Hi,

I recently took the GMAT and got 670 (Q43, V39, AWA 6). I am from Monterrey, Mexico and am NOT a US Permanent Resident or Citizen. I did my undergraduate in Finance at McCombs in UT-Austin and finished with a 3.7 GPA.

Besides English, I speak Spanish and German, and intermediate Japanese. I studied abroad in Japan, Germany, and Denmark, and did my internship for Deutsche Bank (Marketing) in Frankfurt, Germany. After college, I did Technology Consulting at Deloitte in NYC for two years, did a summer of volunteer ESL Teaching in Ukraine and am now working for the largest Operations Consulting firm in Latinamerica (project in Panama).

I had great extracurriculars in college and have good ones for after-college.

Recommendation letters will be from a former employer from college (Director of International Programs), extracurriculars at Deloitte (form a current Director at AMEX), and my current supervisor (which should be very good).

With this in mind, I wanted to know what you think my chances are for:

NYU
UT-Austin
Harvard (MBA/MPP)
Stanford
Berkeley
Columbia
London Business School

I think my overall application is strong, EXCEPT for the Quant and Total scores on the GMAT. I have heard that Latin Americans tend to score lower on the GMAT, and I only know of 1 Mexican who scored above 700.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi Tsmarket,

Thanks for writing in and sharing those details. You have some really interesting international exposure and work experience which should play well with in your applications. I do think being from Mexico gives you some leeway on your GMAT score, as scores from that region -- by reputation -- tend to be lower, but that doesn't give you an automatic "pass" on your GMAT either.

I would rate HBS and Stanford as reach, Columbia and Berkeley as near-reach, and the rest as competitive.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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UPDATE: On December 2011 I re-took the GMAT and got the following score:

Total: 690 (88%)
Quant: 47 (76%)
Verbal: 38 (83%)
AWA: TBD

Additionally, I included IESE and Cambridge to my list of programs I am applying.

Can you please tell me how does this score affects my chances at all schools? Thanks! Happy New Year!

Hi! A higher score puts you in a more competitive position at the top schools.

Best of luck,
Rachel Beck
http://www.mbamission.com

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