Hey, fairly new on the forums so would appreciate any advice/words of wisdom.

A little about my background: from the US, currently finishing my undergrad degree at an ivy league (GPA: 3.8+, econ degree) and probably wont be applying to bschool until 2-3 years down the road. I'm starting as an investment banking analyst FT position this July (bulge bracket in NYC) and am leaning towards private equity after my 2 years as an analyst. Spent a month or so prepping for the gmat since I know I realistically wont have that much time to review once I'm out working in the real world, so that's why i took it a bit early.

For all my practice tests (MGMAT and OG), scored between 700-760, usually around 720. Quant was always a weak point (41-43 avg) whereas verbal was a strength (45-46 avg), so i admittedly spent most of my time doing quant since i didnt wanted to break 80th percentile for the section.. today was d-day and ended up with 50Q38V...totally unexpected because i've never seen my Q score that high and my V score that low. While I'm really happy with my Qscore, just a little disappointed because I know I could've done better on verbal. I didn't actually find verbal to be that difficult either, and had a lot of time left, so probably what happened was I was too overconfident/riding off the stamina post quant, etc etc...

I know 720 is a good score, but does a 38V reflect badly on me? (Never did below 43 on the practice gmats) Enough that I should retake? I really don't want to come off as one of those non well-rounded people because believe it or not, verbal in general is a strength of mine (my other major in college is english, in which I have a 4.0 GPA), so im fairly confident that I could do better. That being said, not sure if it's worth the money and time (especially because if I retake, it'd be more down the road than a month from now) to try to up my score.

Ideally I'd like to get my MBA from HBS or Stanford.. What are my chances?

Thoughts? Advice? Thanks!

Hi! Let's start by saying that a 720 is an excellent score, and your outstanding performance on the quant portion really does help you. Business schools, especially those in the top tier, want to see candidates with at least an 80th percentile in the quant section of the GMAT. It seems that you exceeded that, which is great news.

There are a few things to keep in mind as you apply to business school. Your GMAT score is important, but so are other aspects of the application. Strong work experience, where you showcase your accomplishments, is crucial to be competitive for the top schools. In addition, strong outside interests and activities matter, too. They don't just want to see people who are involved in charity work, but those who are leading events and making a difference in their communities. If you are well-rounded candidate and you have a 720 GMAT, I think you will be competitive to get into the top schools.

In addition, if you feel your verbal score is too weak, you could write an optional essay that simply notes that you also were an English major in school. That will give the AdCom more confidence in your abilities.

Best of luck,

Rachel Beck


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