730 in GMAT, attending bschool in Fall. Should I retake my GMAT? 
by whats up
(Chimp, 3
Points)
on 2/22/12 at 12:47am
I took the GMAT a year or so back, and got 730, purely by half-assing my way through. I will be attending a target bschool this fall.
I was wondering if I should retake the GMAT and aim for a score above 750, or do consulting firms not give a shit? I'm just trying to iron out any kinks in my profile, and figured it wouldn't do any harm trying to get a score above 750.
Thoughts?
Quote: I took the GMAT a year
I took the GMAT a year or so back, and got 730, purely by half-assing my way through.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DHHKU4znvo8
**credit to swagon in the American decline thread for posting this video**
Go to a good school and all
Go to a good school and all is fine.
Go to a mediocre school and 800 won't get you there either.
whats up wrote: I took the
I took the GMAT a year or so back, and got 730, purely by half-assing my way through. I will be attending a target bschool this fall.
I was wondering if I should retake the GMAT and aim for a score above 750, or do consulting firms not give a shit? I'm just trying to iron out any kinks in my profile, and figured it wouldn't do any harm trying to get a score above 750.
Thoughts?
True... but you always have to think about scoring LOWER than a 730. B Schools see a history of all of your GMAT tests you have taken.
pad10sfanatic wrote: whats
I took the GMAT a year or so back, and got 730, purely by half-assing my way through. I will be attending a target bschool this fall.
I was wondering if I should retake the GMAT and aim for a score above 750, or do consulting firms not give a shit? I'm just trying to iron out any kinks in my profile, and figured it wouldn't do any harm trying to get a score above 750.
Thoughts?
True... but you always have to think about scoring LOWER than a 730. B Schools see a history of all of your GMAT tests you have taken.
Sounds like he's thinking of retaking it so that he can put the higher score on his resume when applying to consulting firms, not for bschools. In that case, he could just put on his highest score.
Seems like a royal waste of
Seems like a royal waste of time. 730 is average at the top schools, and the average HSW student has a pretty great shot at MBB consulting...
Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
I'm not going to HSW,
I'm not going to HSW, unfortunately. Nevertheless, it'll be "tough" to stand out, GMAT-wise, as 730 is still average or slightly above average where I'm headed.
I'm just wondering if a 750 is viewed more favorably than a 730 by consulting firms when they're looking at candidates to select from for the first interview.
think its a 700+?
think its a 700+?
One particle of unobtanium has a nuclear reaction with the flux capacitor, carry the two, changing its atomic isotope into a radioactive spider.... Fuck you science!
Don't ever let the place you start dictate where you finish
Double Post.
Double Post.
Calling Ron Paul an isolationist is like calling your neighbor a hermit because he doesn't come over to your property and break your windows.
GMAT is only needed to get
GMAT is only needed to get into B-School. Once you're there, no one cares if you got a 780 or a 650. The only difference is, that if you got below 700, you don't list it on your resume, and vice versa.
Calling Ron Paul an isolationist is like calling your neighbor a hermit because he doesn't come over to your property and break your windows.
Retake only if you expect to
Retake only if you expect to make an actual "jump" to 760+.
If you fail to significantly improve and thus warrant a retake, you misjudged your own capabilities and wasted your time. This impression will hurt you, if anything.
IMHO: Let it go. If a school rejects you, it was for a reason other than your 730 GMAT.
/edit: wait, you ARE in school already? wtf. ABORT!!!!!
Just flipped our summer
Just flipped our summer intern's resumes. Of those that listed, there were a couple 740s, a 750, a 760, and a few 770s. I think either 700 or 720 is a decent break point, but honestly, your time is much, much better spent "expressing interest". Make sure you attend the networking events, and contact the people who attend the events (recruiters and consultants alike) with thanks/questions. I know this has been a deciding factor in terms of who moves on/gets interviews.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of Starwood Points
You will get interviewed at
You will get interviewed at MBB with 700+ GMAT, I wouldn't sweat on it.
Now you should go to all events they organize. Set up informational interviews in Oct/Nov (when you are ready) and you will make the cut.
