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WantGMAT800
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 15 Jan 2011, 07:16
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Hello friends! :)
I've got another interesting question here. If you had to make a choice between spending, say 20 hours a week preparing for GMAT and TOEFL, writing essays and doing other things relating to application process or splitting these hours by half to be engaged in private small business, what would you do?
I mean, how does admission board view being an entrepreneur? Or it depends whether my business is successful or not? But I can say it is anyway, can't I?... Thanks for replies in advance!
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 15 Jan 2011, 12:09
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WantGMAT800
Hello friends! :)
I've got another interesting question here. If you had to make a choice between spending, say 20 hours a week preparing for GMAT and TOEFL, writing essays and doing other things relating to application process or splitting these hours by half to be engaged in private small business, what would you do?
I mean, how does admission board view being an entrepreneur? Or it depends whether my business is successful or not? But I can say it is anyway, can't I?... Thanks for replies in advance!
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You don't want to sacrifice preparing for the GMAT and your applications at the expense of some part-time endeavor. Being an entrepreneur can help you but you need to have a history of success, or, at the minimum, a history of running a business. Starting a business and then applying to schools might raise some questions. Yes, you can always say you are successful but success, or lack thereof, will be evident in your essays and/or during interviews. Realistically, most entrepreneurial endeavors take some time to develop and be successful.

Engage in a small business for your sake and not for admissions sake.
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 15 Jan 2011, 13:45
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lagomez


You don't want to sacrifice preparing for the GMAT and your applications at the expense of some part-time endeavor. Being an entrepreneur can help you but you need to have a history of success, or, at the minimum, a history of running a business. Starting a business and then applying to schools might raise some questions. Yes, you can always say you are successful but success, or lack thereof, will be evident in your essays and/or during interviews. Realistically, most entrepreneurial endeavors take some time to develop and be successful.

Engage in a small business for your sake and not for admissions sake.
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Thanks for dropping in, lagomez.
I think your last comment is the answer I was looking for :).
But still, when you're dwelling on the benefits and risks of entrepreneurial activity you want to take in account every possible detail. Basically, the answer should have been:
For how many people running a small business has actually helped to get to a dream school by outweighting drawbacks like low GMAT score, a lack of international or substantial work experience, strong educational background etc? If there are such, I would be glad to hear your story.
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 15 Jan 2011, 13:50
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lagomez

You don't want to sacrifice preparing for the GMAT and your applications at the expense of some part-time endeavor. Being an entrepreneur can help you but you need to have a history of success, or, at the minimum, a history of running a business. Starting a business and then applying to schools might raise some questions. Yes, you can always say you are successful but success, or lack thereof, will be evident in your essays and/or during interviews. Realistically, most entrepreneurial endeavors take some time to develop and be successful.

Engage in a small business for your sake and not for admissions sake.
Show more

I agree with the above. Pursue your venture if it's an idea you believe in and if you're comfortable taking the risks necessary to make it happen. Don't do it just to bolster your application; that will be transparent.

As for the feasibility of it all, I can offer you my experience: I managed to study for the GMAT while working a full time (+) job and running my own business. And I got a 99th percentile score. So it can certainly be done.
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 15 Jan 2011, 13:52
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lagomez


You don't want to sacrifice preparing for the GMAT and your applications at the expense of some part-time endeavor. Being an entrepreneur can help you but you need to have a history of success, or, at the minimum, a history of running a business. Starting a business and then applying to schools might raise some questions. Yes, you can always say you are successful but success, or lack thereof, will be evident in your essays and/or during interviews. Realistically, most entrepreneurial endeavors take some time to develop and be successful.

Engage in a small business for your sake and not for admissions sake.

Thanks for dropping in, lagomez.
I think your last comment is the answer I was looking for :).
But still, when you're dwelling on the benefits and risks of entrepreneurial activity you want to take in account every possible detail. Basically, the answer should have been:
For how many people running a small business has actually helped to get to a dream school by outweighting drawbacks like low GMAT score, a lack of international or substantial work experience, strong educational background etc? If there are such, I would be glad to hear your story.
Show more

Define low GMAT score. Additionally, which schools are you targeting?

The key is to have good leadership experience. For example, you start a business and you have to manage 20 people vs. starting a business and managing 1 person. In other words, will you get lots of leadership exposure?
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 16 Jan 2011, 03:39
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skahuh


I agree with the above. Pursue your venture if it's an idea you believe in and if you're comfortable taking the risks necessary to make it happen. Don't do it just to bolster your application; that will be transparent.

As for the feasibility of it all, I can offer you my experience: I managed to study for the GMAT while working a full time (+) job and running my own business. And I got a 99th percentile score. So it can certainly be done.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, skahuh!
Have you posted your debrief on this website? What was the basic strategy and sources you used?

lagomez

Define low GMAT score. Additionally, which schools are you targeting?

The key is to have good leadership experience. For example, you start a business and you have to manage 20 people vs. starting a business and managing 1 person. In other words, will you get lots of leadership exposure?
Show more

I haven't yet taken the GMAT, as I have been both studying and working full time, but my university degree will be acquired in a week, so I will have more time to devote to GMAT and TOEFl. Low GMAT score for me would be 600 as I'm set to get above 700.
I'm pinning my hopes to be enrolled into HBS, LBS, Stanford or as the second best it would be Insead, IE and Hong Kong UST Business School.
I'm at the crossroads now trying to figure out how should I continue my journey called life :). I'm from Ukraine, a country that is ranked 152 among worlds most economically developed countries. The likelihood of getting into one of those schools are pretty much poor. Besides, few of my friends believe I should opt for this way Perhaps, for these reasons I ask somewhat weird questions.

I take the view that leadership is not only about managing people, it's about leading people. Organising a class of English and hosting it would be a good example of leadership, wouldn't it? No doubt that deciding whether your company should operate in Australia or Russia manifests leadership much more than my example.
Does it matter if you're managing 20 people working for somebody and 5 working for yourself? I think it does. The second is harder to achieve.
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 16 Jan 2011, 10:33
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WantGMAT800

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, skahuh!
Have you posted your debrief on this website? What was the basic strategy and sources you used?
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No, I didn't post a debrief. Nothing too special to tell. I took the 9-week Manhattan GMAT class and worked exclusively on the quantitative material, as I was scoring in the 99th percentile on the verbal section from the first practice test. The MGMAT quant materials were all I needed to get my math skills up to speed, but I can't really speak to the verbal material's effectiveness.

Good luck!
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 16 Jan 2011, 14:34
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I think if you're trying to start a start-up for strictly admissions reasons, adcoms can and will smell it from a mile away. Similar to people who try to pad their backgrounds by suddenly volunteering with non-profits just a few months before applying (and have no ECs in undergrad).

That said, personally for me I think my entrepreneurial background helped me stand out amongst my peers and counter my average gpa/gmat. I started my own small business 4 years ago and have been fortunate enough to grow it year after year. That on top of progressing in my full time job, and developing another web community (this one a non-profit that aligns close with one of my biggest passions in undergrad).

In the bigger picture, make sure that what you tell to the adcoms make logical sense. Why did you start your business? Why now, why an MBA, why their school? The more you can convey to them that your story connects and an MBA is the next logical step for you, the less assumptions they'll make.

Best of luck with your apps!
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does being an entrepreneur help get admission? 18 Jan 2011, 23:24
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thisguy310, skahuh
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, mates! Appreciate that!
Best of luck to you! :)