Dear All,
I am a south african citizen but currenly working in investment strategy (but open to move to banking/consulting) for a niche firm in London and been wanting to move to the US for the last few months. After some chats, i was advised that directly getting a job (in banking or consulting) is close to impossible as i would need to be sponsored and I am much better off doing my MBA at a US school which should land me a job.
So did gmat last year (620), applied to quite a few schools in R2...got waitlisted at Tepper/Georgetown/Mccombs...re-took GMAT and got 690!!:). UNFORTUNATELY, that wasnt good enough to get admitted which was very disappointing as i was sure that if i got waitlisted at 620, i should get accepted at 690. However, I have been accepted at Maryland...and i could tell from the interview itself that they loved me so wasnt surprised with the offer.
So the question is:
1) Do i accept Maryland (something i need to decide asap to sort out visa etc.), graduate in 2018 and find a job afterwards
2) Wait to apply in R1 for 2017 with my improved score with the view to get admitted at a better school (no guarantee that i will get admitted). Also, in the meantime, try to job hunt directly in US through contacts/networking/referrals. If i get a job, great..else have MBA as the fallback option
So i have NO idea what to do:(
The second option seems the more sensible option but then i ask myself, is the gamble of getting into a better school worth it? will a better school make a big difference to job prospects post-MBA. Looking at employment reports, maryland seems to have a good job offer rate but i guess every university advertises it that way.
The other factor in my thinking is that i am turning 30 this year and since i have decided to move to the US and re-start my life there (after a break-up unfortunately), id rather do it sooner rather as opposed to wait for another year...
Sharing both my personal and professional dilemmas:-/
Thanks in advance for any guidance!
Regards