Rejected with >700 GMAT, anybody?

[metia12]

Hello everyone,

I understand how GMAT/GRE scores are only one of many factors in a PhD application. However, my question is:

are there any applicants out there with GMAT >700 or GRE >1500 and still didn't get any admissions?

Thanks

[Tsirp Tsirp]

well i got one admission but got rejected from 3 schools which I was hopeful to get in. I got 750 on GMAT so don't be surprised to get rejected form low-rank schools with high GMAT score

[European17]

I have a GMAT of 740 and have already 4 rejections - even from one school that had an average GMAT of accepted students of 680 last year

[phdhope]

While I can't tell you of anyone who has been rejected from the schools they applied to with a gmat over 700, I can tell you I know tons, tons, and just to be clear tons of people who have been rejected with GMATs substantially over the school's average (40 pts. or more). This doesn't even mean that these kids had bad profiles. Some of them had spectacular profiles. Admissions is a tricky business. Some things that influence admission that aren't really qualities that show how good of an academic you will be:

- Age- If you are too much older, some schools won't be interested in you.

- ADS- If you are pursuing a PhD in accounting, people are automatically strongly biased to get AICPA funded students instead of funding the student themselves. This can easily result in sub-par students joining schools.

- Research interests- I know an applicant who was told that the research area where five of the professors did research already had too many PhDs but that they would be considered if they changed their research interests. Most schools wouldn't call to give you this option.

-Personal connections- This is much rarer, but sometimes a student can benefit from the network established by his family or by some other personal representative. This also can relate to institutional reputation. Whether this is the halo effect or simply a form of insider trading, it happens.

-Too good- Surprisingly, if you have a 760 gmat and you apply to Drexel, Drexel probably won't call you. They know you don't really want to go there and that you are making them a safety school. So you often see the case where a school will reject a student simply based on the fact they don't believe the applicant would ever come there.

-International- Hate to say it but people are biased against you. Look to older forum discussions.

Anyway, I think this is a pretty good list. I know there are others but I thought I should share some things that I have seen that affects admissions.

[henders]

-Too good- Surprisingly, if you have a 760 gmat and you apply to Drexel, Drexel probably won't call you. They know you don't really want to go there and that you are making them a safety school. So you often see the case where a school will reject a student simply based on the fact they don't believe the applicant would ever come there.

It's funny you say this, because I actually do know someone who was accepted to Drexel in a previous year (not in my specialty) with a 760 GMAT and ended up attending. (Though your point is well taken, which is that what an applicant views as a "safety school" may not accept you if they don't think you will attend.)

[phdhope]

Yeah, I could show you kids accepted to Cornell, Stanford, Chicago, and Illinois, who have been rejected by Kansas, Drexel, Temple, and Missouri. That is why if you have a really great profile but are geographically bound to a lower tier school then you want to make it extremely clear your interest in that school.

[IStand]

- Age- If you are too much older, some schools won't be interested in you.

Dear Phdhope,

What is the average age universities are looking for. My age is 35 year and wanted to apply for Fall 2013 in OB/HR field.

IStand

[rsaylors]

- Age- If you are too much older, some schools won't be interested in you.

Dear Phdhope,

What is the average age universities are looking for. My age is 35 year and wanted to apply for Fall 2013 in OB/HR field.

IStand

The average age upon graduation, in 2000, was 35. There's little question about age if you are under 30.

Here's a great thread on the subject of age and applications:

http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-busin...ggestions.html (Non-Traditional Applicant (Older, Underrepresented Groups, Diversity...) Suggestions)

[drxpac]

Yes. High gmat and no phd finance admits. got into a real good masters tho.

[Lasve]

I've got 720, I've been rejected by several medium ranked university.