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Will I be beating a dead horse taking the GMAT 4 times?

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targetfocus
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Will I be beating a dead horse taking the GMAT 4 times? [#permalink] New post   29 Jun 2007, 16:11
Hi Paul,

Can you please advice:

Here is my profile:
Indian female Engineer working for a large company in the bay area.
B.Engineering in Electronics from India with 3.89 GPA (very good school)
MSEE from a Tennessee Tech University with GPA 3.1 (traditional school GPAs are generally low)
Total work experience as embedded software engineer is 10-11 years

Took the Kaplan course and took the GMAT in Nov 2006 and scored 610 (82% in Quant 47% in Verbal). Retook the GMAT again, but didn't study for the Quant, just studied the Verbal and retook it again in Feb 2007 and scored a 610 again (57% in Quant, 73% in verbal). Took the GMAT again in March 2007, but didn't really have time to study at all. Just wanted to get a 650. Got a 580 instead.

I applied to part-time MBA programs at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and Santa Clara University (since I live in San Jose, California). I have been admitted to both UC Davis and Santa Clara University. I was waitlisted at UC Berkeley and finally dinged yesterday. I do not want to settle for Santa Clara University or UC Davis. I feel I should try to get into a name school. I am thinking of taking the Manhattan GMAT course to improve my GMAT score and get a 700. I am thinking about deferring my admission to SCU and UC Davis and would like to improve my GMAT score and try for Wharton West and Anderson (UCLA) next year. What do you think?

I am married with 2 kids and work full time. Some months of the year I work 12+ hours a day. It just so happens that the time that I was retaking my GMAT was when I was scheduled to deliver a major project. Ofcourse, I can find a million reasons why I didn't do well on the GMAT, but I am not going to. I really want to improve my GMAT score and apply to good schools next year.

How would a school like Anderson or Wharton West view a candidate who has taken their GMAT 4 times? I do plan to take the Manhattan GMAT course and take a month off of work to study and do well on the GMAT the 4th time. I am going to guess that my score maybe between 650-700, closer to 700. Would like to hear what you have to say. Is it worth taking the GMAT the 4th time and target a name school like Anderson next year? Should I settle for UC Davis or Santa Clara University?

thanks
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targetfocus
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[#permalink] New post   01 Jul 2007, 20:40
Hi Paul,

I know you are swamped with these requests, but I would appreciate your thoughts on my profile and my question. I would like to know what you have to say.

Although I fall under the same category of the vast majority of engineers, I do have some unique perspectives and a very unique personal background. With a improved GMAT score, I think I many have a better chance at a name school and would like your input.

Thanks,
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[#permalink] New post   02 Jul 2007, 08:03
targetfocus, you have scored 610 twice, yet the stats are drastically different. which of the two results did you report in your applications?
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Re: Will I be beating a dead horse taking the GMAT 4 times? [#permalink] New post   03 Jul 2007, 10:41
targetfocus wrote:
Hi Paul,

Can you please advice:

Here is my profile:
Indian female Engineer working for a large company in the bay area.
B.Engineering in Electronics from India with 3.89 GPA (very good school)
MSEE from a Tennessee Tech University with GPA 3.1 (traditional school GPAs are generally low)
Total work experience as embedded software engineer is 10-11 years

Took the Kaplan course and took the GMAT in Nov 2006 and scored 610 (82% in Quant 47% in Verbal). Retook the GMAT again, but didn't study for the Quant, just studied the Verbal and retook it again in Feb 2007 and scored a 610 again (57% in Quant, 73% in verbal). Took the GMAT again in March 2007, but didn't really have time to study at all. Just wanted to get a 650. Got a 580 instead.

I applied to part-time MBA programs at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and Santa Clara University (since I live in San Jose, California). I have been admitted to both UC Davis and Santa Clara University. I was waitlisted at UC Berkeley and finally dinged yesterday. I do not want to settle for Santa Clara University or UC Davis. I feel I should try to get into a name school. I am thinking of taking the Manhattan GMAT course to improve my GMAT score and get a 700. I am thinking about deferring my admission to SCU and UC Davis and would like to improve my GMAT score and try for Wharton West and Anderson (UCLA) next year. What do you think?

I am married with 2 kids and work full time. Some months of the year I work 12+ hours a day. It just so happens that the time that I was retaking my GMAT was when I was scheduled to deliver a major project. Ofcourse, I can find a million reasons why I didn't do well on the GMAT, but I am not going to. I really want to improve my GMAT score and apply to good schools next year.

How would a school like Anderson or Wharton West view a candidate who has taken their GMAT 4 times? I do plan to take the Manhattan GMAT course and take a month off of work to study and do well on the GMAT the 4th time. I am going to guess that my score maybe between 650-700, closer to 700. Would like to hear what you have to say. Is it worth taking the GMAT the 4th time and target a name school like Anderson next year? Should I settle for UC Davis or Santa Clara University?

thanks


targetfocus,

Schools generally frown on applicants taking the GMAT more than 3 times. If you were to get a 700, of course, it might be a risk worth taking, but your track record suggests a 700 is not likely, especially given that you have already taken a Kaplan-like prep course. Even if you raise your score it's not clear that you have enough other positives in your profile to snag a school like Anderson. Your Indian and technology background are very common, though being female is a big offsetting factor. Nevertheless, you would be expending a lot of time and energy for a very uncertain outcome. I would therefore advise you to "settle" for Davis or Santa Clara. Certainly very successful careers have been built on degrees from those schools.

Hope this helps,
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targetfocus
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[#permalink] New post   04 Jul 2007, 09:44
Paul,

Thankyou so much for the advice. I agree that I should not be taking a risk for a rather uncertain outcome. I have not deferred my Santa Clara admission, but I plan to. I will probably accept the admission from UC Davis for the part-time MBA program.

But I do plan to start another prep course to retake the GMAT. I do plan to take the GMAT one more time in October and apply to Anderson and Wharton West. I did call Anderson and spoke to the director of admissions. I figured that there is no harm in sending in my application. If I don't get in that's ok, but I would've tried.

I do have some factors other than the fact that I am female to my advantage. Hope that helps me get in.

Thanks,
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[#permalink] New post   06 Jul 2007, 10:11
targetfocus wrote:
Paul,

Thankyou so much for the advice. I agree that I should not be taking a risk for a rather uncertain outcome. I have not deferred my Santa Clara admission, but I plan to. I will probably accept the admission from UC Davis for the part-time MBA program.

But I do plan to start another prep course to retake the GMAT. I do plan to take the GMAT one more time in October and apply to Anderson and Wharton West. I did call Anderson and spoke to the director of admissions. I figured that there is no harm in sending in my application. If I don't get in that's ok, but I would've tried.

I do have some factors other than the fact that I am female to my advantage. Hope that helps me get in.

Thanks,


Best of luck to you!
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