professors, but aren't as good at running a company. I'll edit this post and paste the link if I can find it. It was a great article.

bigfernhead · Answer

Thanks for all the great suggestions guys. I was afraid that schools will automatically look at my 670, and put it to the piles of dinged without going much further.

You can always see people's eyes light up when they see a 7 _ _.

I've studied on and off for 2 years, and you guys make a good point. I doubt, within a couple of weeks, I can break 700 (atleast not decisively). Maybe I should focus more on my apps and essays.

After talking to my friend, I will be committing into getting my apps in by Round 2. It's just scary that I'll be facing such stiff competition, especially with so many people out of work on Wall Street, and all looking to get back into school.

There are a few schools I'm eyeing. Please tell me whether I have a (Good Shot, Maybe, Long Shot)

Columbia
Upenn
Harvard
NYU
Dartmouth
Duke

And if there any additional reads/posting I should be looking at, please let me know. There's so much information out there and so little time. Thanks for all your support.

aaudetat · Answer

I'm a fan of Montauk's book - it's a good comprehensive overview. It's not perfect, but it can get you started.

If you REALLY want to go to school this fall, then I would round out your portfolio a bit -- as someone said above, make sure you have schools that you can get into (and that you'd be willing to go to).

bigfernhead · Answer

That's a tricky question. I pretty have my mind set on those schools, and if I don't make it, then I'm going to re-apply. Personally, I don't want to settle to a place that's not my top 5.

Or am I just being too closeminded on this one.

3underscore · Answer

I cannot say that any of the schools you have are not viable. But I cannot say that it isn't probable that you would get dinged from them all.

Whether the 670 GMAT would be the root cause depends a bit on the school and how they look at things. I think it matters  less  for those schools as they are looking a lot more outwith GMAT, with it being part of the portfolio. With good essays, you could get any of them, with not so good none.

GMAT 670. Where can this get me?

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