enigmatic526 wrote:
Linda,
I have been following your company for awhile now on facebook and twitter -- accepted[dot]com has always been extremely useful during my hectic rush to finalize applications last year. I applied to MIT, Georgetown, University of Maryland and so far have been accepted to Smith. Georgetown releases their decision on March 25 (I applied to the part-time program) but I have not been invited to interview with them yet -- so obviously chances are very slim.
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Stats:
Indian American origin -- born in India, but we immigrated when I was 4.
Undergrad: Boston University, BS Electrical Engineering- Class of 2005, GPA: 2.68/4.0 while enrolled in Air Force ROTC. I was the president of the Indian Club @ BU and the Vice-President of the Arnold Air Society (community service organization in AFROTC). Low GPA because: 1) I didn't know I wanted an MBA back then. 2) Since I knew I had a job lined up with the AF after graduation, I wasn't too ambitious on getting all A's.
GMAT: First score was 550...2nd score was 620 (44Q, 29V, 6.0AWA). Still low.
Professional Experience: 3 years as a commissioned officer in the US Air Force all working in Germany except for being deployed to the Middle East for 6 months fighting in the "War on Terror". While in Germany, I implemented Kaizen to the AF IT system and consolidated 96 call centers to one focal point that I was responsible for -- managed 60 troops at the age of 24 and worked with the UK, Spain, Greece and Italy. 4 star general at the Pentagon visited my work and directed to implement that AF wide. While deployed, I set up the communication system for former Pres. Bush and Dr. Rice's visit to the battlefield along with several 4 star generals.
Now -- I work in construction management and have worked for Top Secret projects and a $330 million data center.
Extracurricular: lots of volunteering -- cleaning up parks/rivers/schools. Volunteering at food pantries and with tutoring children. Active with my undergrad alumni association in my city as a volunteer and an intramural sports athlete.
Aspirations: Long term - start my own international real estate development company (focusing on brownfield redevelopment). Short term: Work with developers or a REIT or in green energy consulting.
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Question 1 - Do I reject Smith in hopes of applying with a better GMAT score next year? I plan on taking prep classes to solidify my chances of getting a 700+ on it. My GPA is something I can't control anymore and my professional experience is something that won't increase too much in a year. However, I am planning on becoming LEED accredited by this summer -- something else I can add to the resume. No offense whatsoever to Smith, but I feel for what I want to do, I may need to attend a more reputable school. Thoughts? The downside is, if I say no to Smith and don't get into any school next year -- I'm basically done as far as an MBA goes since I doubt I can reapply to Smith next yr after saying no to it this year. Or can I?
Question 2 - With everything remaining at the status quo except my GMAT's going up to 700+ and LEED accreditation, what are my chances at Columbia (pretty awesome RE program), NYU, Haas, Georgetown, MIT, Kellogg, Booth -- and INSEAD or LBS for international schools? I am contemplating on hiring a consultant to possibly 'brand' myself better than I have this year -- or maybe my recommendations were awful (my boss did submit all recommendations on the same day the day before he left for his Christmas vacation).
I sincerely appreciate your opinion on these matters. Thank you so much.
nks
You can certainly "reject" Smith this year in hopes of gaining acceptance to a more highly reputed program next year. Most schools do not offer deferrals, but if your military reserve role prevents your attending this year because of the current global instability then Smith might accept that reasoning and allow your deferral. If it does not, there is no reason to believe that Smith will reject you just because you chose not to attend this year. I do, on the other hand, recommend applying to another "fallback" program just in case.
Columbia will like your military experience but not your GPA, so I do advise you to try to build an alternate transcript (in addition to the 700+ GMAT) over the next few months. Can you enroll in a few courses (statistics, accounting, etc.) and get A's in them so you can prove your academic potential?
Certainly if your recommendations were not detailed and strong, that is a huge strike against you. I recommend hand-holding the recommenders through the process, or perhaps having them work directly with your editor (as we at
Accepted.com often do) to help the recommenders keep to a timetable and write detailed letters that round out your applications. Leaving this very large element of your applications to chance and the last minute is just too much of a wild card in your application process.
close
16 Mar 2011, 10:48
