solerenegade wrote:
Hi Jon,
I guess the problem for us Indian candidates starts with the cultural and social upbringing that we get as kids. Everything in terms of education is considered good only on a relative index. For example:- If person X scores 96 out of 100 marks on a Maths test, but there exists a person Y who has scored a 100 on 100 on the same test, the 96 loses some of it sheen. It's the way our education system has 'evolved'- the more you get with respect to your peers the better it is. Our university admission system is also governed by this criteria for admissions - you have to score a certain minimum percentage to get through. There is no 'application' process, but hard and fast 'cut-offs' on nation level public examinations. Part of the reason is, that public examinations in some way bring everyone from diverse economic and social backgrounds on level playing field. I would add that this is not a perfect system with its own merits and demerits but it works and in some way is responsible for the way we Indian applicants deal with a test like the GMAT or the GRE.
With this in the background, no wonder we see Indians indexing higher with respect to the rest of the world on the retake metric. Further, this has now become 'chicken and egg' problem from a b-school application point of view- Person A who got in a top notch b-school, scored X; since I haven't scored X on my GMAT, I can't get in. So I guess you now understand where most of us are coming from. I hope I made sense here.
Thank you for coming up with this thread btw. I think it will immensely help those who are in a dilemma regarding a retake on the GMAT
I guess the problem for us Indian candidates starts with the cultural and social upbringing that we get as kids. Everything in terms of education is considered good only on a relative index. For example:- If person X scores 96 out of 100 marks on a Maths test, but there exists a person Y who has scored a 100 on 100 on the same test, the 96 loses some of it sheen. It's the way our education system has 'evolved'- the more you get with respect to your peers the better it is. Our university admission system is also governed by this criteria for admissions - you have to score a certain minimum percentage to get through. There is no 'application' process, but hard and fast 'cut-offs' on nation level public examinations. Part of the reason is, that public examinations in some way bring everyone from diverse economic and social backgrounds on level playing field. I would add that this is not a perfect system with its own merits and demerits but it works and in some way is responsible for the way we Indian applicants deal with a test like the GMAT or the GRE.
With this in the background, no wonder we see Indians indexing higher with respect to the rest of the world on the retake metric. Further, this has now become 'chicken and egg' problem from a b-school application point of view- Person A who got in a top notch b-school, scored X; since I haven't scored X on my GMAT, I can't get in. So I guess you now understand where most of us are coming from. I hope I made sense here.
Thank you for coming up with this thread btw. I think it will immensely help those who are in a dilemma regarding a retake on the GMAT
Hello there solerenegade,
You bring up some excellent points, and many other Indian candidates have brought this up as well, and that is why I thought it so important to make such a post. Really, getting into to the top of the top schools (in reality) has a lot more to do with either pedigree (so IIT, McKinsey, front office in Big Bank, Google, wealthy/political family) and/or unique story (so essays and recommendations) once you pass a certain point on the GMAT. And I knew when I saw people with 730s asking whether they should retake (!!!) that it was time to make a post! I'm glad it's been helpful, and I thank you for your deeper insights and input into how the Indian education system can lead to a certain approach.
Best,
JF