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lesun
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Applying to Masters in Real Estate... 21 Dec 2011, 18:24
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I am looking to apply to a masters program in real estate. I am not looking to apply to top-tier schools (USC, MIT, or Columbia) because I know my undergrad GPA and GMAT scores are not at that level. Schools I am interested in are NYU SCPS and John Hopkins Carey. I've been out of school for about a year, and am not pursuing a job in real estate, because the market here sucks! Although, I have almost no experience with real estate, I have a strong interest for it. My future plans are to open an investment firm. Here is my profile:

GMAT: 600 (Q41, V31)
Age: 22, American
College Info: Top 10 public university, Political Science major
GPA: 3.2 with a few W's, no D's or F's
Work Exp: ~1yr internship working with city (top 10, by population) finances.
NO extracurricular's

Should i improve my GMAT score, for a better chance of acceptance? I've read somewhere that the avg GMAT score for NYU SCPS is 550.
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Applying to Masters in Real Estate... 22 Dec 2011, 15:36
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Well the only one of these schools I'm familiar with is USC. They would really want to see some type of experience in Real Estate. I would assume that most other schools would to. If you choose to do this masters, you are committing to a life of real estate jobs, and how are you supposed to know you want to do real estate without real estate experience? I actually believe that with your GMAT and GPA you'd have a shot at a Masters of Real Estate at a top program. You NEED to get some real estate experience though, and a GMAT improvement wouldn't hurt. If you did, you would really have a shot at top schools. If not, I still think you'd have a shot at lesser schools, but you're really going to have to show why you want to do real estate. Did you take real estate classes in college? Do you have your Broker's License? Do you have any experience in the field or real estate clubs.

I think you should work to not only get a job in real estate, but to get more experience in real estate classes (maybe try to get your broker's license), or join a real estate networking club. You need to show commitment to the field, b/c this degree will commit you to the field for the rest of your working life. People don't just go to get a masters in real estate with no real estate experience, it would be very rare.

If I were in your shoes, I would continue on your job search, open up your search area, and start networking like crazy. If real estate is what you want to do, it is time to immerse yourself in the field.
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lesun
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Applying to Masters in Real Estate... 22 Dec 2011, 16:03
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Well the only one of these schools I'm familiar with is USC. They would really want to see some type of experience in Real Estate. I would assume that most other schools would to. If you choose to do this masters, you are committing to a life of real estate jobs, and how are you supposed to know you want to do real estate without real estate experience? I actually believe that with your GMAT and GPA you'd have a shot at a Masters of Real Estate at a top program. You NEED to get some real estate experience though, and a GMAT improvement wouldn't hurt. If you did, you would really have a shot at top schools. If not, I still think you'd have a shot at lesser schools, but you're really going to have to show why you want to do real estate. Did you take real estate classes in college? Do you have your Broker's License? Do you have any experience in the field or real estate clubs.

I think you should work to not only get a job in real estate, but to get more experience in real estate classes (maybe try to get your broker's license), or join a real estate networking club. You need to show commitment to the field, b/c this degree will commit you to the field for the rest of your working life. People don't just go to get a masters in real estate with no real estate experience, it would be very rare.

If I were in your shoes, I would continue on your job search, open up your search area, and start networking like crazy. If real estate is what you want to do, it is time to immerse yourself in the field.
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Thanks for the info....
I've taken a few business related courses in college and found them to be interesting. This led me to take on an internship in the Financial Management department at the city, but sitting in a chair for 8hrs a day did not cut it for me. I concluded that Real Estate would be ideal, since i did not want to sit in a chair for more than a few hours at a time. Plus, my parents own a few real estate properties, one of which I helped in flipping. Although i have minimal experience with real estate, i have a strong interest for it, but with the market the way it is, it is difficult for me to find a job in the field. By obtaining a MSRE, I think it would launch me in the right direction....
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Applying to Masters in Real Estate... 22 Dec 2011, 16:24
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Well just to give you an idea, many real estate jobs you might get out of school would be 8 hours a day in the chair. In fact, I work in real estate, and sometimes I spend 12-14 hours a day in a chair.

I'm not sure what types of real estate you are interested in, but not all of them let you get out of the chair, kick the dirt, and check out properites. I've been on both sides of it. One job I traveled a bunch, all around the country, the other, I build financial models all day.

There are also many different areas of real estate.. commercial, residential, development, etc... The more experience you could get, the better idea you'd have of what would interest you. I'd recommend that you try to gain as much experience as you can to try to figure out if its what you really want to do. Since you are not applying to top schools, I def think this degree could help point you in the right direction. You just need to make SURE that it is the direction you'd want to go, b/c if not, and MBA might be right. An MBA will open many doors, and many schools will allow you to specialize in a certain area your final year... including real estate.

Good luck!
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lesun
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Applying to Masters in Real Estate... 22 Dec 2011, 16:37
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Well just to give you an idea, many real estate jobs you might get out of school would be 8 hours a day in the chair. In fact, I work in real estate, and sometimes I spend 12-14 hours a day in a chair.

I'm not sure what types of real estate you are interested in, but not all of them let you get out of the chair, kick the dirt, and check out properites. I've been on both sides of it. One job I traveled a bunch, all around the country, the other, I build financial models all day.

There are also many different areas of real estate.. commercial, residential, development, etc... The more experience you could get, the better idea you'd have of what would interest you. I'd recommend that you try to gain as much experience as you can to try to figure out if its what you really want to do. Since you are not applying to top schools, I def think this degree could help point you in the right direction. You just need to make SURE that it is the direction you'd want to go, b/c if not, and MBA might be right. An MBA will open many doors, and many schools will allow you to specialize in a certain area your final year... including real estate.

Good luck!
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thanks, again for the advice.
I'm pretty dead set in applying for a MSRE for fall '12. I just wanted to gather some insight about my chances of getting in with my credentials... if things look pretty solid, i would like to send in my apps for R2.