GPA: 2.5 (should've went to class)
GMAT: 630 (should've studied)
WORK: 4 year proggressive hospitality management (3 promotions in 4 years)
VOLUNTEER: Assistant Scoutmaster, Boy Scouts

I know my poor GPA will hold me back. Any suggestions?

Hi there. I think you know the answer: if you don't improve your GMAT then schools will assume that you will prefer to not apply yourself to your MBA studies.

In terms of well-ranked schools, if you are a North American (which I somehow sense) then you might prefer to study there. I'd suggest you look at:
- University of Florida: Hough
- Hult International Business School
- Thunderbird School of Global Management
- College of William and Mary: Mason
- Babson College: Olin

Of these, I would certainly choose Florida if you wanted to build on your hospitality industry experience.

Thanks for your quick response - I was hoping you would give me ideas given your wealth of information from what I've read.

Does breakdown of the GMAT matter at all? I did fairly well (49) on Quantitative and fairly poor (29) on Verbal. I have never been good at verbal exams and don't believe that I will be able to improve on that portion. Do schools look at individual numbers or just the overall test score?

If I do retake the exam, I would probably need to enroll in a course to get the verbal up. What score would be more acceptable for, say, a Michigan State(the school of hospitality management), a BYU or a Texas A&AM(Will I need a 700+?)

Also I'm in upstate New York (I have no problem moving for B School but only if it's a much better opportunity than local options). What are your thoughts on a Rochester, SUNY Binghamton or Pace

sorry... are you a native USA and are you scoring only 29 on verbal?

For A&M you'd need 645 or so, and a better balance between verbal and quant. For BYU you'd need more like 670. I don't know about the hospitality MS at Michigan State.

Most schools look for balance in the GMAT components, and I think schools will worry about your ability to deal with the volume of reading, writing and fast-flowing classroom discussion with a low verbal score, especially alongside your low GPA.