They are quite generous on whom they interview. You will need to ace the case, and speak well of your resume. Only 10%-15% of the people interviewed get an internship offer. Around 20% for full-time
freroht wrote: You will get
You will get interviewed at MBB with 700+ GMAT, I wouldn't sweat on it.
Now you should go to all events they organize. Set up informational interviews in Oct/Nov (when you are ready) and you will make the cut.
They are quite generous on whom they interview. You will need to ace the case, and speak well of your resume. Only 10%-15% of the people interviewed get an internship offer. Around 20% for full-time
Is the 10-15% and 20% across all schools? Does it look any different for a Kellogg/Booth/Columbia-level school or is it that competitive everywhere?
deco wrote: freroht
You will get interviewed at MBB with 700+ GMAT, I wouldn't sweat on it.
Now you should go to all events they organize. Set up informational interviews in Oct/Nov (when you are ready) and you will make the cut.
They are quite generous on whom they interview. You will need to ace the case, and speak well of your resume. Only 10%-15% of the people interviewed get an internship offer. Around 20% for full-time
Is the 10-15% and 20% across all schools? Does it look any different for a Kellogg/Booth/Columbia-level school or is it that competitive everywhere?
Actually, the 10-15% is a bit too low, my apologies. I just did the math knowing people from other schools, and considering mine.
It is still around 20% internship, and 30% full-time.
Yes it is similar everywhere. The difference is, the closed list at Harvard is far larger than the closed list at Michigan for example. One more thing, because it is quite a selective process, you should at schools where a ton a consulting shops interview on campus (HWS, Columbia, Dartmouth, Sloan and Northwestern).
Leonidas wrote: GMAT is only
GMAT is only needed to get into B-School. Once you're there, no one cares if you got a 780 or a 650. The only difference is, that if you got below 700, you don't list it on your resume, and vice versa.
Sadly, this is completely untrue. Consulting firms absolutely use your GMAT as a very solid screen for first round interviews. I hit a 720, formerly an analyst at a boutique ib, then 2 years of family office PE and didn't get a single first round with MBB. (Im at a top 15 mba program.) I had friends who rocked a 770 and the firms were reaching out to them to encourage them to apply. Rumors swirled that McKinsey looks almost solely at GMAT to determine their first round interviews, and judging by who landed them and who didnt, id say thats fairly accurate.
You might be a good candidate to take it again because if you focus heavily on the area you did worse in, you can get a substantial bump in your overall score.
See end of
See end of video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BKVl8t3t7E&context=C36d6b28ADOEgsToPDskL...
MBA_ guy wrote: Leonidas
GMAT is only needed to get into B-School. Once you're there, no one cares if you got a 780 or a 650. The only difference is, that if you got below 700, you don't list it on your resume, and vice versa.
Sadly, this is completely untrue. Consulting firms absolutely use your GMAT as a very solid screen for first round interviews. I hit a 720, formerly an analyst at a boutique ib, then 2 years of family office PE and didn't get a single first round with MBB. (Im at a top 15 mba program.) I had friends who rocked a 770 and the firms were reaching out to them to encourage them to apply. Rumors swirled that McKinsey looks almost solely at GMAT to determine their first round interviews, and judging by who landed them and who didnt, id say thats fairly accurate.
You might be a good candidate to take it again because if you focus heavily on the area you did worse in, you can get a substantial bump in your overall score.
While you're right that MBB use GMAT to screen candidates, it is completely false that McK looks almost solely at GMAT to determine first round interviews. I worked there for 3 years, did lots of recruiting, and can say matter-of-factly that a score of 720 or higher is all you need. If you're below 720, you can definitely still get an interview if the rest of your resume is strong (or if you're a URM, for better or worse). Let's put it this way: I certainly never saw us decline someone because of a gmat score in the 700-720 range.
The lowest gmat score I ever saw us hire was 680 (although there could be lower, obv I don't have perfect data). McK cares much more about previous job experience and leadership skills than GMAT. Just like b-schools themselves, McK views the GMAT as basically a hurdle you need to clear, and after a certain score (+/- 720), anything higher is simply nice-to-have.
To the OP, I would definitely not re-take if you got a 730, assuming your Q/V split is reasonable. Specifically, the only scenario in which it is worth re-taking is if you got a 730 via a very high V score and a low-ish Q score.