Ask Admit World/My MBA Admit

We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.

Are there any US business schools in the top 10 that are friendlier to MBA applicants over 30?

Applicant:
GMAT: 730/96%. Verbal - 41/92%, Quant - 49/87%, Analytical writing 5.0/56%.
Planning to apply for 2011 session. My brief profile is as follows:
Age: 29 (born in Feb, 1981).
Ethnicity: Indian
Undergrad - from one of the IITs in India, GPA 3.7
Grad - one of schools (not high ranked) in U.S., GPA - 3.95
Work experience - I have been working in U.S. since 2005 (I will have 6 years of full time work ex at the end of 2010). I work in high end technical consulting. 2 years in a big five company, past 3 years in a blue chip company.

1. Would I have had a much better chance had I scored 750 instead of 730?

2. Is my age going to be a hindrance when applying to top 5 schools - specially Harvard, Stanford and Wharton? If yes, are there any schools in top 10 that are friendlier to applicants with 30 years of age?

My MBA Admit:
1. I wouldn't fret over the GMAT score. 730 and 750 puts you in essentially the same percentile/range of test-takers. I don't believe there will be any impact to your application due to that slight difference in score, and wouldn't recommend taking the exam again.

2. Although the average age of MBA applicants does tend to be in the late twenties, I wouldn't think of your age as a hindrance. You have a good academic profile and have significant work experience. Your focus in your MBA applications should be on why an MBA at this point, and how you think it fits into your proposed career plans. Also, how do your professional profile and extracurricular activities set you apart? You have had a longer time than your fellow applicants to build and demonstrate soft skills - your application package should mention how these make you stronger.

I was just giving an informal talk yesterday to potential MBA applicants on "Stronger MBA applications with a strategy." Two applications from the same candidate, one with a strategy and one without, can look dramatically different, with the "strategized" one proven to have much stronger chances. At My MBA Admit, we first identify our clients' goals, select the appropriate programs, build an application strategy and pick the most relevant examples, rather than going straight to the essays. This makes for a much more coherent application, with a single strong thread running throughout the application. Email us at mbaconsult@mymbaadmit.com to learn more or check out our affordable Volume Discounts and Application Packages.

We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.

Waitlisted applicant improves GMAT score. Should he inform the school?

Applicant:
I just re-took the GMAT and my score improved by 10 points from 660 to 670, not really that significant.

I have been waitlisted at Georgetown and interviewed at Ross and waiting on a couple of top 20 schools. I did send in an additional recommendation and a letter of interest into Georgetown.

What are your thoughts on sending in the updated score report to Ross and other schools? Would it make a difference?

My MBA Admit:

Although your score improved marginally, I think it's more important to focus on the fact that you put in the effort to improve it.

Schools waitlist you because they liked your application but aren't completely sure they can admit you. Think of a waitlist as an invitation to demonstrate your interest, as well as any improvements in your profile, which make you a stronger candidate than since you applied. In your case, the GMAT score might not have improved by much, but you put in the effort. Position your improved score as a demonstration of your strong interest in the program. Same thing for the additional letter of recommendation, as well as a personal interest letter that shows both strong interest and profile improvements. In fact, don't send it just to the schools you have been waitlisted at; send it to the schools you are waiting on too. An interested and highly qualified candidate is every school's dream!

Email us at mbaconsult@mymbaadmit.com if you would like to learn more, especially about our affordable Waitlist Consultation to send in a personalized letter of interest, plus any other materials, to your target school. Check out our Volume Discounts and Applications Packages!

We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.

How do MBA b-schools from Canada, US, EU, and Asia (HK), compare and rank competitively against each other, in terms of cross-border reputation and job prospects?

Applicant:

How do MBA b-schools from Canada, US, EU, and Asia (HK), compare and rank competitively against each other, in terms of cross-border reputation and job prospects? How are the job prospects outside of the geographical region where the MBA school is located? How does each country's or each school's "cross-border" power and reputation stack up against each other?

