profile eval

[andyknguyen]

Hi -
I took the GMAT for my second time at the beginning of March. I was wondering if you could evaluate my profile.

GMAT2: Total 650 (35V, 44Q, 5.5 AWA)
GMAT1: Total 590 (31v, 40q, 5.0 AWA)

Undergrad GPA: 2.99 (2.4 Fresh, 2.4 Sophe, 3.6 Junior, 3.9 Senior), originally majored as Biology, but switched to economics/history my junior year from a small liberal arts college.

Work Experience: 5 years in Asset Management (1 yrs derivatives operations, 3 yrs hedge fund analyst, 1 yr trading assistant)

Extracurriculars: sat on advisory board of large college access non-profit, still volunteer for them. head of asian network at work.

Schools: Reaches (Booth, Kellogg), Targets (Ross, Darden, Tuck, Johnson @ Cornell, Anderson, Georgetown) for admission Fall 2011.

Questions: Should I re-take the exam or should I begin the application process?

[mbamission]

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. Assuming that you are doing well professionally, you seem to have good work experience and volunteer work. Your low undergraduate GPA will be a challenge for all of the schools that you are interested in applying to. That will make your GMAT score even more important. I suggest you retake the test and try to score at least a 700. You can’t do much about your GPA, but you can try to improve your GMAT score. I would recommend that you retake the test since you don’t want to apply with a score that is significantly under the average score for your target schools. If you’re planning to apply for R1 deadlines, you still have lots of time to retake the test.

Sincerely,

Akiba Smith-Francis

MBA Mission
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[andyknguyen]

Akiba,
Thank you for your response, and sorry for my late response.

I had a follow up to your post. If I re-take the GMAT and I score lower than my original scores, will my chances of admission to part time Booth and Kellogg be impacted significantly?

Thanks,
Andy

[mbamission]

Hi -

Schools will always consider your best score when evaluating your candidacy.

Best,
Erin Schuhmacher
mbaMission