Week 5: Why the GMAT?

Five weeks into my studying and I’ve started having the dreaded GMAT nightmares. I woke up the other night, convinced that I had showed up three days late to my testing appointment (which is correctly circled on four separate calendars now).

Nightmares or not, my studying has shown me that the GMAT does begin to occupy a lot of your time and thought processes.

So…“Why does the TMMBA Program require the GMAT?”

or… does TMMBA really care if you can calculate the time at which two trucks  arrive at a destination 80 miles away if one is going 55 mph and the other….

Well, TMMBA doesn’t necessarily need to know the answer to the truck question above. But in terms of the entire test, and your ability to confront problems like that one, we find that information very useful. From an admissions perspective, GMAT scores are valuable in more ways than one. Trust me, we wouldn’t make you put the time, money, and sweat into a test if we didn’t think it was necessary. Here are a few reasons why we require the test:

• It helps us measure general intellectual ability: The TMMBA Admissions team has found that the GMAT provides a reasonably valid and reliable measure of applicants’ verbal, quantitative, and writing abilities. Evaluating these skills helps us to predict applicants’ potential for academic success in the program.

• It’s a comparable statistic across candidates: A 3.75 GPA at one University doesn’t necessarily equate to a 3.75 at another school. And every applicant file has a different resume than the next. So what do all TMMBA applications have in common? GMAT scores. In the admission world, there are few equalizing metrics across applicants, but the GMAT score provides comparable data points across all of our applicants.

• It demonstrates your dedication: Hopefully, you’re taking the GMAT because you want to become an MBA student. Think of studying for the GMAT like batting practice- you get the chance to take small swings at large quantities of data before you start the game. You are beginning to get the feel for what it’s like to study, manage your priorities, and handle the stresses of student life. While you’re getting into student mode, the admissions team also sees your dedication to the rigors of the program.

• It shows you can think under pressure: A timed exam brings with it lots of anxiety and nervousness. Not to mention you are making one decision after another. Sound like the business world? GMAT scores help us to see how adept you are at thinking, reasoning, and solving under time constraints and stress.
  

  TMMBA Selection Criteria

• It gives you a chance to excel: It’s tough to change your work experience in an application year, and it’s impossible to alter your college GPA after graduating.  These parts of your application may be fixed, but the GMAT is one variable that’s completely under your control. If you feel you may have a weaker area of the application, improving your GMAT may be one way to help supplement.

As you can see, the TMMBA Admissions team values GMAT scores as an important component of your application. Keep in mind though, that each application is viewed holistically, meaning that all aspects of the application are evaluated equally to determine your fit for the TMMBA program. Take a look at the selection criteria (at right) to see what TMMBA looks for in selecting great students.