MantisTobogganMD wrote:
I am starting in the online program at Kelley next month, my wife is starting the process of studying for the GMAT, I'm trying to get an idea of what sort of programs she should target.
-28, citizen of a Central American country (she'll have her green card by the time she applies)
-Hasn't taken the GMAT or TOEFL yet but I think she'll be able to get high 600s/low 700s on the former and...pass?...the latter (I have no idea how TOEFL scoring works)
-BA in Chinese Education from one of the top 3 universities in Taiwan, GPA equivalent to a 3.5
-Fluent in Spanish, Mandarin, and English
-3-4 years work experience at a Taiwanese manufacturing company selling components to Latin America, previously worked at her country's embassy in Taiwan; also was hired for a managerial position at a well-known (and pretty notorious) multinational in mainland China but left after 2 months to move to the US with me
-Military wife (dunno if this matters, I'll be out by next fall anyway)
Complicating the situation is the fact that I'll be getting out of the military next summer and have no idea where I'll get a job, although we'd like to stay in the Pacific NW, Texas, NC, DC area, Philly area, or Asia. She's lukewarm on the idea of doing full-time school instead of working but assuming I land a decent job out of the military (and then should get another upgrade a year or so later when I get my MBA) I'm hoping to keep her mind open to it.
I've encouraged her to look at the online programs I applied to (Kelley, Kenan-Flagler, WP Carey) as well as the PT and FT programs located in the areas I mentioned, but does she have a shot at M7 if she gets, say, 720 on the GMAT? What about 700 (figure probably not but not out of the question given her background)?
Thanks in advance
Hey there good sir!
So actually your wife has a really interesting profile. There are gonna be very few candidates with that Latin America/China mix, and she can think about how to use that to her best advantage.
Her work experience seems a bit on the low side, but hey! That's a reason for doing an MBA! And if she other other positives (like unique profile, being female, etc) she can likely make an interesting application.
I don't really have enough info right now, to tell you EXACTLY where she should/could apply (I need more info about work, detail about Extra curricular activities, UG school, volunteer work, etc), but let's start by putting it this way: if she hits the upper end of that range, she can have lots of great options. So she should buckle down and knock that GMAT out of the water if this is something she wants to do.
I also think that due to timing of your military assignment, its a rare case where if she applied R2/R3 she would not be penalized by doing so (cause you have really good life reasons).
Personally, I wouldn't suggest an Online MBA, but a regular FT MBA, once you know where you will be assigned (And maybe you can get someone to give you a hint a wee bit earlier
)
If there's any other way I can advise, just drop a line,
Cheers,
Best,
JF