McCombs (in-state + $$) Am I making the right call?

I am a person who takes chances and I never wants to have any regrets in my life. But I like to take calculated risks. With an improved GMAT score and a solid application, you are highly likely to get into a higher ranked program. However, you r letting go of some serious money on the table here. Getting scholarships from top schools is unpredictable. And by no means certain. So of u r ok to pursue business education even without scholarship at a top ranked school, then you should give it a go! Good luck!

Given your career goals and that you're in this year with scholarship UT seems a no-brainer. Better going now than 'hoping' for a better GMAT and 'hoping' a better school might pick you up even though you have a big four consulting background which will be very common. PE will always be tough without a particular top tier background but Energy IB is very achievable from UT and might lead to PE in the future.


Some considerations:

What will you do for the next year if you decide to delay and how will that look to top 10 schools?

Have you asked UT if they will defer for a year (depending on if you have a 'good' reason to do so i.e. not to apply to other schools)?

Do you believe another school (potentially without scholarship) is worth the extra investment in order to get you where you want to go i.e. energy IB?

1. The gameplan would be to leave my current job and work with a winery that is owned by some family friends and is in the stages of scaling up their business and distribution in a big way. I would be working directly with the founders and helping them to continue building the business. The founders have already built one nationally known brand and took that business public before it was taken private by a major player in the beverage industry.

2. I have not asked UT about that but I likely will.

3. I do feel like the extra investment would be worthwhile because I know that even though I spent more I would be content with my decision. I sort of feel like scholarships are a tie breaker more than anything for me.


With regard to a higher gmat, I definitely know that I am capable of achieving something in the 720-740 range. (math score was usually about 6 pts higher in practice than on the exam likely due to having to do most in my head because neither of the whiteboard pens worked.)

Do you think these factors would change my profile enough to make me competitive at a top 10ish school?

Also: Energy IB was never really my primary goal when I started this process. It was just the area that UT was the strongest and seems very interesting so I figured I should go for the area that the school really out-kicks it's coverage

A job change just before applying usually doesn't sit well with the adcoms. It shows lack of clarity. The adcom is likely to interpret this as you don't know which direction you want to go and Getting into business school is just one of the many options.for you. Versus your fellow applicants, who show a very clear path and intent. Top schools have the luxury of admitting 1 in every 5 applicants or at times 1 among 10 applicants. So given that, who would you choose? Some one who is experimenting with his/her career? Or someone who has a very clear plan?

Yeh I'd say it was interesting but I'm not sure how I can link working in a startup beverage business translates to your goals in Energy IB and PE?

I'd also say that the practise tests are just a guide - they dont have the same scoring mechansims as the actual test and questions etc etc so they say statistically the margin for error is 30 points. On that basis your 'true score' in perfect conditions could be 720 - it could also be 660. However if you think you can manage a higher score it would be worth sitting again asap.

I would say a 720/730 only makes you competitive but from your pool (Consultants) the average will be slightly higher so you will sit in the crapshoot of whether the adcoms will like you or not.

If you would be happy at UT - then it will get you where you want to go - gambling on the opportunity to get to a better school just for a perceived stronger brand doesn't seem worth it.

An extra 30-40 points on GMAT will not drastically improve your chances - getting a 750/760 (i.e. top 1%) will get you looked at more closely by the top schools.