MBA/Masters admission prospects without a job for 2 months

Hi Au15,

I agree that since you are asking an admissions-based question, you should reach out to one of the many admissions consultants here on GMAT Club.

Regarding your GRE, do you need any advice on your study plan?

Au15, you should explain gaps in employment that are two months or longer using an optional essay or on their data forms. As the adcom will simply want to know what an applicant was doing during a period of unemployment, applicants should show that they made productive use of this time.
Candidates applying to business schools who are not currently employed are in a trickier situation, as business schools view themselves as career accelerators rather than career jump-starters but it's not impossible. You should not present unemployment as the reason for applying to school or you should not suggest that you are not presently looking for work due to the need to devote time to their MBA applications which may be a major red flag.

Au15

You are going to be shooting yourself in the foot applying to Business Schools without a job. They don't want to have to explain to recruiters why you have a gap on your resume and it's just going to be something that will make you less marketable and a red flag to them. Sorry for the bad news but this is the fact, I would hate for you to lose your source of income and also weaken your chances of admit.

For their rankings and all of that they need to make sure that you will have an easy time of getting an internship at a full-time job. I think I read that you were in New York? you might consider doing the EA and applying to Columbia and Stern. It is kind of like a GMAT light.

If that isn't a possibility then I would honestly just focus on round 1 for next cycle and approach the test in a more gradual way. People that I have worked with on GMAT prep who have crazy work hours make terrific progress by getting up 1 hour earlier each day, rather than trying to make something big happen at the end of the day when you are completely spent. It's amazing how much you can honestly get done if you're just repping it out everyday with a focused objective.

It would also be a good idea to take the highway by getting a tutor and anything else that might accelerate your progress.

At this point you should really have your test score settled and should be putting your full focus on applications anyways in order to be competitive. With a moderate work schedule you should really have at least two months set aside to do the best job possible on that, considering where you are with introspection and resume updates.

Another year of work experience will not be devastating as long as it adds value. If you feel like it's not possible for you to prepare for a test and handle the lengthy application process in your current job you might want to first turn your attention to finding a job where your hours are going to be a bit more reasonable but that job will still be a job that is moving in the direction of your post-mba goal.

Hope this helps!


Posted from my mobile device

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts on this. I most definitely plan to take up a full time job after taking the GRE in Dec. If I study and take the exam for a professional certification like the PMP or CAPM, will that be good enough to explain the 2 months gap?

Thanks!
AU