Hello,

You've already made impressive progress: 5 years in tech across Big 4 consulting and product management, plus SAFe credentials that show leadership potential.

Your post-MBA pivot into luxury beauty/retail is distinctive, especially for U.S. schools that value niche, consumer-centric career goals. Stern's rejection with an invite to reapply and McDonough's admit validate that you’re on the radar of strong programs. The missing link is a stronger test score; your 315 GRE doesn’t fully reflect your analytical readiness, especially for marketing/strategy tracks at top-tier schools.

If luxury retail is the dream, Stern is a great fit, NYC access, strong retail marketing electives, and industry exposure. I’d seriously consider reapplying Round 1 with a GRE 320+ and refreshed career narrative. In parallel, use the McDonough admit as a strong fallback, it’s a good brand, but the location is less ideal for beauty retail. Let’s hop on a call and plan your reapp strategy with precision.

Ameer Khatri, Admissions Consultant
Schedule a free 1-on-1 call with me for a detailed profile review:
https://calendly.com/ameer-khatri/profi ... th=2025-05

Hi thanks for the feedback! So the thing with my gre I got a 160 verbal and 155 quant and I’m planning on taking it again to send to USC! Also I applied to stern with a waiver that they gave me after going through my college transcript and resume. Yeah I have considered reapplying R1 I think I’m just deciding about Georgetown bc they do have a good retail and luxury club I recently talked to their president and the school is only an hour away from my parents house. They also have lots of people get the Estée Lauder LDP post grad and Estée Lauder is very connected with the school along with a couple other beauty brand alums (glossier). I guess I’m just thinking in my head is it worth waiting another year off of stern telling me to reapply cause then that means I probably would have to switch gears to job searching. If I get USC I think no brainer I will go bc the Tower 28 founder went there and they have connections to lots of indie beauty brands + L’Oréal and Estée Lauder.

I’ll schedule a call for sure!

Hi @prekanda97,

You have a solid profile with 5 years of experience in tech product management and consulting, strong certifications (SAFe), and a unique post-MBA goal in luxury beauty retail - a niche but achievable pivot with the right positioning. Your undergrad from Virginia Tech and a 3.16 GPA are respectable, but your 315 GRE is currently below average for top-tier schools, so I would strong encourage retaking it, especially if aiming for Stern.

Given that Stern encouraged you to reapply and liked elements of your profile, you’re clearly competitive. A GRE score of 325+ and tighter alignment between your story, goals, and past experience would strengthen your reapplication. Georgetown McDonough is a solid option, if you're looking to start soon and want a career pivot. But if Stern is your dream school, it would be worth putting in the effort and reapplying in R1.

Feel free to book a free call with our MBA experts for a more detailed discussion. You can also contact us directly at team.mba@theredpen.com or +91-7780769732.