For example, do students at ESADE/IE/IESE/etc generally stick within Europe post-grad because that's generally where the value of their MBA education is greatest? And the same applies for other schools.

Thanks, any insight would be greatly appreciated!

My MBA Admit:

In general, it is better to do an MBA in the area you would like to be in post-MBA, or at least, in a popular "launching pad" for the area that you would like be in. For example, at our alma mater Chicago Booth, 30% stay in Chicago, while the rest move across the US and around the globe, with New York and London being the next most popular destinations.

There are a number of advantages to this, with the biggest one being professional network, and all the personal and professional connections you can build from it. Both for your post-MBA ambitions and later career goals, the more people you know in the area that you want to work/do business in, the more opportunities you have to network, find positions, develop business partnerships, etc. For most business schools, you will find a significant number of your classmates remaining in the area/relocating to a popular choice after graduation, and the more likely that you will be in either of those categories, the larger your network.

It's funny you should ask about cross-border mobility since this was part of a discussion I had with a candidate during our Free Profile Evaluation just this morning. In terms of MBAs, gauging from our combined work experience in the US, Middle East, India and Europe, top-tier US degrees are the most well-recognized, closely matched by the top ones in UK, and followed by top programs across Europe.

However, I do understand your desire for travel as well. If you would like to get a degree from a school that may or may not be in the area you want to be in post-MBA, get it from the best program you can get into. In any case, a well-recognized degree from a top program always helps. In your case, it would help more since you would already have the challenge of trying to find a job in an area that the school may not have as many employer relationships with - a degree from a top-tier program that is recognized across borders will make your search easier.

Feel free to drop us a line at mbaconsult@mymbaadmit.com to discuss your application further. Check out our Volume Discounts and Application Packages tailored to your admission needs.

We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.

Background checks for business school

Applicant:
I'm applying to business schools and I have a question about the background check process. I got a ticket in college for having an open alcohol container as a passenger in a vehicle, but I paid my fine and it hasn't come back to hurt me thus far. Is this something that I need to include on my application and will it come up in the background check that most schools perform? The offense was not in the state in which I'm applying. Also, are minor offenses like these red flags for business schools?

My MBA Admit:
We don't believe that this should be a significant hurdle in your applications. Background checks/inclusions in applications are normally for more serious violations that resulted in convictions, etc. versus fines. Your particular situation is akin to a traffic violation, and hence not applicable to a criminal history. So yes, it's okay to leave it off.

Also, as a general note, background checks are normally to confirm employment history, versus criminal history, although the school does reserve the right to do this if they choose.

Hello, below is a summary of my profile. The information may seem not concise, cause I wanted to mention all key points.

Nationality: Uzbekistan

Age: 24 (applying for Fall 2010)

Undergrad GPA: 3.8 at XXX, a top university in Uzbekistan but not well known elsewhere. My major is international economics and finance (5 years study). I was good in economic subjects, received top scores in paper works and was a winner of intercollegiate competition on macro and micro economics (2nd place). Also I participated and was the best speaker in debate club; my final student paper was selected as the best one. (btw, the gpa conversion table is not quite proper to my university where failing ends at 55%, whereas at your table it's 65%. So, I think 91% which is 3,6 at Princeton conversion table should be 3,8 for my university)

GMAT 670 (Q46 V37), AWA 5: The score could have been improved by Q section. My major in high school was math and I was going to apply to MA in economics for which I prepared GRE subject test in math. Thus I was already quit strong in math and didn’t prepare for GMAT. The marginal utility of spending time to verbal was higher to me. Another problem with low score is that at the moment of preparation at my organization I got an increase in a position which broadened my tasks and decreased free time.

