"I have a low GMAT score. Can I still get in to a top business school?"

Short answer: Yes. It is possible to get into a great b-school with a low GMAT score. But (you knew there would be a but!) it does make it harder.

I like to use the analogy of a really cool, busy nightclub. Business school is the VIP section at the back, and admissions officers are the bouncers. Having a high GMAT score is like being on the list. You show up, you give your name, and you're in the club. It doesn't mean you'll make it to the VIP section, but you're in and you've got a shot. 

Now, say you show up to said club without a ticket (low GMAT score). It doesn't mean you won't get in to the party. Maybe you've got a sexy outfit on, or you know the bouncer, or you're a smooth talker, or you slip him a $20. There are lots of ways to negotiate your way into the club - and, from there, perhaps even to the exclusive VIP section. But the whole rigmarole would be a lot easier if you were just on the list.

Usually, I don't work with clients who have GMAT scores below 700. It's not because they can't get in, it just makes it a whole lot harder. I don't feel comfortable having people pay me money to provide a service unless I'm pretty darn sure that, with my help, they'll get in.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the MBA Data guru's post about acceptance rates for low GMAT scores. In my experience, Sloan seems to care the least about the GMAT, so I found it pretty cool that this data set corroborates this trend. At MIT Sloan, the interview acceptance rate for those with a GMAT sub 720 was 57%, vs. 47% for those with a GMAT above 720. Compare to somewhere like Stanford, where the interview acceptance rate was only 32% for those with a GMAT below 720. 

GMAT score alone should not guide your application process, or which schools you apply to. Study hard, do the very best you can, and then work with the score you have to put together a solid, holistic application package.

Still feeling insecure about a low GMAT? Let's see if it makes sense to work together.

Jyll Saskin Gales is an elite MBA admissions consultant. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and currently works at Google in Toronto.