DirtyZ Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I should also add that I want to get a high score > because employers will often look at it for a few > years after graduation and almost certainly for > the internship and first job. Similar to the SAT, > the GMAT score is with you for life, and a 750 is > a lot more impressive than a 700. Both might get > you into a top 10 school, but a 750 is likely > needed to work for a McKinsey or a firm of similar > prestige. Not saying this doesn’t happen, but it’s BS that it does. I signed up for two gmat dates figuring I would do a trial run first, and then see where I needed to improve. I ended up getting a 730 on the trial run. So now if I take a 2nd exam, adcoms will question my judgement, because a 730 *should* be good enough. If I don’t take a 2nd exam, I am far from a lock at the top schools.
curse you on getting 730 in a trial run ; (
adcoms don’t really care if you take it multiple times. If you really think you can do better, take it again. gotta ask yourself though, is it worth the risk of doing worse?
Business schools look for well rounded applications. The GMAT score is only one small portion. I think as long as you get 700+, you are in good shape.
When I read the thread title, i thought the author was talking about the S&P.
If you get 700+ you can get into any B-School in the US. My former co-worker had 1 year of experience, got a 710 and was accepted to HBS (he is there right now).
I just read on the thread that you need to have more that 700 odd to work in a top 3 consulting firm. do employers look for your GMAT really? also, if that’s the case, how do you project it to them. via resume or during an interview??
aquabu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I just read on the thread that you need to have > more that 700 odd to work in a top 3 consulting > firm. > do employers look for your GMAT really? > also, if that’s the case, how do you project it > to them. via resume or during an interview?? I and my friends that work at top 3 consulting believe it’s not a big factor. The main reason is because most of the candidates have other stellar and more relevant credentials. The second reason is that most people at the top 3 business schools already have very good GMAT’s anyway, so the process is somewhat self-selecting anyway. When I interviewed for M/B/B during my undergrad a few years ago, having a GPA of 3.6 or above was highly recommended (3.7 is the “internal” cut-off at McKinsey; the process is more relaxed at BCG and Bain). That being said, leadership and creativity also play a huge factor. I don’t think these standards have changed.
projectplatnyc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you get 700+ you can get into any B-School in > the US. > > My former co-worker had 1 year of experience, got > a 710 and was accepted to HBS (he is there right > now). i doubt that your former co-worker had as many holes in his application. my numbers are all good enough (not astounding for the top 5) and i work for a big-name bank, but that stuff is expected of all of these schools’ candidates. a 780 would, i think, help to offset my weak list of extracurriculars.
Gecco Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > adcoms don’t really care if you take it multiple > times. If you really think you can do better, > take it again. gotta ask yourself though, is it > worth the risk of doing worse? they say they don’t care, but i believe they do. i’ve been told by dean of admissions at one of my target schools that while they don’t judge applicants for taking the gmat more than once, they do recognize that the second gmat is less indicative of aptitude than the first. my concern isn’t with doing worse (not to sound arrogant, but i highly doubt that would happen), but with doing marginally better. what would you think of a person who received a 730, took it a month later and got a 750, and then applied for the second round of admission? i would call that poor prioritization.
One of my friends took it once, got a 680 - knew it wasn’t good enough and took it again and got a 720. She worked at Franklin Templeton until earlier this year and is also going to HBS this fall. I think in the case that you have below a 700 it is worth the risk, but if you get a 730 and think you could get a 750, it wouldn’t be too hard to spin that in the interview to a positive note.