Re: Knowing club members - Introduce Yourself here
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19 Apr 2012, 10:49
Hello, all! My name is Edward. I'm 24 and live in Washington, DC (technically across the river in Virginia). I am not certain yet if I'm going to take the GMAT or not. I'm currently studying hard for my LSAT (law school admissions test) in October. The reason I'm visiting the GMAT Club site is because I'm considering the JD/MBA option. Ideally, I'd like to get into a good law school first, and then perhaps take the GMAT and see if I can gain admission to their business school. I'm not totally sold on the idea, but I still want to keep the option open by taking the GMAT. I might start studying for the GMAT if I get a good (170+) LSAT score in October. From my understanding, taking the GMAT is a lot more flexible than taking the LSAT, which is only administered four times a year (and you can only take it 3 times in 2 years). I have a question: does it look bad to take the GMAT multiple times to get your best score? I know that a lot of the very top law schools (Harvard, Columbia, NYU, which are my three preferred options) look at one's LSAT average instead of just at their top score. Is the GMAT like this?
I graduated in '09 with an English degree from a VA state school that is alright, but nothing spectacular (JMU). Back then, I wasn't too focused on education/work prestige, but ever since getting a job at a paralegal at a top national law firm here in DC, I've developed the goal of wanting to be a lawyer. Luckily I had a pretty solid GPA (3.73) in college, so getting into a top law school is a possibility.
What makes me think about a JD/MBA is the possibility of A) learning more about business, which is something I don't have too much knowledge about otherwise, B) an MBA helping me with job options upon exit from the BigLaw firm I plan to work at post-law school, and C) the possibility of a signing bonus/higher first-year pay for a JD/MBA at a BigLaw firm, as well as the added experience and knowledge that an MBA will bring to corporate law.
From what I've heard on the Top-Law-Schools[dot com] forums, studying for the LSAT is also beneficial for the GMAT, so I'm hoping to take the GMAT soon after taking my LSAT in October. So I'm coming here to do a little research on the GMAT, as well as business schools and business jobs in general. JD/MBA programs that I'm looking at include: Chicago (this would probably be my top one), U-Penn (not sure I could get into Wharton), Northwestern, Michigan, Duke, Cornell, Columbia, and NYU.
Nice to join you guys here! It seems like a great Web site, and the GMAT/b-school equivalent of TLS (Top Law Schools dot com), which is a phenomenal resource for me as well.
Edward