I just spoke to a bunch of friends from my UG who are either current students or in the process of applying. Spoke to a guy who apped to 4 schools- HSW and Insead- got into 3- all but W. He had to choose between H and S- chose H And another guy----has an EIGHT HUNDRED in GMAT and got rejected from all his schools last year, including columbia ED. I know essays matter and they probably sucked, but to know that one of my UG classmates scored 800...WOW Oh well...

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mNeo

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12 Oct 2007, 11:25

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kidderek

I think the high gmat scorers should consider re-taking the test and aim for a 710-730.

I think it's time (Looking at the kind of scores people are getting on this forum) we redefine "high gmat score" as 790+ anyway.

Clarification: This joke was made to bring to the reader's notice that 710-730 appear to no longer be considered high gmat scores. :wink:

lepium

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12 Oct 2007, 11:31

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bsd_lover

Every such applicant is a loss of 250 USD then and there for the school. Ultimately, every b-school has some idea of market psychology.

Application fees are not an important to schools' economics. Admissions are focused on trying to get the best class they can, and that means getting as many applicants as possible to then be able to get the best class out of those applicants.

So, it could be plausible that they may try not to "freak out" potential applicants by having too high GMATs, but not for economic reasons.

L.

ncp

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12 Oct 2007, 11:34

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lepium, if schools are looking for the best possible students, then whats wrong with 800 scorers. Wont they give you the best odds for obtaining a good student?

That said, I dont think that schools do it for earning more app fees.

mbagal1

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12 Oct 2007, 11:38

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ncprasad

But business schools are not necessarily looking for best "students" - they are looking for best future business leaders, right?

gmatclb

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12 Oct 2007, 11:41

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ncprasad

Because they pride themselves on saying a high gmat score alone doesn't make a good student.

ncp

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12 Oct 2007, 11:41

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same logic hsampath. I have not seen any evidence to say that sacrificing 800 scorers is the best way to get those great potential leaders with lower scores.

Are schools assuming that any 800 will most likely be not a great business leader. That sounds illogical. Granted, some of these 800ers would be poor leaders, but that possibility holds for every score. Not just 800.

mNeo

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12 Oct 2007, 11:50

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hsampath

But business schools are not necessarily looking for best "students" - they are looking for best future business leaders, right?

Actually a 800 scorer would seem to have a better chance of landing a good traditional MC/IB job post MBA than a 640 scorer. So, going by that logic, a high GMAT score would make practical sense to schools.

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12 Oct 2007, 11:57

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Its not like these schools are summarily denying applicants with 800 scores. So, there must be somewhere where they did not see a fit with the school, I would think.

riverripper

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12 Oct 2007, 12:01

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Schools tell everyone they have a shot so why not apply. Not for the $250 but so their number of applicants go up. Then their acceptance rate goes down and looks more impressive.

mNeo

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12 Oct 2007, 12:06

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riverripper

Schools tell everyone they have a shot so why not apply. Not for the $250 but so their number of applicants go up. Then their acceptance rate goes down and looks more impressive.

And so that they find that one gem who sucks at taking tests, and so has a poor GMAT/GPA combination .. but who is bound to do great things otherwise? The more I get involved in the application process, the more I appreciate the so called 'holistic' approach of B-school admissions.

Although I would still recommend the schools to just take the top GMAT scorers to fill up their class :wink:

riverripper

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12 Oct 2007, 12:51

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Oh I wasn't referring to just the GMAT. Someone who has an amazing background but a 650 gmat stands a better chance than someone who has a 750 and there is nothing special about them.

They may deny there is a method to how they choose their classes but I wouldnt be suprised if there was. There was an article on BW today about an admissions consultant for UG (charges up to 40K) and I guess a lot of schools dislike her because she gave up a lot of their secrets (she was assistant dean of admissions at Dartmouth). All these top schools had formulas they run people through. I wouldnt be suprised if they have something like that at certain business schools. You get point values for everything from GMAT, GPA (weighed by ug degree and school), your work experience, recs, extras, and of course essays. If you dont meet a certain number you are dinged. If you exceed a certain number you are accepted. In between those two values you get a more thorough review and are reevaluated for a ding/WL/accept.

ncp

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Updated on: 12 Oct 2007, 13:08

Originally posted by ncp on 12 Oct 2007, 12:57.
Last edited by ncp on 12 Oct 2007, 13:08, edited 1 time in total.

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Ya, I read the same article and was disappointed to see that you can get into an ivy league school merely by hiring this $40K consultant.

mNeo

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12 Oct 2007, 12:59

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Whoa!! Where's this article, guys? The point system sounds a little unfair (Consider all the 'holistic' crap we hear), but I wouldn't be surprised with something like this.

jjanders

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12 Oct 2007, 13:08

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Link:

https://www.businessweek.com/magazine/co ... op+stories

riverripper

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12 Oct 2007, 13:13

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ncprasad

Ya, I read the same article and was disappointed to see that you can get into an ivy league school merely by hiring this $40K consultant.

Well that 40K consultant isn't a normal consultant...she is more of a life coach. She starts on the kids in sophomore year and molds them into schools dream students. The are extremely well rounded and academically successful, because they have every opportunity. The kids do have an unfair advantage but they still must work their tails off.

ncp

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12 Oct 2007, 13:15

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But i guess its still a huge setback for those other smart hardworking kids who dont have the 40k to spend.

dosa_don

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12 Oct 2007, 13:17

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Well after reading the article, I dont think the $40k is too bad. This is similar to the coaching centers in India that charge some ridiculous amount to get students into IIT or whatever medical school. She does seem to spend a decent amount of time working with the students.

MBA consultants seem to charge $200 an hour, so around 200 hours of work per student? Thats a LOT of work

kidderek

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12 Oct 2007, 13:20

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ncprasad

Ya, I read the same article and was disappointed to see that you can get into an ivy league school merely by hiring this $40K consultant.

$40K? Dayam. I'd rather throw that money at the target school as donation and hope that sways the admissions counselors.

mNeo

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12 Oct 2007, 13:55

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Quote:

If someone says she likes photography, Hernandez might suggest she take photos of the homeless, then mount an exhibit as a way to raise money. "A kid wouldn't come up with that idea on their own," she says.

Wow!!

riverripper

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12 Oct 2007, 14:07

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The best thing is she said she makes a million bucks a year doing it. I think I need to get on an adcom at school 2nd year. Hmm which schools do that?