MBA Handicapping: 720 vs. 740 GMAT: The Difference Can Be HUGE by: Sandy Kreisberg & John A. Byrne on November 27, 2020 | 5,988 Views November 27, 2020 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit Many applicants will see themselves in Zack’s profile. He didn’t graduate from a prestigious university. He didn’t get straight As on his undergraduate transcript. Instead of working at a well-known company, he is employed at a private firm many would never have heard of. And for a white male, his 720 GMAT score will turn few heads in the admission committees at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Dartmouth Tuck, Yale School of Management, UVA Darden or Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Yet, those are all his target business schools. So how does Zack leverage what he has to swing the odds of an admit in his favor? And what can he improve upon to make it more likely to get invited to interview at his chosen schools? In this episode of Friday’s With Sandy, HBSGuru.com founder Sandy Kreisberg assesses Zach’s chances and provides a fair bit of advice to move his profile into a more favorable category. In three years, he has already had two promotions and as a strategic account manager at a technology consulting firm he manages the client relationships of some big brand name players. He is also a first-generation college graduate who earned his degree in finance from Fairfield University which gave him considerable scholarship help. And Sandy advises him to make sure he gets exceptionally strong recommendation letters to support his candidacy. And finally, there is that famous Sandy tough love. Zack scored his 720 on the GMAT exam on the first try without even studying. Sandy urges him to retake the test and aim for a 740, a fairly achievable goal given Zack’s performance without prep the first time around. For a white male consultant, those 20 points could make a huge difference. If you would like to participate in a future Fridays With Sandy webinar, you can contact Sandy and P&Q Founder John A Byrne here. DON’T MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES HOW TO MAXIMIZE A 320 GRE AND A 3.4 GPA HOW ASIAN IB/PE APPLICANTS SHOULD PRESENT THEIR STORY TO H/S/W CAN THIS WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN GUY CRACK STANFORD & HARVARD? APPLYING TO H/S/MIT FROM LATIN AMERICA WITH A 770 WHERE SHOULD THIS BMW ROCK ‘N’ ROLLER GO TO B-SCHOOL? CIAO!!! EURO ADMISSIONS FOR BIG 4 TYPES DON’T SCREW YOURSELF IN THE FIRST TWO MINUTES OF AN ADCOM INTERVIEW CAN THIS MULTI-RACIAL MAP MAKER FIND HER WAY TO AN ELITE MBA? UNEMPLOYED POT EXEC GOES FOR TOP MBA. WE SAY MAYBE. ARE WE SMOKING SOMETHING? A 770 GMAT & TWO NO-NAME EMPLOYERS EQUALS WHAT? 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