Should I take the GMAT online or in person at a test center?
It’s a common dilemma many MBA applicants struggle with, as each option has its advantages and disadvantages.
Mradul Raj Jain has experienced both formats, multiple times. And on most occasions, he has been disappointed with his experience.
He has faced it all – ranging from extremely low GMAT scores to getting his best GMAT score cancelled by GMAC. The latter is an extreme step generally taken for suspected cheating.
But the IIT Delhi grad knew that he deserved none of that, and his final results prove that he was right.
We applaud him for not letting the setbacks – with the online GMAT taken at home and offline GMAT at test centers – weaken his resolve. The online GMAT vs test center decision was just one step in the longer MBA application journey.
Online GMAT vs Offline at test centers in person
GMAC cancelled my highest GMAT score
by Mradul Raj Jain
I grew up in a small town in Madhya Pradesh and focussed on academics from the beginning, excelling throughout the school years and focussed on securing place in a top engineering college.
I did not develop a core hobby or interest in any particular extra-curricular activity till then and when I got into IIT Delhi, I made it a point to look beyond academics.
In college, I realized that I am great at socializing which became a prominent trait of myself and a catalyst to leadership roles in future. I broke into the street play team in the first semester (a feat parallel to cracking JEE exam as per the seniors).
I spent next 4 years directing and acting in plays & short-films, winning awards at various platforms, and performing for social causes.
I also developed a keen interest in reading and writing and a group of us decided to form a blogging community publishing weekly blogs. This brought a lot of perspective to my thought process.
But all these extra-curricular activities came at a steep price of low grades.
I was among the bottom quarter academically and did not secure the desired placement.
I am mentioning this because these decisions shaped up most of my life, which ultimately led to my decision to do an MBA, and were played a key role in shaping my application essays.
I worked with 3 Indian startups across 15+ cities in 3 countries. Most of my start-up work experience involved managing very large teams, impactful launches and expansion projects across difficult geographies.
I believe the stakeholder management skills and the extrovert personality I developed in college with my plays and blogging was the catalyst to such an inclination.
I worked for about 2.5 years in UAE and Malaysia and the most interesting part was to bring out the Indian style execution among the local employees.
Indian start-ups have the ‘Jugaad Mindset’, getting things done with minimal resources and timeframe.
On the other hand, UAE has a very high standard of compliances and Malaysia probably has among the highest holidays and better work-life balance.
Juggling a balance between adapting to the local nuances and still adhering to the highest (read ‘quickest’) standards sought by Indian leaders taught me great deal.
Work experience before MBA
I have total work experience of about 7.5 years across warehousing, supply chain, packaging and manufacturing across pharma, hospitality and FMCG industries.
I mostly took up assignments involving setting up of new operations, businesses and geographies, figuring out execution strategies with limited industry benchmarks and expertise.
It involved intense decision-making and leadership skills. With such fast-paced experience in my resume, I felt stuck in my role. I started looking for the next phase of growth.
My lack of experience in the business and finance domain, and being perceived to have “generalist profile” meant that I had limited options to grow professionally.
I realized that an MBA would provide me with the business knowledge I lacked. It would give me an academic break from a super-charged professional career.
It would give me a chance to look back and strategize my mid-life career (crisis).
Online GMAT and Test Center Experiences
I started my GMAT preparation in September 2022, and at that point I had no clue about colleges, application process, deadlines or the importance of GMAT in the whole journey.
I got a 610 in my first attempt in October, and realized that it was a poor score for my target schools and that it was too late already.
I took GMAT coaching targeting a reattempt in November end so that I could work on applications in December. I gave my second attempt in the first week of December and again got a dismal 620.
The reason I realized was that I drove to the test centre, reached 1 hour early, and had issues with parking in traffic, which deteriorated my concentration and impacted my time-management during those 3 hours.
Feeling dejected, I figured out that if I switched the format (from test centre to online), I could skip the 14 day mandatory gap between reattempts. I gave the online format after 2 days and got a satisfactory 730.
I could have applied to most top b-school.
Next day, I got mail from GMAC that my score is cancelled due to ‘testing anomaly’.
My best guess is that getting a massive jump in score in a small duration, leads to score getting flagged as cheating.
I was left with a 620 score and had lost hopes as I was already too late in the application process.
I had already onboarded my consultant and based on his advice, decided to take a risk of working on my application in parallel to preparing for GMAT for my 4th attempt next month.
This meant that I could focus on just 1 application in December. This time I took all precautions to stay calm and scored 710 with a sigh of relief. I submitted my application for Cambridge Judge 5 days later. The worst part was over thankfully.
