Hi,

I just took the GMAT today - I got a 660. 42Q, 40V.

My goal is to apply this year. My top schools are CMU, Darden and Georgetown.

That GMAT score puts me below the average for all of those schools. I'm happy with my verbal (90%) but concerned about math (60%). This is particuarly troubling because I am a Liberal Arts graduate with minimal coursework in quant heavy subjects.

Here is the rest of my application information:

- Liberal Arts graduate. I majored in history at a top 20 liberal arts college. My undergraduate GPA was 3.7. I did an honors research project my senior year (100 page thesis)

- currently 2.5 years of work experience. For the first 1.5 years I worked for a top fifteen accounting firm. I will have a recommendation from the managing part of that firm (I worked on firm administration/internal projects).

- For the past year I've worked at a government consulting firm. I'm the only onsite representative for my company... The consulting work is Project Management/Information Technology capital planning/budgeting. I think this might help with my general weakness in quant.

- Leadership: I've had the chance to take some leadership roles at work, and I also had a leadership position while at college. I'm currently the president of my regional alumni association.

- I've taken an introductory Accounting course at a community college ... I got an A.

- 24 yr old white american male

Is it worth retaking the GMAT in the next month? Or should I just focus on my applications... my goal is to apply by Round 2.

Also, an additional question - are my chances better if I submit an application by say Dec 15th as opposed to Jan 10th (assuming the deadline is Jan 15th)

Thanks
aog

No, you don't need to submit early (i.e. it doesn't help because they don't review applications until after the deadline has passed). So you have until Jan 15th.

Until then, it's a judgment call on your part. It seems like you have a hunch that your quant will still be an issue (it will be), but it comes down to how much time it will take away from your essays if you decide to prep for a re-take. If you really need to move heaven and earth to boost that score, at this point it may not be worth the retake - focus on the essays, and hope that what you have (intro accounting, your job, etc.) will be enough for the adcom to overlook your low quant score and lack of formal quant background. If the quant score was really just a "bad hair day" and you feel you can easily boost it without much additional effort, then by all means retake the exam.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com