TOEFL: expect it to be around 100. The weakness is lack of speech practice

Work Experience: by fall 2010 will be 2 years. I hold several positions in 2 organizations. Firstly I worked abroad as a business development consultant (afghanistan). Tasks included preparation of grant proposals and writing of business plans. Then I worked for NGO which focused on environment issues. Here my responsibilities relate to finance and administration (budgets, financial reports, recruitment, conduction of conferences, logistics). At this NGO which aims at conservation of unique biodiversity in degraded areas near Aral Sea I had an increase in position. An organization is not big thus I don’t have people to manage except driver, guards etc  Special about my experience is that I learned how to manage a project, be disciplined and able to work hard under pressure. I have improved my skills in preparation of financial statement, learned good basics of communication skills. In both organization we had a good team work highly interdependent on each person.

Extracurricular activities: during my undergraduate I had two experiences related to community service. Firstly, I accepted documents of new coming student willing to apply to my university. I took their docs, answered questions etc. Secondly, as a member of youth movement I taught for 2 months English language to students at high schools. Well, also I like assisting in improving of other blog users’ AWA skills  by checking their essays and commenting on them

Future goals/my application: 1) I’m applying to MSc in economics and business admin focused on environment and sustainable use of natural resources (let’s say business and economic aspects of environment and resources). This is my preferred field because I have initial interest in this area. My region is known with its ecological problems and its economic conditions are poor. Many of my research papers concentrated on issues of natural resource management; currently I’m working at environment and energy project. A recognized MSc degree in this field will differentiate me from other environmentalists in my region, teach me contemporary soft and hard skills to be obtained during MSc and many other things. Besides, I want to apply to MBA programs which major in accounting. As noticed, I studied economics, prepared financial statements, and now I am responsible for financial side of the environment project. Final goal is to open a project/enterprise where I would use my skills and experience. The organization should clearly help develop community since simple earning of money has no sense to me.

Target programs: I would like to apply to second tier schools such as fisher, olin, boston, thunderbird etc. Since my gpa and gmat scores fall into average scores of these schools, my concern is getting good scholarship. Application deadlines are also of a concern. Many of the programs’ deadlines have already expired.

I was in the middle of booking MBA Admissions Consulting client appointments at My MBA Admit for the next week when one of my clients called in. She was so excited, she could barely speak.

After applying to two competitive programs, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, and Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon, in the third round, she received invites to BOTH!

No matter how many of such calls I get, I never tire of it. For me, it's the best part of the job. After all those hours of brainstorming to find the right examples, tailoring those to the MBA programs at hand, guiding clients over consecutive drafts as they write their essays, revising and polishing those together to ensure their clarity to the business school AdCom, it's a validation of all our efforts together to receive an invite from that dream program.

It's especially satisfying for me since it is my personal approach that we use at My MBA Admit to consult on a client's application. For more on how we do it, go to the My MBA Admit blog for today: https://bit.ly/9jPDqM

As I always tell my graduate admissions consulting clients, 'Business school is not a destination, but a way to get to your dream position." My advise to all MBA candidates is to treat it the same way. There are many consultants who will take a substantial amount and write your applications themselves. You may even get in. But wouldn't it better for you to improve your business communications skills, interviewing techniques and resume writing skills to ensure life-long success, rather than just for the business school application?

Want to know more about how we can help? Email us at mbaconsult@mymbaadmit.com or check us out at My MBA Admit.

GMATClub members,

Our founder at My MBA Admit will be participating in a panel for potential MBA applicants, sponsored by Kaplan. The questions covered will be those faced by every MBA candidate, such as choosing the right business school, tackling the MBA application, post-MBA career opportunities, etc.

Click on the link to REGISTER NOW for a fantastic opportunity to meet alumni from the top business schools across the US!

Date: Next Thursday, March 25
Time: 7-9 pm
Location: New York City
Address: 888 7th Avenue @ 56th Street- 22nd Floor Auditorium

Complete Details below:
Business School Alumni Panel

Featuring Booth, Harvard, Kellogg, MIT & Stern

As Kaplan continues to provide you, a prospective MBA, with top GMAT preparation we also want to ensure you have a holistic view at what business school is all about. To that point we’d like to invite you to attend this upcoming panel.

