A Stumble Across the 700 GMAT Finish Line

Pretty much the mentality of my city – less cars on the road and less pollution, I’m all for it!

Hopefully if I can show the admissions committee my strengths in numbers and data in other ways, such as in my job and on my transcript (took a few quant courses, minored in econ), the 44Q will not keep me out of a school.   I also read that if a certain component of your application is low but the rest is stellar, the admissions committee may wave you in but recommend taking additional courses.

What I am looking forward to now are the school visits!  I have decided not to let living out in the PNW and physically far away from these schools prevent me from visiting, as I know now the importance of the on-site visit. Due to some clever scheduling with working out east heavily in a few weeks and red-eye flights, I will be able to visit Kellogg when I’m working in Chi-Town and Columbia while helping my BFF settle into NYC.  I’m stoked that I’ll be able to spend time with friends in both cities, but also thankful for the opportunity to get a better reading of how I will fit in at these schools.  I want to get the most out of my school visits, so that will mean reading up on the programs ahead of time (the two programs that I am least familiar with on my list of prospective schools), compiling a list of questions to ask, and researching which classes I want to sit in on.

So what do you think – should I quit now while I’m *slightly* ahead, or take the GMAT once more to see if I can get that Q up?  At the risk of my verbal going down… I truly think my time could be spent in better ways.

Time to make the most of my “vacation” day from work and to go scrounging for a birthday dress,

Mango

Bucket list #27:  Run a half marathon, or at the very least, a 10k.  Ran a 5k this past summer dressed as Curious George (to my credit, I convinced my two friends to dress up as the [wo]man in the yellow hat and a banana) and I have been wanting to train for a longer run.   Now that the GMAT is over, this might be good balance with the app-writing process.  Bonus points if the half marathon offers pasta or beer afterwards, or is fairly flat.

****addendum to my last posting: I realized last night that I may have miscalculated my chances of getting into a b-school in my last post, as I had multiplied the possibility of getting in instead of possibility of getting denied.  The actual percentage?  (1-.85*.8*.6*.5*.75*.6*.6*.5) or 97% chance …. I’ll take THAT figure with a Morton’s factory worth of salt.

Mango is a consultant in the Pacific Northwest who is applying to business schools so she would graduate in the Class of 2014. This report is adapted from her blog posts at Por qué MBA? One Girl’s MBA Application Journey!

Her previous posts on Poets&Quants:

Introducing Mango and her pursuit of a seat in the Class of 2014

Why I’m Applying to Business School

Applying to B-School Is a Marathon–Not a Sprint

Making a Date with GMAT

Breaking 700 on the Third GMAT Practice Test

The GMAT Test Is a Beast!

A Happy Dance After Scoring 750 on a GMAT Practice Test

After a 690 Score, The Big Question: Should I Retake the GMAT?

After A Disappointing GMAT Score: Decompression and Detox in Vegas

The Pros and Cons of INSEAD

 

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