mit / columbia

Question

Hi,

I know this is more of an MBA admissions forum, but curious if anybody knows anything about MSRED degrees.

I'm a 25 y/o male. GMAT = 700 range GPA = 3.2, B.A. Economics from a Top 50 University.

Have worked full time for three years for an interesting debt purchaser and have moved up. Could get very good recommendations. Have already gotten into NYU's MSRE program. How would you rate my odds at MIT or Columbia?

Thank u

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hey there,

A MSRED could make a lot of sense for you. You have the experience you need - that's for sure! And you could knock those professional recommendations out of the park. And while your GMAT isn't awe inspiring your recent burst of proactivity with NYU is definitely going to help. It's also going to get you access to your Academic recommendation (MIT requirement) which is awesome because it's recent AND impactful. Just remember - if you do end up retaking the GMAT certain programs (e.g. MIT) only view the most RECENT score, not the HIGHEST one. So that's a risk.

Overall, it's going to come down to your statement of purpose - can you clearly and convincingly articulate why you need this degree? If so, you've got most of the other bases covered!

Bhavik

surfin · Answer

Thanks a lot for the reply. Very helpful.

Any idea what the class profiles are like? It's very hard to find any information online, but what I've seen is that the average GMAT is around 650, which would put me comfortably above average. Do you think my low-ish GPA hurts me? Or does my work experience cancel that out?

Thanks again

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hi there - you're very welcome! From a GMAT perspective, you should be good to go. Your GPA is definitely a bit of a concern and i would like to see you take some of those classes simply from that perspective. But that postpones your plans. So being able to say you have it on deck is probably the best of both worlds. Your experience is what's really going to be the differentiator in your profile and you're going to have to take advantage of that.

surfin · Answer

Should I start NYU? Not sure I understand. From your experience, which of the two (MIT/Columbia) is easier to get into?

CriticalSquare · Answer

Yeah - what I'm saying is it might make the most sense to go in parallel. And if you don't get in this year (for whatever reason) you're still set up for a reapplicant position but given what you've got going on, it would make sense to apply now. Because while you could take some NYU courses before you start next fall, I doubt you want to take an additional year of them! As for which is easier - that's splitting hairs to be honest. They're both REALLY REALLY good and at that point, picking which might be easier is a game in name only.

surfin · Answer

I think I'm going to go with your advice, and go ahead and apply now to these two programs. How would you rate my odds?

CriticalSquare · Answer

Sorry for the delay - the email got a bit buried! I'd say your chances are pretty good - you have the right stuff to play at the table and that's a big part of the equation. How well you do will come down to how well you can articulate your goals! After all, these programs take in ~30 students so the musical chairs competition is pretty significant.

Bhavik

Bhavik

surfin · Answer

Put my application into MIT last week and am set to submit my Columbia app. today. Decided to defer the NYU acceptance to see whether I get into MIT or Columbia.

I did NOT mention NYU in either of my application statements of purpose. Just seemed out of place and a bit of a "name drop." Do you think that's a mistake? Should I find a way to squeeze it in to my Columbia essay last minute?

Also, the Columbia statement calls for "approximately 500 words," but as it stands, my essay is at about 620. Is that okay?

Thanks again!

CriticalSquare · Answer

No, you don't want to name drop Stern into your Columbia essay. It's awkward in real life, it would be awkward in your essay

As for your essay - it's a little long. Our rule of thumb is 10%/5%. Not less than 90% of the suggested length, and not over by more than 5%. I'm sure other firms use other rules, but that is ours. But no matter who you talk to, 24% over the word limit is...excessive. Good luck!

surfin · Answer

Well, it's not a word "limit"... they just say "approximately 500 words".

(Also, it's not Stern - talking about M.S. Real Estate degrees, not M.B.A.s)

Thanks again!!

CriticalSquare · Answer

Ha - sorry, been heads down with R2 apps here and Stern's deadline was one of the ones this week! As for the limit / suggestion - that's semantics. It might not be a hard cut off (some schools institute that) but if they didn't want you to follow the suggestion they wouldn't have offered one in the first place. Remember - the more words you write, the more they have to read. So your additional words need to add value! And that's the reason why, for most folks, what they say in 650 they can say in 500.

You're welcome and good luck!

Bhavik

You're welcome and good luck!

Bhavik

mit / columbia

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