Inconsistent Profile with time to improve

[wls016]

I graduated from a good liberal arts school (Holy Cross, Bucknell, Richmond, Colgate) this past May with a weak GPA (3.1) in Economics. Despite having a weak GPA I still have some pretty strong credentials from college- I participated in a selective senior finance program and was selected by a well-known professor to work as his TA.

I took the GMAT this past week and got a pretty good score (730, Q49 V41). My overall score was within my desired range but the split was a little bit off, I could have done better on quant.

Given that I just graduated- I do not know what my work experience will be by the time I apply to schools (3-4 years). I was nominated by the Peace Corps to do Economic Development, and I have a couple opportunities at good employers (not elite).

3 Questions:

1. Should I retake the the GMAT? I'm confident that I can do better on the quant- I panicked a few times on easy questions for fear that my time management was bad. I think I can get in the same range on Verbal. Given that my split is off, and my GMAT needs to be particularly strong (to compensate for a weak GPA), would it be worth my while for an extra 10-20 points?

2. Are there things I can do over the next 3 years to make up for a weak GPA? Should I take online courses? Are there other things I can do?

3. If I did the Peace Corps, stuck with my current GMAT, and did whatever was available for the GPA issue, would I be able to get into a top 5 school? What if I had good (but not great) work experience?

Thanks

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

CONGRATS on your GMAT! 730 is excellent, and higher than average at all top business schools, so no, I would not think you would need to re-take! ;) What was your reported quant percentile? I would think about 80th correct? Which is more and more difficult to achieve as test takers do better and better on quant. So I would say you have demonstrated that you can handle the academics of business school, which is what they are looking at when assessing your GMAT and GPA! So your focus then is on what you do for the next few years, correct.

Certainly Peace corps would be very well respected option, sure. In general business schools are accepting of all different types of backgrounds, if you show you can handle the program, and if you have a valid reason you can explain for why you need the MBA and how you will use it in your career.

I can't tell you for sure that you would or would not get in; MBA admissions is not formulaic and there is an element of subjectivity, and your application is evaluated holistically. So you'll need to show, in your essays, that you are unique, and that you'll bring interesting experiences to classroom discussion and team projects, and that you do need the MBA and have a clear career plan in mind.

Wishing you all the best on your upcoming career and decisions, all very exciting!! And good for you, btw, for looking ahead and thinking now about your future steps in the next 3-5 years. ;)