Business School Alumni Panel

Thursday, March 25th

6:30pm Welcome, Refreshments & Networking with MBAs

7:00pm Main Panel with Q&A

Kaplan Inc. Headquarters

888 7th Avenue @ 56th Street- 22nd Floor Auditorium

The Business School Alumni Panel will be moderated by Andrew Mitchell, Chicago Booth MBA and Kaplan’s Assistant Director of Pre Business Programs, and will cover topics including:

* What B-school is right for you
* How to best tackle the application process
* The experience of b-school itself
* Career and life after an MBA
* Q&A and much more

Featured Panelists:

Heather Hammond; Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University

Consultant with Russell Reynolds Associates where she is focused on conducting assignments for financial services clients, with a focus on investment banking, sales and trading and capital markets positions.

Andrew Immerman; Harvard Business School

Portfolio Manager at CR Intrinsic Investors, LLC, a division of SAC Capital Advisors, LP. Prior to joining Intrinsic, Mr. Immerman spent four years as an Investment Analyst at Viking Global Investors LP, responsible for identifying and researching investment ideas across industries.

Khyati Soparkar; Booth Graduate School of Business at University of Chicago

Marketer for the financial services and higher education industries before and after her MBA. She currently coaches and mentors business school applicants on all aspects of the admissions process at her company My MBA Admit (https://mymbaadmit.com/).

Lisa Stringer; New York University - Leonard N Stern School of Business

Lead Project Manager of Kaplan’s business systems. Prior to overseeing the business systems she managed Kaplan’s Inventory and Pre-College relationships. Before Kaplan, and prior to business school, Lisa was a 3rd grade teacher.

Lee Weiss; MIT Sloan School of Management

Pre-College Faculty Manager for Manhattan overseeing 75+ teachers and working closely with the sales, marketing and service teams. Prior to joining Kaplan Inc., from business school, Lee was a Global Leadership Express recruit of American Express Inc., where he worked in the Risk, Information and Banking Group on New Accounts and on M&A Deals and Partnerships.

Hello, could you please review my profile and recommend bschools?

age: 35
undergrad gpa from unranked NH state school: 3.1 (although 3.7 gpa combined junior/senior years). psychology major.
gmat: taken today, 700 (Q47, V40). Will be notified of AW in 3 weeks.
w/e: 11 years
current position: senior systems engineer at Dell Computers
extra-curricular activities: soccer (several seasons as captain)
volunteering: some, but weak

I have the luxury of a job that allows me to telecommute from anywhere in the world. In addition to bschool recommendations, I would like to hear opinions regarding part-time vs. full-time. Do I have a shot at full time, considering my age? Would love to live/work in Europe if possible.

Thx!

Hello,

To start, I have been accepted to Harvard Law School straight out of university (age 22) and wish to augment my education there with a joint MBA/JD degree at the HBS. I would be applying next Fall to HBS during my first year of law school at HLS. For obvious reasons, HBS is the only school to which I would be applying.

The good part: While I haven't written the GMAT, I consider a 750+ likely and my GPA is over 4.0 out of 4.33 with multiple scholarships and honors. I've double majored in business administration and economics with concentrations in honors accounting and finance. I have good extracurriculars including managing multiple business case competitions at the undergraduate level (1 internal with 120+ students, another consisting of multiple universities within the region) as well as managing an entrepreneur competition. I led a team in envisioning the competitions' objectives and mission as well as setting and executing strategy across a wide variety of areas (marketing, corp. relations, logistics etc.). This is in addition to other misc extracurrics I have. The manager of the student affairs at my university is willing to vouch for me with detailed feedback since we worked closely together on multiple events. I have a history of advocating for more case-based learning at the undergraduate level including coordinating workshops and culminating in me organizing the aforementioned internal case competition for 1st- and 2nd-year business undergrad students. I think I've demonstrated strong affinity for case-based learning which I can leverage in my applications essays. I also interview pretty well.

