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27 Apr 2015, 11:05
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hello everyone, first post here as I'm looking to get this application process started well in advance.
First I'd like to say I am interested in applying for business school for admission in either 2017 or 2018. A lot will have to do with my financial status at the time as well as my preparedness with basic knowledge. As an undergrad I majored in History & International Studies in 2010, a major with the expectation I would go back to graduate school down the line. After a yea struggling to find paid work out of college I made the decision to attend law school. It's not a decision I regret, but like so many experiences you only find out it isn't for you until you actually get there. During my time in law school I also experienced a significant personal tragedy (I don't want to elaborate on it on a public message board) and opted took a year off while deciding if I wanted to return. Needless to say it was during my leave of absence that I began to realize my passions were less towards what I could get from law and more from what I could get from business, so to speak. That's what has brought me here.
With that out of the way I want to ask some basic questions that I'm sure have been asked countless times. First, does this brief time going to law school and then withdrawing have a positive, neutral or negative effect on my b-school application? Will ad com look at it and consider my loyalty to a b-school program? It's perhaps my biggest worry, but the aforementioned tragedy in my life is something I'd be willing to discuss openly with them and I hope that would help alleviate some concerns.
As for GMAT, well, we'll get onto that when I take it likely in 2016 or very early 2017.
I finished undergrad with a 3.37 GPA, mostly bogged down by foreign language. I know that doesn't look "great" but in my majors my GPA was quite higher, in fact I had Departmental Honors in History. I hope that positive would outweigh some of the negatives of having a sub-3.5 GPA. Currently I am planning to take some courses at a local community college to fill in some gaps with math courses, all I wound up taking in college was Statistics (I got a B), introductory level business courses, and some economics courses. I'm hoping to take 2 courses a semester, including summer, so that I'll have 6 completed by next spring. With my poor grades in foreign language from undergrad would it be advised I take some foreign language classes as well during this time?
My resume/work experience is another big question mark I have. I've worked since 2004, with only a few breaks (freshman year of undergrad, my year in law school), but I am well aware nearly all of that doesn't really belong on my resume. Since 2013 I've been working in cellular, first as tech support/customer service while I sought a sales position. Currently I'm working a retail sales job, but in my full year there have moved up to being the top sales representative in the store. My manager understands I want to move into leadership/management myself and so my current projects, outside of surpassing monthly sales quotas, have me learning how to handle myself as a member of management. Where my resume is at today I know doesn't look great when held against a lot of other resumes, but given another 2-3 years where I likely move into an assistant or store manager position will it? That's my primary question. It'd be hard to leave this job because of the benefits package I get, tuition reimbursement for my community college courses, as well as having as much upward mobility as I do. If it helps, my goals in b-school are to move from the retail environment more closely into the marketing for cellular or another technology company. As a part-time job for extra money I do substitute teaching locally, ranging from one-day jobs to the occasional multi-week assignments. I plan to continue doing this work as a job in retail sales involves a number of weekends as well as weekdays off where I can fill in the time with a teaching assignment. This isn't a long term professional plan but a job I currently enjoy that provides me with some income as well as experience working with young people, something that can help on just a personal level.
Finally I have recently done volunteer work locally in a conversation partner program with ESL students. I hope and plan to squeeze more volunteer work into my schedule over the next few years, not just for helping my application but because it can be rewarding.
I thank anyone who takes the time to read this post. I'll summarize my three biggest questions currently below. 1) How does withdrawing from law school affect my application? 2) Will taking these classes at community college improve my application beyond just providing me more knowledge? and 3) Does my current line of work in retail sales and management tie in with a path towards b-school?
