710 (Q: 46, V:41) ok for LBS?

[JW12345]

Hi there,

Four weeks ago my husband and I found out we are moving to London in January. I immediately signed up to take the GMAT and started studying using Manhattan Prep's interactive course, while also working my 12+hr/day job at a tech company in San Francisco.

My practice scores were:
CAT1: 600 (Q: 34, V: 38)
CAT2: 620 (Q: 37, V: 37)
CAT3: 620 (Q: 39, V: 35)
CAT4: 630 (Q: 40, V: 36)
CAT5: 650 (Q: 41, V: 38)
GMAT Prep: 660

Yesterday, I took the GMAT and scored 710 (Q: 46, V: 41). On IR, I scored 7.

I was initially very excited about my score, especially given the tight deadline, but the admissions consultant I have hired quickly brought me back to reality. She said that although the overall score is great (91 percentile), that the Q: 46 is very low given it only represents a 64 percentile ranking, and she suggested I retake the exam before the admissions deadlines in early January.

I have read what I had considered very helpful articles (like this one: http://www.mbamission.com/blog/2014/08/ ... to-get-in/) which highlight the evolving nature of percentile scores on the GMAT, specifically calling out how much Quant scores have increased, and therefore percentiles have decreased, over the last handful of years as a result of the changing demographics of test takers. Because of this, I was extremely surprised and disheartened by her negative response to my score and emphasis on the 64 percentile, rather than the 46 raw score.

I am trying to go to LBS, LSE, Oxford or Cambridge. While Cambridge's website mentions the importance of a balanced score, the other three (where I'd prefer to go) do not mention anything other than their 690-700 GMAT averages.

I am a Caucasian female with 4.5 years of work experience. I studied Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Southern California and graduated with a 3.7 GPA (3.8 in Finance-related courses). After school I went into tech investment banking for a bulge bracket firm and have since held roles in Investor Relations and as a Director of Global FP&A, running the financial model for a S&P250 company. My LORs are solid.

Can someone please weigh in on whether they agree with my advisor and think I should retake the exam to bring up my Quant score? Or would my GPA in undergrad and work experience check the quant box as is?

I have three more weeks until applications are due and haven't started on my essays. My gut tells me that I should focus my energy on the rest of my applications at this point, but I am also very new to this whole process and hired the consultant for this reason.

Open to any and all feedback.

Many thanks!

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing your full details. As you described, it looks like your score was a nice improvement over your practice test scores. Given that you are around the average for LBS, and that as you mentioned, the quant percentiles have skewed in more recent years, I would personally agree with your 'gut' feeling that with 3 weeks left, you'll want to focus on those essays and the application itself and make the most of that, and I wouldn't think it would be too likely that the GMAT would be the one thing that keeps you out so to speak... but certainly you can make an impact either way with how you present yourself in your apps. There is always an element of subjectivity in this process (even the final decision is somewhat subjective since it is holistic and not formulaic), but that is my view after reading all of the info you shared! Good luck to you-- I lived in London for several years, working in Central London then went to Cambridge for my MBA... it's an amazing city and will be a great experience to live there!