Now comes the bad part. I have only 3 years of part-time work experience as a real estate agent. I understand this will be a huge obstacle considering top schools want full-time work experience and preferably at an organization with a supervisor(s) who could vouch for me. Real estate agents are generally not supervised so I have no real professional references in this regard. I hope that my aforementioned recc from the student affairs manager will somewhat substitute for this. My other 2 references would both come from professors who taught case-based seminars over a semester. I achieved top grades in both classes and I expect sterling and somewhat detailed recommendations from both. I will try to work with them to tailor my reccs. I may also try to start a non-profit this summer if that would help since I have a few ideas and many connections. Lastly, I'm from Canada and my school is relatively unknown internationally.

With all that said, what do you think my odds of success are? Should I even bother attempting to seek admission to HBS without the work experience? Should I graduate law school first, earn 2yrs of WE and try then? I don't mind trying now if I have a 10-20% chance of success since my GMAT score will be valid for 5 years and saving a yr would be nice. It's definitely possible that I'll try to earn an MBA at HBS later if not now.

I think I can weave together a convincing narrative for why a JD/MBA will further my goals and I am confident I can write good essays about my management/leadership experience during the organization of the case competitions. I was thinking my management experience could act as a representation of my professional ability in lieu of my lack of work experience. What do you think?

Hello,

I would appreciate your perspective on my profile.

Gender: Male
Nationality: Indian
Job Type: IT (System Architect)
Gosh I know, now for some good news

GMAT 710(Q51,V34) AWA 6.0
GPA 3.4
Work Ex 5-6 years (Planning to apply in 2011).
I am hoping to join the part time MBA program at Kellogg or Booth.

I have a steady salary growth.
I have a steady growth in my Job positions as well (youngest person in my company with my Job title etc)
Worked for large companies such as Infosys, Oracle, Navteq, WaMu, FitchRatings.
I can get some good recos from my supervisors at work (one of them is a Booth Alum).
Extracurriculars are decent, also I have some time to work on them (Any recommendations?)

A couple of questions -
1) I still think I can improve my Verbal score although it's not my forte, I am tempted to go for the Knewton money back guarantee and see if I can hit 760.
2) I love the concept of rolling admission and since I have only 2 schools I can apply to, I wanted your inputs regarding the best game plan.
i) Apply to Booth, since it's my top choice, in the next few months for Spring 2011.
ii) If I do get accepted then I start to party.
iii) If I don't get in, I re-evaluate my profile and then apply to Kellogg for either Summer or Spring.

Thanks in advance.

To all our My MBA Admit thread participants and readers:

I want to apologize for not being able to answer your recent questions as promptly as we usually do. We have been busy preparing for My MBA Admit at a Kaplan panel tomorrow in NYC where we will be answering questions from more than 100 applicants to business school.

Besides that, we have had great demand for our affordable Waitlist Consultations and Interview preparation sessions beginning at $100 and the newest product in our portfolio, the Candidate Profiling and School Selection tool currently being offered at a discount, and it's been a bit crazy around here!

However, we run this thread to help MBA applicants, and promise that we will get to your evaluations very soon. As a special thank you for your patience, we will be happy to offer you the first 30 minutes free when you sign up for one of our Comprehensive Consulting Packages (both for Schools and Volume Discounts). Just mention "March Week 3"!

Thanks again for posting - we look forward to sending out our evaluations and answers very soon!

Hello, this is my profile:

Male - almost 32 years - Italian
Bocconi University - Milan : "italian GPA" (i have no idea if it means something like 3,9 real GPA) : 108 / 110

GMAT - 720 (Q 49; V 40 ; awa 5)
i need to retake in coming weeks my toefl as i had 95
I'm also good - proficiency in French (diplome superieur de francais des affaires, but 10 years ago)

Work experience - 7 years (ongoing) in finance. In the last 4 years I worked as a portfolio manager (part of a team) in a small asset management italian company : so expertize in equity and bonds. In addition, I've been involved in the creation of a new ethical fund which invest in renewable energies. We also give consultancy to a Luxembourg company.
Before, i worked 3 years as a junior consultant in a small company managing 2 hedge funds.


