Intern
Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 14
Given Kudos: 1
Location: United States
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
WE:Marketing (Computer Software)
Part Time MBA Programs with a Strong Brand
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01 Oct 2013, 10:26
I will be applying to business school for Fall 14, and have been evaluating part time programs for fit with my goals. I am looking to get into the best school I can, with a focus on FT brand and alumni network. My employer is subsidizing the costs, so I am not concerned about price, and I work remotely so location is also not a problem. I am not a career switcher, nor am I looking for external opportunities, so recruitment options are not an interest. I am primarily looking for a deeper understanding of business theory combined with practical application to allow me to better tackle business problems as I move up within my company. I'm looking to focus on strategy, so finding a program with a collaborative focus on strategy would be ideal.
I am currently employed by a Fortune 50 Tech company, and began work here 1 year before I graduated from my Bachelors program in 2010. This will mean ~4 years of work experience at matriculation, and I have been promoted several times in this span, which is extremely uncommon. I have worked in a number of roles, driving products to market collaboratively on a global scale. I have also had coverage in Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, and other top publications covering the products I have developed. I hold 1 patent from this time, and have directly owned several accounts with major OEM providers. Currently I hold a position as a Product Manager, and I hope to continue in this facility bolstering my decision making with the experiences I gain from my MBA.
My undergraduate education was at a State school, and I earned a BSc in Business and Information System Management. My GPA is not ideal, a 3.06 overall. My senior year I was working 70-80 hour days with 27 units (12 was considered full-time) as I was working on a start-up type software product. This yielded a 2.5 and 2.9 GPA for my last two semesters, at the same time as my patent was filed and I received recognition for my work efforts. I'm looking to address this with my GMAT, but not directly call out my GPA as it's not below 3.0 cumulatively.
I am currently studying for the GMAT, with practice tests yielding 620 before I started my Veritas test prep course. I scored Q35/V40 without studying, and am hoping to pull this up to 700+ range. I hadn't done any math for quite a while, so I'm confident I can raise this in the 2 months I will be studying.
I am looking at a number of schools, but have had difficulty finding class profile information on Part-Time programs. I still am not completely comfortable assessing which are in range based on my statistics:
Ideal:
Northwestern Kellogg Accelerated Part-Time (this is my #1 and I meet the requirements for the accelerated program)
Chicago Booth Part-Time
Berkeley Part-Time
Very Good:
NYU Stern Part-Time
Michigan Ross Part-Time
UCLA Anderson
Safety:
Carnegie Mellon
USC
ASU
UC Davis
Based on my profile, should I be considering my Ideal schools? If I score a 650 vs 720 on the GMAT, how much will this impact my chances?