First I'd like to say I am interested in applying for business school for admission in either 2017 or 2018. A lot will have to do with my financial status at the time as well as my preparedness with basic knowledge. As an undergrad I majored in History & International Studies in 2010, a major with the expectation I would go back to graduate school down the line. After a yea struggling to find paid work out of college I made the decision to attend law school. It's not a decision I regret, but like so many experiences you only find out it isn't for you until you actually get there. During my time in law school I also experienced a significant personal tragedy (I don't want to elaborate on it on a public message board) and opted took a year off while deciding if I wanted to return. Needless to say it was during my leave of absence that I began to realize my passions were less towards what I could get from law and more from what I could get from business, so to speak. That's what has brought me here.
With that out of the way I want to ask some basic questions that I'm sure have been asked countless times. First, does this brief time going to law school and then withdrawing have a positive, neutral or negative effect on my b-school application? Will ad com look at it and consider my loyalty to a b-school program? It's perhaps my biggest worry, but the aforementioned tragedy in my life is something I'd be willing to discuss openly with them and I hope that would help alleviate some concerns.
As for GMAT, well, we'll get onto that when I take it likely in 2016 or very early 2017.
I finished undergrad with a 3.37 GPA, mostly bogged down by foreign language. I know that doesn't look "great" but in my majors my GPA was quite higher, in fact I had Departmental Honors in History. I hope that positive would outweigh some of the negatives of having a sub-3.5 GPA. Currently I am planning to take some courses at a local community college to fill in some gaps with math courses, all I wound up taking in college was Statistics (I got a B), introductory level business courses, and some economics courses. I'm hoping to take 2 courses a semester, including summer, so that I'll have 6 completed by next spring. With my poor grades in foreign language from undergrad would it be advised I take some foreign language classes as well during this time?
My resume/work experience is another big question mark I have. I've worked since 2004, with only a few breaks (freshman year of undergrad, my year in law school), but I am well aware nearly all of that doesn't really belong on my resume. Since 2013 I've been working in cellular, first as tech support/customer service while I sought a sales position. Currently I'm working a retail sales job, but in my full year there have moved up to being the top sales representative in the store. My manager understands I want to move into leadership/management myself and so my current projects, outside of surpassing monthly sales quotas, have me learning how to handle myself as a member of management. Where my resume is at today I know doesn't look great when held against a lot of other resumes, but given another 2-3 years where I likely move into an assistant or store manager position will it? That's my primary question. It'd be hard to leave this job because of the benefits package I get, tuition reimbursement for my community college courses, as well as having as much upward mobility as I do. If it helps, my goals in b-school are to move from the retail environment more closely into the marketing for cellular or another technology company. As a part-time job for extra money I do substitute teaching locally, ranging from one-day jobs to the occasional multi-week assignments. I plan to continue doing this work as a job in retail sales involves a number of weekends as well as weekdays off where I can fill in the time with a teaching assignment. This isn't a long term professional plan but a job I currently enjoy that provides me with some income as well as experience working with young people, something that can help on just a personal level.
Finally I have recently done volunteer work locally in a conversation partner program with ESL students. I hope and plan to squeeze more volunteer work into my schedule over the next few years, not just for helping my application but because it can be rewarding.
I thank anyone who takes the time to read this post. I'll summarize my three biggest questions currently below. 1) How does withdrawing from law school affect my application? 2) Will taking these classes at community college improve my application beyond just providing me more knowledge? and 3) Does my current line of work in retail sales and management tie in with a path towards b-school?
27 Apr 2015, 20:38
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi!
Is this accurate:
Year 1 - Graduated from undergrad, spent 1 year looking for a job
Year 2 - Enrolled in first year of Law School
Year 3 - Year off of Law School - personal situation + realized you didn't want to go back to law school
2013-2015 Working in customer service, sales rep for a cellular provider? Looking to become a store manager in the next 24 months.
First of all I really sympathize with the fact that you graduated in 2010 and into a really **** economic climate. It seems like you're on the right track in the sense that you're being honest with yourself about what you want in life and weren't willing to settle for law school when it didn't feel right to you. That said, my instinct here is that in your current role/career trajectory, it would be very difficult for you to get into a worthwhile MBA program.
