WHAT ARE MY BEST SCHOOL OPTIONS AND DO I STAND A CHANCE?

Vaishali1310:

As noted above, it would be helpful to know more about your goals and broad criteria for schools. Some of the MBA programs in Canada and Europe will still look at a candidate such as yourself even with your GMAT score.

Please respond so everyone here can be of even more help!

-Admissionado

Hello Vaishali1310,

Hope this finds you well.

With your years of experience, particularly in the start-up domain, we are certain that you will have a number of valuable talking points to include in your essays. Yes, an improvement in the GMAT score would be great; however, even if you aren't able to push it to 700 and beyond, you will have a number of options available particularly in the UK and Europe. Of course, the choice of schools will depend on what you wish to pursue as your post-MBA career.

At this point, all your focus should be on the GMAT. Once that is out of the way, you must deliberate on your need for MBA and what you wish to pursue after the same. The essays will follow, thereafter.

All the best!

Dear Vaishali1310 , As I can see from your GMAT score breakup, you are not too far off from your country average for quant. This is good. However, there is definitely scope for improvement on the verbal section. Take a targeted approach and analyze - improving what part of verbal - RC, SC or LR will help you make the leap to a 680+ score? If you want some advise on improving verbal score you can reach out to me. Reading reputed newspapers such as FT or the Hindu daily can help in improving verbal score (speaking from personal experience).

Your work profile is decent and worthy of getting noticed by the Ad Coms of top B Schools. Put your best foot forward through stellar essays and well researched career goals. I consider ISB a great fit for you if you are interested in advancing your career in India in leadership positions given you may already have strong connections in this geography. A differentiated background of B. Design coupled with long and diverse experience of marketing and scaling operations in startups will give you a well deserved advantage in the application process.

If you wish to seek professional guidance on creating strategy for your B School application, do reach out.

Best wishes

MBAGuide applications consulting and interview coaching for Top Global B Schools
Founded by INSEAD Alum and ex INSEAD Admissions Interviewer
100% interview invitation record for ISB


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Hi Vaishali1310

The short answer to your question is that, yes, 640 is a bit of a deal-breaker. The average GMAT scores for the top 25 schools around the world are significantly above your score. While we have helped people in the past make it to top programs with low scores, our recommendation is that if you can, you should still try and raise your score.

If you're applying to MBA programs that are competitive, you might want to take the test again. You've got a good score, so it shouldn't take too much prep to improve it if you can go for just a couple more points. I recommend taking practice tests and identifying what areas of the test you need to work on—and then practice those areas over and over until you feel confident in your ability to answer those questions.

That said, there are plenty of exceptional candidates who don't have great GMAT scores but have other strengths that make up for it. If you can demonstrate that you're truly exceptional in some other way—perhaps your work experience has been really impressive or you've done something really interesting outside of work—you might still be in good shape.

On your apps, try to find ways to tie your work experience back to the specific MBA program you are applying for—have you learned skills from other industries that can now be applied to business? Is there a specific aspect of business that you are eager to learn more about? Additionally, since you have been involved in startups, how have these experiences helped you develop your entrepreneurial spirit?

Don't worry too much about the programs to apply to right now. Focus on raising your GMAT as much as you can. Also, try to apply this year (2022) as you are approaching the 10-year experience mark. Your profile has promise, and if you work hard, you can do great things.