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dynastyss
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Taking a break from work- looks bad for an application? 14 Mar 2013, 10:16
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Hey guys,

So I am thinking of taking 3-6 months off and riding around the world on my motorcycle. I figure I would have worked for nearly 3 years at a great tech start up in NYC and have graduated from a solid university with a high GPA, and I deserve to have a bit of an adventure.

Before I go, I wanted to take my GMAT and ensure I got the right score. That way I could come back and apply to schools or re-enter the work force. My question is, will this look poorly on my business school application? I am trying to do top 10 and don't want to jeopardize anything.

Thanks
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Taking a break from work- looks bad for an application? 14 Mar 2013, 10:36
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Not at all -- a great life experience that you can showcase correctly will really enhance and distinguish your candidacy. We worked with a candidate two years ago who took a sabbatical from work to sail from the US to the UK. After her adventure, there was no shortage of content for her application.

Good luck and have fun.

Kimberly Plaga
Senior Admissions Consultant
Manhattan Review

Call for a free candidacy assessment.
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Taking a break from work- looks bad for an application? 14 Mar 2013, 10:38
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dynastyss
Hey guys,

So I am thinking of taking 3-6 months off and riding around the world on my motorcycle. I figure I would have worked for nearly 3 years at a great tech start up in NYC and have graduated from a solid university with a high GPA, and I deserve to have a bit of an adventure.

Before I go, I wanted to take my GMAT and ensure I got the right score. That way I could come back and apply to schools or re-enter the work force. My question is, will this look poorly on my business school application? I am trying to do top 10 and don't want to jeopardize anything.

Thanks
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Hard to say, honestly. While I think it would be a huge risk, I'll defer to admissions consultants who may have seen others take the same path. Have you considered doing your grand adventure after you're admitted? I think it's much, much more logical to take 3-6 months off just before school rather than do that and then have to apply and reenter the workforce.

Just my two cents.
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Taking a break from work- looks bad for an application? 14 Mar 2013, 11:15
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I will concur with kingfalcon’s advice; do the adventure after your admittance.

Think from a logistic stand point. If you do a 3-6 months trip, you will likely be either unemployed or seeking employment at time of application. B-school application is a time-consuming process, compounding it with learning a new job or job hunting may lower your application quality.

If you can, try to stay at the same start up. If not, move to a different job that makes logical sense.
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Taking a break from work- looks bad for an application? 14 Mar 2013, 11:55
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This is a topic I wanted advise myself. I quit my job couple of months back. Due to an accident. Under normal circumstances, any work place should have considered "leave of work" on emergency grounds, since it happened inside work premise. Unfortunately, it did not happen that way. so I quit. Still recovering. However, in the meantime, I have got into entrepreneurship. Next month, I will be co founding a workshop with an underprivileged person of my community. The purposes were manifold - I needed to work on something, can socially help a person, and lastly it is great to open something of our own, even if it is not of my related work field and not on very large scale yet - but from business plan, to fund manage, marketing etc it seems like I am using every cent of my 12 years work experience. Having said that, I do have a bit of insecurity, since the way I left my job - getting reference from the employer looks impossible.

Will appreciate feedback if this move will disrupt my profile presentation in any ways....
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Taking a break from work- looks bad for an application? 09 Apr 2013, 23:59
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asimov
I will concur with kingfalcon’s advice; do the adventure after your admittance.

Think from a logistic stand point. If you do a 3-6 months trip, you will likely be either unemployed or seeking employment at time of application. B-school application is a time-consuming process, compounding it with learning a new job or job hunting may lower your application quality.

If you can, try to stay at the same start up. If not, move to a different job that makes logical sense.
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I have a situation on somewhat similar grounds, I will be leaving my current company in the last week of May(after over 7 years at the same company). Since I am targeting the June round of applications I would be still working when these applications go in. Now some of the business schools I am applying for (if I get through) start in September so I think searching for a new job/or even joining for 3 months would be unfair to the employer.However some of my target schools start in Jan 2014 (though applications are in June) and here again if I dont consider joining a new employer for the previous reason, then I may not be able to justify it for a 6 month gap. I am not very concerned about the effort required along with application prep to get myself another job however I am concerned about the short term I would end up working with my next employer (if accepted). And if I do decide that I should perhaps just take the break, how can I justify it to the adcom for January 14 intakes?Any suggestions for making this break tangible(please note I can only indicate a plan to adcom for June - Dec as the applications go in June)?

Any recommendations on what I should do?Any thoughts would be most appreciated!
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Taking a break from work- looks bad for an application? 10 Apr 2013, 05:19
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vsub08
asimov
I will concur with kingfalcon’s advice; do the adventure after your admittance.

Think from a logistic stand point. If you do a 3-6 months trip, you will likely be either unemployed or seeking employment at time of application. B-school application is a time-consuming process, compounding it with learning a new job or job hunting may lower your application quality.

If you can, try to stay at the same start up. If not, move to a different job that makes logical sense.

I have a situation on somewhat similar grounds, I will be leaving my current company in the last week of May(after over 7 years at the same company). Since I am targeting the June round of applications I would be still working when these applications go in. Now some of the business schools I am applying for (if I get through) start in September so I think searching for a new job/or even joining for 3 months would be unfair to the employer.However some of my target schools start in Jan 2014 (though applications are in June) and here again if I dont consider joining a new employer for the previous reason, then I may not be able to justify it for a 6 month gap. I am not very concerned about the effort required along with application prep to get myself another job however I am concerned about the short term I would end up working with my next employer (if accepted). And if I do decide that I should perhaps just take the break, how can I justify it to the adcom for January 14 intakes?Any suggestions for making this break tangible(please note I can only indicate a plan to adcom for June - Dec as the applications go in June)?

Any recommendations on what I should do?Any thoughts would be most appreciated!
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What I would suggest if possible is to send in all your applications BEFORE you quit. That way you don't need to let them know about it, or even worry what they might think about it.
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Taking a break from work- looks bad for an application? 10 Apr 2013, 06:13
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vsub08
asimov
I will concur with kingfalcon’s advice; do the adventure after your admittance.

Think from a logistic stand point. If you do a 3-6 months trip, you will likely be either unemployed or seeking employment at time of application. B-school application is a time-consuming process, compounding it with learning a new job or job hunting may lower your application quality.

If you can, try to stay at the same start up. If not, move to a different job that makes logical sense.

I have a situation on somewhat similar grounds, I will be leaving my current company in the last week of May(after over 7 years at the same company). Since I am targeting the June round of applications I would be still working when these applications go in. Now some of the business schools I am applying for (if I get through) start in September so I think searching for a new job/or even joining for 3 months would be unfair to the employer.However some of my target schools start in Jan 2014 (though applications are in June) and here again if I dont consider joining a new employer for the previous reason, then I may not be able to justify it for a 6 month gap. I am not very concerned about the effort required along with application prep to get myself another job however I am concerned about the short term I would end up working with my next employer (if accepted). And if I do decide that I should perhaps just take the break, how can I justify it to the adcom for January 14 intakes?Any suggestions for making this break tangible(please note I can only indicate a plan to adcom for June - Dec as the applications go in June)?

Any recommendations on what I should do?Any thoughts would be most appreciated!

What I would suggest if possible is to send in all your applications BEFORE you quit. That way you don't need to let them know about it, or even worry what they might think about it.
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Thanks Jon for your input. I am aiming to do the same however most of the applications in the work experience tab ask for how many years/months of work experience one would have at the time of joining the school, wouldnt the break then reflect here?