MBA application plan
My main concern was that I only had this year to get into an MBA due to some personal reasons and I started off very late, with no GMAT score or knowledge of schools and application process.
In the beginning I decided to look for schools without GMAT requirement and just get an admit into any top 100 ranked schools, but soon realized that it would have negated my post-MBA aspirations.
I decided to take GMAT exam and simultaneously explore application strategy. My super-hectic work schedule and limited knowledge pushed me to onboard application consultant to build a structured approach, rather than rely on friends and network.
I explored a few MBA consultants online, but MBA Crystal Ball (MCB) stood head and shoulders above the others. Their admission consulting reviews and testimonials were unparalleled.
They seemed a bit unreal initially. But after working with them, I think they were all honest and perfectly justified.
After having email conversation with Manish, I decided to move ahead with MCB due to his straight-forward, to-the-point communication, proactive feedback and amazing MBA application reviews.
There were no layers in MCB, which existed with other consultants.
Review of MBA Crystal Ball
I initially signed up for 1 school essay package. But that was going to change soon.
My conversation started with Manish and his candid and forthright approach impacted me deeply. There was no pretense or sugar-coating to onboard me. I feel he understood my profile and associated risks.
My consultant was Ravi and conversing with him was a reflection on myself. Ravi has been a great guide. He did not shy away from highlighting my lack of thought process, my misconceptions of strengths and weaknesses.
He pushed me to think harder and never allowed me to settle for less. I think all this played a key role that led to successful MBA applications.
I spent countless nights thinking hard, structuring my motivation and reasons, which felt like those extra push-ups the gym trainer demands. He also removed any self-doubt I had, but very objectively.
In fact, this exercise encouraged me to apply for INSEAD, when I was happy to settle for many other low ranking colleges.
I was able to focus on my personal and professional aspects, which I otherwise felt were irrelevant.
I started off with just 1 school application package. But as the experience with the first school exceeded my expectations, I ended up expanding it to 3 school applications + 2 interviews preparations + 1 scholarship package.
This was not just because of my admission targets, but because it turned out to be an amazing learning experience.
Overall I applied to 5 school, which were a mix of top 10 ranked European business schools.
100% Interview conversion rate!
I had robust interview brainstorming sessions with Ravi and I was very confident to face various situations in the interviews.
I got MBA interview invites from 3 out of 5 business schools and got admits from all 3.
My Cambridge Judge interviewer (Head of MBA program) focussed on my international work experience and was very keen to understand my leadership experience and impact I created in a global environment.
Mannheim Business School had 2 rounds, the first round (admission officer) was a general review of overall profile and then I was provided with a detailed case study for second round (Head of Career Development). I did a detailed research on the topic of case study and received a very positive feedback during the interview itself.
INSEAD had 2 alumni rounds:
- One was a quick 15 min round focusing on my motivation for MBA and INSEAD.
- The other was a detailed one hour round where the interviewer went through my whole resume and was particularly interested on my reasons of job changes, my contribution to each role and if my reason for MBA synced well with my overall profile. The last was by far the toughest one.
I had confirmed my admission to Cambridge as I had little hopes for INSEAD. Getting admit call from the INSEAD admission offer was an unbelievable moment.
My post-MBA goal is to transition to consulting, and INSEAD is among the most powerful business schools for a career in consulting.
What worked for me and what I learnt
I come from an overcrowded set of applicants, Indian-Male-Engineer, and had some severe issues in my profile including low undergraduate GPA, a 7-month stint in a company and an average GMAT.
I also had a very demanding work schedule and was not confident if I could pull it off. For me it was very crucial to build a coherent story which aligned well with my experience, expertise and post-MBA goals. Ravi helped me draft my strengths to play in my favour.
If I had to do it again, I would spend a few months figuring out the career prospects, target geography and flavour of each school.
I would most importantly complete my GMAT in advance, as it turned out to be a traumatic experience for me. It is crucial to understand your interests and build them into a tangible hobby.
I am not sure how important a degree from IITs is in the eyes of foreign admission committees, but what I am sure of is that there are many successful alumni from top b-schools. And it’s important to leverage the strong network because that definitely plays a big role in shaping up your thinking towards school shortlisting and application strategy.
I wish you best of luck in your application journey.
Whether you go for the online GMAT or prefer going in person to a regular test center, keep in mind that this is just one part of your application. There’s a lot you can still to with the remaining application components.
MBA Crystal Ball works with applicants with a range of GMAT issues – ranging from low scores and multiple attempts to severely imbalanced sectional scores.
Reach out if you want us to help with your applications: info [at] mbacrystalball [dot] com
Also read,
– How the GMAT test centre’s failure saved the day for this MBA applicant
