nothanks700

As others have stated, it matters quite a bit for a very elite program. In my field, finance, the top 15 or so Ph.D. Programs likely only consider those who are in the 95th percentile or above. 167 quant is about the minimum I have seen, because these programs are so extremely competitive. However, I would doubt admissions committees would see the difference between a 167 and a 170 on quant or verbal; they would notice the difference between a 163 and a 167. Seems odd, but that is the reality.

Hello! I have a 4.0 in finance from Iowa State University. I did a research project (15 page paper) on real estate finance for my honors project, so also graduated in the honors program. I've held two full time 8 month internships in real estate finance, and corporate accounting. I also started a real estate club at ISU, was state president of a business organization, and was highly involved in investment groups and other activities. i have been working as a broker for the past year. I'm sure I could put a positive spin on that somehow. I got a 167 verbal, and a 168 quant score on my GRE. I also got a 6 on the AWA portion. I'd love to go to either Stern or Booth for a PhD in finance, but I am concerned about applying. I have no research experience where I was working for faculty. My letters of recommendation are alright, but not from professors I have actually worked with. I'll be applying for the fall 2017 term either way. Do you think it would be best to get my masters in finance at ISU first, just to get some research experience and better letters? Or do you think I should apply straight to Stern and Booth? What else do I need to get into these competitive programs? Even with my grades and such, am I competitive?

Nothing worth the time and effort you'll spend on the MBA. I'm sure you can find some private (money pit) schools that would let you slide on a 1.0 GPA, but why? No one is going to hire you for your MBA if you got below a 3.0., so there isn't much point in pursuing it. You can not "master" business administration with a C+ average. Not trying to be rude, it's just really not worth doing if you don't do it well.

You'll need to keep that GPA high, very high. I got a 4.0 from a great school in a quant field, it's not impossible, but it is one of the hardest things you may ever do. The other answerer already covered admission stats. I'll just say that anything below a 3.7 without significant outside accomplishments is a no-go for Stanford in anything. They look for some spark in people, whatever that is. They reject 4.0's, so I'd work really hard and pursue outside activities for Stanford. The other two you may be ok with a 3.6, as long as you have high entrance exam scores, and are involved.

Hello! I have a 4.0 in finance from Iowa State University. I did a research project (15 page paper) on real estate finance for my honors project, so also graduated in the honors program. I've held two full time 8 month internships in real estate finance, and corporate accounting. I also started a real estate club at ISU, was state president of a business organization, and was highly involved in investment groups and other activities. i have been working as a broker for the past year. I'm sure I could put a positive spin on that somehow. I got a 167 verbal, and a 168 quant score on my GRE. I also got a 6 on the AWA portion. I'd love to go to either Stern or Booth for a PhD in finance, but I am concerned about applying. I have no research experience where I was working for faculty. My letters of recommendation are alright, but not from professors I have actually worked with. I'll be applying for the fall 2017 term either way. Do you think it would be best to get my masters in finance at ISU first, just to get some research experience and better letters? Or do you think I should apply straight to Stern and Booth? What else do I need to get into these competitive programs? Even with my grades and such, am I competitive?