I have a couple of questions; first of all, it took me three attempts to get a 710. Do the top 20 schools look unfavorable on that?

Below are the GMAT stats:

Third GMAT: Q-45; V- 42; AWA- 6.0; Overall- 710
Second GMAT: Q- 40; V- 30; AWA- 5.5; Overall- 580
First GMAT: Q- 40; V- 32; AWA- 6.0; Overall- 600.

Secondly, I am aware that the top tier schools have an 80/80 guideline, and I got 75% on the quant and 95% on the verbal. Do you think my 75% will hurt my chances for acceptance to a top tier school?

Thirdly, I am debating between a full-time and part-time program. I'm 33 years old and don't know if I want to put my life on hold for 2 years while I go to school.

What I'm really asking is how to narrow the field and apply to schools that I have a relatively good shot at getting accepted.

I am aware that the GPA and GMAT are just baseline numbers and don't really dictate if you get into school. However, I don't want to waste my time and money on schools that I have a low percentage shot of getting admitted.

I have been working as an accountant/auditor at a CPA firm for the last three years, I have my California real estate broker's license, I've worked for Disney (paid internship), The Hartford (commercial-lines sales underwriter (3 years)), and Nordstrom (manager (2 years)) since graduating from USC with a 3.2 GPA.

These are the schools I'm thinking of applying to:
Northwestern (part-time)
Chicago (part-time)
UCLA (part-time)
Cornell
Duke
Virginia

Let me know if I'm on the right track with the schools in which I'm going to apply.

I appreciate all of your help.

Schools do not look negatively at candidates that take the GMAT multiple times. Three times should be fine and if anything, they will view your recent score of a 710 in a positive light given the first two scores. Congrats on pulling that score up! If you're overly concerned about the 75% on the quantitative section, you can also substantiate your quantitative skills by detailing the work that you've done as a CPA and the grades that you earned in quanititave courses during undergrad.

Regarding whether or not you are competitive at your target schools...I would need to know more about your leadership/accomplishments and your extra-curricular activities or personal achievements. Can you share more details?

Monica Okrah
MBA Mission
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