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bakfed
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Columbia, Chicago, Kellogg -- choose 1 (i.e. Columbia) as your stretch school

NYU, UCLA, Cornell, Yale -- these should be your focus

USC -- if you are set on LA, this can be an optional school on your list.
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AlexMBAApply
Columbia, Chicago, Kellogg -- choose 1 (i.e. Columbia) as your stretch school

NYU, UCLA, Cornell, Yale -- these should be your focus

USC -- if you are set on LA, this can be an optional school on your list.

Thanks, Alex. I was wondering if you can help shed some light on how traditional business schools, such as the ones I've listed/you've recommended see a shift in career? I've been worried that my biology degree from UCSD will not be reviewed as well as an economics/business degree. I mean, after looking at the class profiles of these schools, you see a huge percentage of people coming from some sort of consulting or banking industry, but only about 4-5% of those came from biotech...let alone a biology degree. What's your opinion on this?

Your time and thoughts are much appreciated.
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It comes down to how well you execute the applications - your essays and interviews. Practically speaking that's what you are limited to -- you can't undo your past, and the fact is, it's pointless to worry about what the adcom thinks about something in your past that you can't change (and again, it's not what you majored in or what your career path has been to date, but whether you are able to convince the adcom that you'd be a great fit in b-school given what you can bring to the table in terms of your experience, goals, etc.).
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Thanks Alex. One last question before I let go of this thread.

I mentioned to presume my GMAT score a 710. What if it's any higher than that? Would that make the list of schools I mentioned any easier to get in? Or there's really no practical difference between a 710 and a, (for example) 750?

Thanks!
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No difference.
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Hi Alex, sorry to revive an old thread of mine.

I was looking into Columbia's ED. Given the same statistics that I presented weeks before, would you recommend ED if my application will be complete prior to opening of submission date given by Columbia? Would that give me more of a chance to be admitted? Or given my stats, you'd rather recommend me go through the regular rounds than going through ED at this point? If so, why is that?

Thanks!
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You can't submit to the Early Decision round before they've actually opened it up for submission (I believe they start taking submissions in Aug 2010).
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Hi Alex, I understand that, sorry I didn't make myself more clear.

Since CBS is rolling admission, I'm sure most people will suggest to submit the application as early as possible. Basically, what my question is if I had my app done before the submission date, would you recommend me submit it on the opening day? My main concern is exactly what ED adcom from CBS is looking for and would I have a better chance to get in CBS by applying ED? Hope that clears my question up a bit.
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By all means submit for the ED round.
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Alex, sorry about reviving an old thread of mine again. I just finished taking my official GMAT and I've scored only 700. Throughout my profile request, I've asked you to assume that I'd score 710+. You did tell me that there's no difference between a 710 and a 750. However, since I've only scored a 700, would you recommend me to retake the GMAT and score over 700 (not at 700)?

Thanks in advance!
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Please read this blog article I wrote about Asians, which should then answer your question:

https://mbaapply.blogspot.com/2010/04/bl ... ences.html
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gotya, thanks, Alex.