Please evaluate my profile

[17.saurabh]

Hi there,

I want to apply to part time MBA programs in UCLA Anderson and UCBerkeley Haas. Your suggestions can be really helpful.

Profile Overview:
I scored a 650 on my first GMAT (Q49, V29) and this was my lowest Verbal score ever. Wondering if this score is reasonable or should I consider retaking GMAT soon.
Undergraduate degree in Engineering from an okay university in India.
Graduate degree in Engineering from an okay school in the US with GPA 3.74/4.0
Worked as an engineer for the last 5 years in different reputed semiconductor companies. Applied for three US and international patents and extensively involved in commercialization of patented semiconductor technologies for wireless communications.
post MBA goal: Move into Business Development roles within the same industry

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

[rachel]

Hi! Your GMAT score is at the lower end for both schools, so you may want to consider taking it again. Regardless if you do or not, I suggest working hard to showcase your accomplishments, not responsibilities, at work, and highlight any outside activities you are also involved in. Try to write your essays using engaging examples and showcase your strengths were possible.

Best of luck,
Rachel Beck

http://www.mbamission.com

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[17.saurabh]

Thanks for your suggestions.

"I suggest working hard to showcase your accomplishments, not responsibilities, at work,"

I didn't follow what you meant by "not responsibilities". Through the essays I am trying to show the accomplishments. I was able to accomplish something because I sought more and bigger responsibilities and I think the two are somewhat linked. It'll be great if you can expand a little bit.

Also, my real dilemma is retaking GMAT and applying in R3 or applying with current score in R2. I forgot to mention AWA score earlier. I got 5.5 in AWA. Not sure if it offsets some of the verbal score concerns.

Thanks again for all the help!

Regards,
Saurabh

[rachel]

Hi! Accomplishments say more than just "I was a leader of this" or "my role was doing that." It's where you can quantify your results. Here is a blog post from our web site that may help you understand better what I am talking about.

http://www.mbamission.com/blog/2011/06/07/mission-admission-resume-part-1-accomplishments-not-responsibilities/

As for whether to apply in Round 2 with your current score, or wait for Round 3 hoping you will get a higher score, that is a personal decision. There are pros and cons to both ways.

Rachel