Mr. S&P Global

If not for you GPA and GMAT, I would look far more favorably on your chances at Dartmouth Tuck. But I think your story would have to be pretty compelling for the school to overlook a 680 GMAT score, in particular, that is 43 points below the latest class average of 723. This is especially true right now because Tuck fell out of the top ten in last year’s U.S. News ranking which weighs average GMAT scores in its methodology. So there is some sensitivity over GMATs at Tuck right now. It’s why the school reported a record GMAT score for last year’s incoming class, even as applications plunged by 22.5%. You do have a nice mix of work experience, however, as well as master’s degree in finance. And you would add to the diversity of the class, given your Argentine background. Your low GMAT, by the way, would also complicate Tuck’s ability to get you what you want: a job at MBB because those firms often ask job candidates for their GMAT scores. So while I am not too optimistic about Tuck, I will say that you have wisely chosen your target schools and I am pretty confident you’ll get a couple of admits from them.

Hola Mr. S&P Global! Thanks for posting. Krista Nannery from mbaMission here.
Firstly, congrats on your results. I love that you have been invited to interview at Darden, Ross, Johnson, and McCombs. To me, this suggests that your chances at Tuck are decent. My top tips for you at this stage of the process is to practice your interviewing technique with people who have done this before. Find the Argentinians at the programs you are targeting…ask them to help you with interview prep. If you can’t find any, leverage your network to connect with MBAs that might be willing to help you practice for your interviews. With all these interviews, you owe it to yourself to maximize your chances. Prepare, prepare, prepare. (There is plenty of information online for each school that gives you a sense of the common questions.) Then, to maximize your chances, I would love to see another GMAT attempt, as painful as it sounds. If you find yourself on the waitlist at any program, the GMAT is a likely culprit. So just get ready for that. I know…such a pain! But this process is so competitive and it can be tough to break into these programs <700. It's been a while since I've spoken to an Argentine candidate though!! I imagine b-schools feel the same…which is why you may have more GMAT flexibility than most but please don't rely on that…
I hope that helps!
Krista

Hi, this is Melisa from Stratus Admissions. Congrats on all of your interview invites! I would take this as a good sign. While your stats will still be a consideration to the final phase, it is now your job to make school’s fall in love with your through the interview process! Schools will be weighing your GMAT score (biggest detractor) against your uniqueness as a candidate and what you will contribute to the class. As you are practicing for your interviews, think about how you will contribute back to each school. Each of the school’s you are interviewing with have very team based and collaborative cultures – so in your interview stories, make sure you are highlighting how you have driven results and/or led as a part of a team. For interview prep, I like to suggest thinking of your top 5-6 stories that you want to make sure come across to the interviewer and identify how these stories can answer different behavioral questions. Remember that most of the interviews are blind, which means the interviewer will not have read your application. All they have is your resume to reference. Historically, being invited to interview increases your chances of being accepted to close to 50%. Because of Tuck’s smaller class, I think you are on target here – and probably higher for Darden and Cornell.