Other:

- Studied abroad in San Diego California for 3 months 5 years ago.
- I love to travel and organize travels for friends: I've been to Cuba, California, Utah, Spain, Tanzania, Sweden, and almost all european countriesduring my vacations.
- I did volunteer for people with problems and i also served in "time banks" (it's a structure where you give a service in exchange of another service, such as tax consultant in exchange of english lessons). But i stopped some years ago so i do not have a lot of extracurricular activities.
-I am in the first stage of preparing an innovative business plan for a small private project in photovoltaic sector, but i still have to work on it.

I want to have an international experience, full time MBa as i want to focus on myself and my interaction with others and i feel my experience in my present company is over (i do not want to continue working there). My goal is to have a job more company related than the actual (we focus on technical analysis in order to buy or sell stocks), such as financial consultancy for a sector (i am interested in renewable energies) or private equity. Despite my age and contrarely to the other guys here, unfortunately I do not have an exact clear idea of my future career and i think an MBA could help me to better understand it.

First question: 1) Do you think it would be possible to apply for the last round at Esade in May? Otherwise, I'd start one year later, when I will be 33.

If i will apply in Fall for next year, I will apply there:

ESADE
IE
IESE

2)What are my chances at those schools and are there any other European schools that you would recommend applying to ?

3) For personal reasons, there is also a possibility to move to Canada. In that case, which MBa would you suggest?

Thank you in advance

We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.

Younger applicant from Uzbekistan with strong academics targets second-tier business schools.



Hi Rare,

It's been some time since we received this request from you and I am not sure if you are still looking for an answer. If you are, I am including a brief evaluation of your profile below from three perspectives of academic, professional and personal.

Based on your target programs at second-tier schools, your GMAT score of 670 is strong. Your undergraduate GPA, if it is 3.8 as per your conversion, is another favorable point in your application, as are your relevant majors of economics and finance for a graduate degree in business. Even if your university in Uzbekistan is not well-known, your numbers and achievements are unquestionably impressive. Hence, from an academic perspective, I see no concerns in your application.

Since you are a younger applicant, admission committees understand that you will have relatively little leadership experience. Hence, not having direct reports isn't a major concern. However, 2 years is relatively light, more so since you held two positions within that time, which could potentially be seen as a lack of depth of experience. The advantages though are the breadth as well as diversity of experience, which if presented well, could partially mitigate the shorter length. In order to guide you better in this area, I would like to understand the amount of time spent at each position, more on what you plan to do with your degree, and of course, which degree you are applying - MSc or a MBA (since I wasn't clear from what you said above).

Your extra-curricular activities sound interesting, and I am sure we can draw out good stories to present your soft skills in a community service context. However, you also mentioned that these are from your time as an undergraduate student. If you have more recent examples, they would be more effective in presenting you as a well-rounded candidate. Finally, being from Uzbekistan is a point in your favor since it is an under-represented area. If we work together, I would very much like to focus on that for examples that could help differentiate you from the competition.

If you have already applied and have accepted, all the best! If you are still looking for assistance, feel free to drop us a line at mbaconsult@mymbaadmit.com to discuss your application further. Check out our Volume Discounts and Application Packages tailored to your admission needs.

We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.

Older applicant with engineering background weighs b-school options, particularly for Europe.



Hi Splater,

It's been some time since we received this request from you and I am not sure if you are still looking for an answer. If you are, I am including a brief evaluation of your profile below.

Professionally, I don't have too much to go on, but as an older applicant, the biggest question is Why an MBA? and Why Now? Since you are pursuing an MBA at a later stage, your career goals should be exceptionally well-defined since you have a lot more experience to base your degree expectations on. Also, the AdCom expects that your longer work ex will allow you to show significant quantifiable achievements and great project and people leadership examples.

