I've received several emails and texts asking me about how the GMAT went. Here is an email that I wrote to the director of admissions at the Marriott School of Business at BYU that sums it up:
Dear Dr. Merrill,
I
hope this summer has been treating you well. This hot weather will be
perfect for a 4th of July pool party. While I have been able to do a few
fun things over the past month or so, I have mainly rearranged my
schedule to in preparation for taking the GMAT today. I even decided to
hire a private tutor this time.
As part of my preparation I took several practice tests,
including both of the official GMAT practice tests. I was pleased to
see my scores improve. I was able to get a 620 and my last official GMAT
practice test came out at a 610 on Saturday. No reason to call MENSA
just yet but that's a significant improvement over my last scores.
Imagine my sad surprise when I got a 570 today. Though it is better than
my last official score it is not the 600+ I was expecting.
I am disappointed but I feel undeterred. As I drove home
from Draper I decided to bite the bullet and sign up to take the test
again on Friday. I know I can get a 600+ and obtaining such a score by
Friday would still allow me to reapply by the end of this first week of
July. I found out that, unfortunately, test takers are not allowed to
retake the test for 31 days.
I recognize that I am presenting you with a less than
ideal situation. I am, however, not at all afraid to take on the
challenge of the few MBA classes that will require lots of math. Math
has made up much of my study recently and I have found myself enjoying
it. I am sure that almost none of your admitted students sail easily
through all their courses. If I were admitted this fall I would not
hesitate to meet with a tutor or to ask for a little help from teammates
in those classes. There have been occasions in my life when I have had
to do that and I have no problem doing it again. I am also very
confident that I would excel greatly in all my other courses
and contribute to the success of my teammates as well. Since I have
been a self-employed consultant for several years now I can tell you
with certainty that my boss won't ask if I graduated at the top of my
class and neither will any of my clients, present or future.
I am not asking for a wink or a nod that indicates that I
am a shew in if I reapply later today or tomorrow. What I am hoping for
is full consideration. What I am asking is for you to think about the
cases where other applicants in similar situations (great professional
experience, great recommendations, good undergrad grades but a lower
GMAT score) were admitted into the MBA program. Though you have told me
that some struggled, did any succeed?
I am not afraid of struggling sir. Struggles are part of any
good career, academic or otherwise. I am willing to struggle in a few
classes. In addition to considering those candidates who successfully
obtained an MBA from BYU, in spite of a lower GMAT score, I would like
to make a personal request that you ask the Lord if perhaps I could also
be one of these successful candidates. Since we both subscribe to the
ideals and beliefs that BYU represents I
hope that this request does not seem impertinent to you.
No matter what your feelings are regarding this situation, or my
personal petition to you, I want to make it clear that I, at no point,
have ever felt frustration towards you Dr. Merrill. You do not decide
what measurement tools are used to rank the top business schools but it
is your job to help BYU get the best ranking possible. I am sure that
good GMAT scores are a good indication of who will be in the top 10% of
the graduating class. You have explained these things very patiently to
me and I am grateful.
Best regards,
Ryan Boothe
I sent that email on Tuesday and have yet to hear back from Dr. Merrill. I am putting it in the Lord's hands and feel paradoxically calm, most of the time. I want to send out a special thank you to those of you who prayed and fasted for me this week. I know the Lord heard our prayers and I feel that this ordeal is not quite over. I am staying hopeful and I hope all of you will too.
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