I'd be happy to have a look at your resume and have a little chat about different options. Reach out if you want to talk. [email protected]
Is this accurate:
Year 1 - Graduated from undergrad, spent 1 year looking for a job
Year 2 - Enrolled in first year of Law School
Year 3 - Year off of Law School - personal situation + realized you didn't want to go back to law school
2013-2015 Working in customer service, sales rep for a cellular provider? Looking to become a store manager in the next 24 months.
First of all I really sympathize with the fact that you graduated in 2010 and into a really **** economic climate. It seems like you're on the right track in the sense that you're being honest with yourself about what you want in life and weren't willing to settle for law school when it didn't feel right to you. That said, my instinct here is that in your current role/career trajectory, it would be very difficult for you to get into a worthwhile MBA program.
I'd be happy to have a look at your resume and have a little chat about different options. Reach out if you want to talk. [email protected]
28 Apr 2015, 05:11
Kudos
Bookmarks
ctandrsn
To answer your questions:
1) The adcom will take notice of your withdrawal however you can use the essays (especially the optional one) to explain the situation and the reasons behind this decision. It sounds like you have a fairly reasonable explanation for the withdrawal but you need to make sure that you come across sincere and genuine and avoid making excuses for yourself. Many times this part of an application allows you to reflect inwards and determine what went wrong and if you can improve.
2) Taking classes will help (make sure you're getting A's) especially if math has given you problems in the past. MBA curriculum isn't rocket science, however it does require decent quantitative skills. Make sure you can prove to them that the MBA math won't hold you back from being successful in the program (and in business afterwards) by taking quantitative courses and scoring well on the quant section of the GMAT.
3) I can see some connection (especially if you end up as a store manager), but without that promotion it may be a tough sell. Make sure that you understand what the job you want post-MBA entails and that you can accurately describe how an MBA will help you transfer your current skillset and experiences into that new role.
Some final thoughts:
To answer your questions:
1) The adcom will take notice of your withdrawal however you can use the essays (especially the optional one) to explain the situation and the reasons behind this decision. It sounds like you have a fairly reasonable explanation for the withdrawal but you need to make sure that you come across sincere and genuine and avoid making excuses for yourself. Many times this part of an application allows you to reflect inwards and determine what went wrong and if you can improve.
2) Taking classes will help (make sure you're getting A's) especially if math has given you problems in the past. MBA curriculum isn't rocket science, however it does require decent quantitative skills. Make sure you can prove to them that the MBA math won't hold you back from being successful in the program (and in business afterwards) by taking quantitative courses and scoring well on the quant section of the GMAT.
3) I can see some connection (especially if you end up as a store manager), but without that promotion it may be a tough sell. Make sure that you understand what the job you want post-MBA entails and that you can accurately describe how an MBA will help you transfer your current skillset and experiences into that new role.
Some final thoughts:
- It's great that you're active in your community outside of work and that you seem to have identified something that your passionate about and inspires you. Business schools look for those kinds of people especially if they have shown the ability to stand out and lead others to follow in their footsteps. No matter what you end up doing in life, make sure that it's something that you enjoy and that you have a genuine interest in your work's outcome.
- Before you make the leap, make sure you've thoroughly researched the jobs/career you want and that it's both obtainable through an MBA and that there's a good return on investment (ROI). MBA programs are not cheap and you need to make sure it's worth your time, money, and effort. Who knows? Perhaps the job you want is within reach without an MBA. You may just have to wait a little longer or acquire the necessary skills another way.
- On paper it seems that you've been unsure of what you want to do in life and your career in general. Adcoms will question your ability to make important life decisions (like going to business school). Make sure that if business school is the right choice, you can effectively communicate to them your reasons and logic for going to business school utilizing your history and past moments that have brought you here.
- It'd be hard for anyone (especially the people on this forum that troll these threads
) to recommend any target schools for you without a GMAT score. Unfortunately, the GMAT is (IMHO) the biggest indicator for business schools and without that it'd be hard to say which schools you'd have the best shot at. So study hard for the GMAT and good luck! 