Academically, your GMAT is fine, although your cumulative undergraduate GPA is on the lower end. However, having 11 years of work experience since obtaining your degree and having a higher GPA in your last two years should help mitigate that. However, you might want to think of a plausible explanation and include it in your optional essay. In that, you could also demonstrate relevant work experience that makes up for not doing well in certain areas or any extra coursework you may have taken since then.

From a community service/activities perspective, your short description above makes me think this could be an area of opportunity. You will have to work hard at not letting this be perceived as a weakness. At My MBA Admit, we have encountered this issue multiple times and I am confident that we can help you identify activities that could demonstrate a more well-rounded candidacy.

Without your career goals or professional experience, it is hard to recommend schools but if you are keen on Europe, full-time programs in this region tend to be more open to older candidates than those in the US. In the US, considering your age, executive MBA programs would be a great fit as would part-time if you would like to continue working.

Feel free to drop us a line at mbaconsult@mymbaadmit.com to discuss your application further. Check out our Volume Discounts and Application Packages tailored to your admission needs.

We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.

Accepted to Harvard Law School. Apply to HBS now with light work experience, or wait to apply later?



Hi Exellon,

It's been some time since we received this request from you and I am not sure if you are still looking for an answer. If you are, I am including a brief evaluation of your profile below.

To begin with, as academics are your strong point. Your GPA is impressive, your majors are relevant (even if your university is relatively unknown) and if your GMAT score is as you expect, you are all set in that area. Your community service activities seem strong too and a glowing recommendation from a quasi-supervisor should further supplement that section. MBA applications are evaluated from a academic, personal and professional perspective, and I think the first two seem pretty strong for you.

Since you mentioned "accepted straight out of university", I am not certain if you have already graduated or are currently a senior. If you are still a senior or even a recent graduate, Harvard actively encourages younger applicants. Also, if you are in college or got done recently, that partly excuses you from having to demonstrate significant full-time experience as well. Continuing this chain of thought, having three years of part-time experience at a real job, presumably while you were in college, shows drive and initiative and works to your benefit. I understand the concern about recommendation letters but if you are a recent graduate, academic recommenders are perfectly acceptable. One of my own recommenders was a professor too, even though I was applying with a few years of work experience. Lastly, having an admit from Harvard Law School won't hurt at all. If one school saw fit to admit you, the other could be persuaded as well!

In summary, give it a shot. I do think that you have a fighting chance. When we work with our clients, we help them develop a complete strategy, pick their most relevant experiences and present compelling stories that demonstrate both quantifiable achievements and soft skills to the AdCom. Feel free to drop us a line at mbaconsult@mymbaadmit.com if you think we can help. Check out our https://www.mymbaadmit.com/Consultations.html tailored to your admission needs.

Hi MyMBAAdmit,

I was hoping you could evaluate my profile. Thanks in advance!

Profile:

25 year old male, international background (grew up in US and Japan), US Citizen
GMAT: 730 (96th percentile) - V45 (98th percentile), Q45 (74th percentile)
GPA: 3.4 overall from a top 20 Liberal Arts College - Double major in East Asian Studies (Mandarin Chinese, 3.7 GPA) and Economics (3.0 GPA)
Work Experience: 2.5 years in Compliance at two top asset management firms

Target Schools:
-Chicago Booth
-Kellogg
-CBS
-Stern
-HBS

I am concerned about my chances because of two potential weaknesses. The first is my Economics GPA; although my overall GPA is seemingly average (or slightly below average) for top programs, my economics GPA is low at 3.0, and my performance in the two quantitative courses I took (Statistics and Calculus) was not strong (I got a C+ in Statistics and took Calculus Pass/Fail). How much of a problem will this be? I have a strong GMAT score, but my quantitative percentile is not stellar. I am currently enrolled in NYU’s continuing education Statistics course (one of their “pre-MBA courses”). I am also considering taking Calculus.

