From the Trenches: Dealing with Your Low GMAT

For my podcast on how to respond to your low GMAT score, I had a fascinating interview with a first-year student at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, Ronald Rolph. Days before entering business school, Rolph officially became a civilian after a decade serving in the U.S. military. Rolph knew he had what it took to pursue a career in business, but because of his military deployment schedule, didn't have much time to prepare to clear the first hurdle, the GMAT. He did the studying he could, took the GMAT, and didn't get the score he felt he needed to apply to the programs of his choice. Rolph, being used to adversity and dealing with tough situations, didn't miss a beat. He signed himself up for a crash GMAT prep course -- he didn't have time for anything else -- and spent a week in New York in intensive tutoring sessions on all sections of the GMAT. He also learned techniques to combat anxiety and keep himself focused - things like breathing, understanding the structure and methodology of the computer-adaptive test, and practicing enough so taking the timed test became routine. He was then able to re-take the GMAT in the same test center he'd had the first time around - and achieved the score he needed to gain acceptance to the Booth School.

An inspiring story from an inspiring guy. You can hear Rolph's story towards the end of the podcast, "Dealing with a Low GMAT."