{"id":2513,"date":"2010-03-02T12:01:24","date_gmt":"2010-03-02T20:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=2513"},"modified":"2010-03-02T12:01:24","modified_gmt":"2010-03-02T20:01:24","slug":"school-selection-assessing-your-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/school-selection-assessing-your-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"SCHOOL SELECTION &#8212; ASSESSING YOUR PROFILE"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NOTE<\/strong>: This is #2 in a series of blog posts on the topic, \u201cHow to Select the Right MBA Programs.\u201d To see the whole series to date, link to the following: <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/acceptedcom_blog\/2010\/2\/22\/what-mba-programs-should-you-apply-to-next-season.html\">Post #1, Introducing the Series<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Post #2: ASSESSING YOUR PROFILE<\/p>\n<p>Thinking about what you want and need in an MBA program is the fun part.\u00a0 Before you do that, tackle the less fun part:\u00a0 assessing your profile.\u00a0 Knowing a program has everything you\u2019ve ever dreamed of is nice, but if it does not welcome people like you, will it be worth your while to expend effort and money applying there?\u00a0 Conversely, learning that a program that seems so-so would likely value your candidacy might prompt you to take a closer, and warmer, look.<\/p>\n<p>Break down your assessment to several basic areas, as follows.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Work experience<\/strong>. \u00a0There are many points to cover: your industry and company; your role overall; compared to accomplished peers, how fast your advancement and\/or how impressive your impact has been; your leadership (formal and\/or informal).\u00a0 What are the strengths in this area, and what are the weaknesses or challenges?\u00a0 A challenge might be, for example, you\u2019ve increased responsibility significantly but because you work for a \u201cflat\u201d company you don\u2019t have promotions.\u00a0 Another challenge: you work in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/itapplicants.aspx\">tech side<\/a>, so you have to illustrate your business knowledge and exposure.\u00a0 One more: you\u2019re a successful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/managementconsultant.aspx\">consultant<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/investmentbankers.aspx\">financial analyst<\/a>, but how do you differentiate yourself in this group?\u00a0 Strengths would be distinctive roles or industries, visibly rapid advancement, clear leadership.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Academics<\/strong>.\u00a0 This part includes your undergrad GPA and transcript, grad GPA and transcript (if any), and GMAT.\u00a0 What are the strengths and weaknesses in each area, and how do they add up overall?\u00a0 For example, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/lowstats.aspx\">weak undergrad GPA<\/a> and solid GMAT will not be great if the GPA trended down and the quant section of the GMAT was under 80%.\u00a0 However, if the GPA trended up and the GMAT quant was 90%, you\u2019re in much better shape.\u00a0 A strong grad GPA won\u2019t completely neutralize a low undergrad GPA but it can go a long way to doing so.\u00a0 (NOTE: If your GPA is low, you have time to take a class or two and earn A\u2019s \u2013 recommended even if you have a high GMAT.)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Goals<\/strong>.\u00a0 What industry?\u00a0 What function?\u00a0 What specific position(s) are you considering immediately post-MBA?\u00a0 Is it a major career change?\u00a0 A slight career shift?\u00a0 What is the link between your current work and your goals?\u00a0 If it\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/careerchanger.aspx\">career change<\/a>, how will you build your bridge between here and there?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Extracurriculars<\/strong>.\u00a0 At the least, extracurriculars will round out your profile.\u00a0 At most, they will set you apart and give your application extra sparkle.\u00a0 They will be more important to some programs than to others.\u00a0 And the weight they have in any individual application will vary depending on the other factors, as adcoms review the applications holistically.\u00a0 (If you realize this is a weakness, get active now; there is time!)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Other miscellaneous factors<\/strong>.\u00a0 Honor code infraction, DUI, DWI, academic probation \u2013 all clear negatives, but again, how much will vary.\u00a0 Perhaps the worst is the honor code infraction.\u00a0 On the positive side: obstacles overcome, extraordinary level of achievement in almost any area, military experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With a clear understanding of your profile and your competitiveness, you can determine which schools are likely safeties, on-pars, and reaches.<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/editors.aspx?editorid=3\">Cindy Tokumitsu<\/a>, co-author of <\/span><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/accepted.com\/ecommerce\/ebook2.aspx\"><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\">The <\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\">Finance Professional\u2019s Guide to MBA Success<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\">, <\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/Ecommerce\/ConsultantsGuide\/ConsultantsGuide.aspx\">The Consultants\u2019 Guide to MBA Admission<\/a><\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\">, <\/span><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/Ecommerce\/mba\/EMBAEssay.aspx\"><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\">T<\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"color: #000088\" lang=\"EN\">he EMBA Edge<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\">,\u00a0and author of several articles and the free, email mini-course,<\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"color: #000088\" lang=\"EN\"> \"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/embaadmissionscourse.aspx\">Ace the EMBA<\/a>.\"<\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"color: black\" lang=\"EN\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NOTE: This is #2 in a series of blog posts on the topic, \u201cHow to Select the Right MBA Programs.\u201d To see the whole series to date, link to the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,1],"tags":[1894,39],"class_list":["post-2513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-mba","category-uncategorized","tag-gmat","tag-mba-admissions","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2513"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2515,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513\/revisions\/2515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}