My second concern is that I have very little in the way of ECs and no volunteer work/community involvement. The only EC I have from my undergrad was during my senior year, when I joined a program that essentially was a “mini business school experience”; I led a team that evaluated and presented a HBS case-study and performed an equity analysis, leading to a buy/hold/sell recommendation. I have no prior volunteer experience; although I realize it may come off as contrived, I have signed up for a few volunteer events over the next several months (and have already completed a few). I am hoping that having something is better than nothing.

In terms of WE, I was unable to find a job until March of 2008 as a Compliance Specialist at a large Asset Management Firm (~$300 billion AUM). In my first position, I conducted forensic reviews on a wide range of topics such as marketing materials, RFPs and trade allocation. I was also responsible for employee Compliance training. I was laid off in February, 2009 and began my current position in March in Compliance at another large Asset Management Firm (~$ 600+ billion AUM), this time focusing on personal trade surveillance/reconciliation and code of ethics administration (disclosures, political contributions, private investments, etc). I am also responsible for employee training at my current position. My current position is more focused than my previous job and is much more high-pressure, fast-paced and full of short-deadline projects.

I am interested in getting my MBA in order to transition from Compliance to Investment Banking; although I enjoy what I currently do, I would like the opportunity to work on the business side in deals and interact with clients. What I enjoy the most about my current job is meeting new employees through Compliance training as well as acting as a resource for employees throughout the firm by handling Compliance-related questions and requests. I am a strong communicator and I feel that I could be more valuable to an employer and more fulfilled on a personal level by working on deals and (eventually) winning over clients.

Any input on my chances at the schools I listed would be greatly appreciated.

We will be collecting all our profile evaluations and application review responses posted at GMATClub and other forums under the MyMBAAdmit thread to provide a single resource for our readers.

Indian IT engineer evaluates chances for part-time programs at Kellogg or Booth.



Hi Atish,

If I am not mistaken, we meet again It's been some time since we received this request from you and I am not sure if you are still looking for answers. If you are, I am including our perspective on your questions below.

I think your GMAT is fine for the part-time programs you are looking at. If your undergraduate GPA is low, a higher GMAT offers you the opportunity to assuage any concerns about your academic abilities. In your case, a 3.4 by itself is not enough reason to take the GMAT again. Depending on how much time you have while working full-time, you could still take it again, just to improve the Verbal score. However, if time is at a premium, you could make better use of it by focusing on other aspects of your application, such as expanding the scope of your extracurricular activities to show a more well-rounded candidacy, work projects that help you demonstrate soft skills, etc.

If Booth is your top choice (as it was mine, and I loved my experience there!), then I think your game plan makes sense. To build the strongest application, focus on what makes you different. You have a good profile with the academic numbers and professional experience in place, but it's the personal aspects that will take your candidacy to the next level. Right now, what I perceive as your biggest opportunity is the lack of differentiation. You have the average number of years of work experience, and come from a professional field (IT) and a demographic (Indian Male) that is highly represented in an MBA class.

Focusing on community service activities and other work projects that allow you to demonstrate soft skills, especially communication and leadership, will help you develop an application package that shows a well-rounded candidacy. I am focusing on leadership since you are at a career stage where you would be expected to have significant project leadership, as well as a good amount of people leadership. I also suggested communication as a skill to focus on to resolve any concerns stemming from your GMAT Verbal score.

The other potential opportunity that you could leverage is within your application itself. The essays are a great opportunity to set yourself apart, both through your stories and your style of writing them. This is where we can help. When we start our consulting sessions, we first prepare an application strategy based off your strongest experiences and the attributes to focus on within them based on the program. If developed well, strong essays will meet both your objectives of mitigating any concerns about your communication abilities and presenting those examples that best showcase your fit with the program.

Feel free to drop us a line at mbaconsult@mymbaadmit.com if you would like to discuss your application further. Check out our Application Packages and Volume Discounts tailored to help with your admission needs.