26-Year-Old White Woman Accepted to Dartmouth Tuck with Half-Tuition Merit Scholarship, UVA Darden, and Waitlisted at Northwestern Kellogg Despite Low GRE and GMAT Scores
After working in finance for almost four years, “Rebecca” (not her real name) knew she wanted to attend business school to further her career and life goals. Despite struggling with low test scores, including several attempts at the GMAT before switching to the GRE, Rebecca didn’t give up and ended up getting into her top choices.
She knew she had a good story and idea for what she wanted to do post-business school, but she didn’t know how to tell her story in her application essays. Additionally, she needed guidance on when to switch to the GRE from the GMAT, which schools to apply to, and when to start visiting schools. She discovered The Art of Applying® during a Google search and reached out for help.
Rebecca then dedicated a year to studying and took her last GRE on the same day she submitted one of her business school applications.
Rebecca’s perseverance and dedication paid off with acceptances to two schools and a waitlist spot from a third! We can’t wait to see what she does next!
Service: Application Accelerator®
Join Date: July 2018 | End Date: May 2019
Applicant Information
- Age: 26
- Worked in finance for almost four years
Acceptances
- Dartmouth Tuck
- UVA Darden
- Waitlisted at Northwestern Kellogg
Scholarships
- Half-tuition Merit Scholarship at Darden
Notable Quotes
With our guidance, Rebecca decided to switch from the GMAT to the GRE for her business school applications:
“My greatest weakness in my application was my test scores. … I struggled with the GMAT a few times and then switched to the GRE. I ended up submitting a few different GRE scores that eventually got me into my top choices.”
Rebecca sought out our help to craft her story to make it compelling to top business schools:
“I liked my story and thought I had a good idea for what I wanted to do after business school. I really knew that going to business school was going to be what I wanted to do. But I wasn’t sure how to craft that story. … I knew that I needed help.”
Despite imperfect grades and test scores, Rebecca was able to demonstrate her strong fit with Darden:
“It really was about my story and about the fit that I have with Darden that made them see that I was a great candidate for their program.”
The accountability, encouragement, and support we provided was crucial to Rebecca’s success:
“Having The Art of Applying® to help me along the way really gave me the confidence to not only keep going when the journey got a little bit tough … but to know that I was on the right track.”
“Having everybody at The Art of Applying® to keep cheering for me and giving me advice when I was feeling really down was very helpful.”
Through her work with us, Rebecca’s application was so strong, Darden lured her to the school with a 50% tuition scholarship:
“It was a merit scholarship, so I didn’t apply for it. They looked at my application and thought that I was worthy of that money.”
“After finding out that not only did I get in, but they wanted me enough to help pay for school was the best feeling ever.”
Rebecca reminds her fellow applicants that they are more than a test score:
“Your scores are only one piece of the application.”
Our help was crucial in getting Rebecca to the oh-so-important interview stage of the application process so she could really shine:
“Once people met me and I was able to articulate my other strengths, it definitely helped.”
Rebecca encourages applicants to be mindful of whose advice they take:
“Try not to get bogged down by other people’s advice who might not know what they’re talking about.”
Rebecca’s advice for those of you experiencing overwhelm, confusion, and fatigue during the application process:
“Just keep going.”
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