Tepper now or wait another year

Question

Hello,

I need your opinion. I'm accepted at Tepper. I was waitlisted in Berkeley and Kellogg but not admitted. I am from the middle east and I work in asset management, and I intend to continue working in asset management after graduation. I'm 32.. and I think I was not accepted at Kellogg or Berkeley because my GMAT score was below average. Should I go for Tepper this year or wait another year to reapply to Berkeley or Kellogg. My main concern is "Do asset managers or Hedge funds like Tepper MBA graduates??"

Thanks

)

MBAPrepCoach · Answer

Hi Mariam, first of all, I'm a big fan of going directly to your market. Get in touch with a half dozen asset management recruiters, and find out if Tepper will open the right doors. https://gmatclub.com/blog/2016/02/what-i ... anagement/

Normally I would say retake the GMAT and shoot for next year, however the fact that you're thirty-two does play a role in this. With admit ages trending downward, that's going to have a negative impact on your chances. It's a bit of a gamble in many ways.

Do you feel there's opportunity for improvement with regards to the GMAT? Did you work with somebody one-on-one? Also, did you work with an admissions consultant on preparing your applications? If you didn't do either of these things I think you probably left money on the table with regards to getting into the best business school possible.

Did you apply to schools that were somewhat between Haas/Kellogg and Tepper, ie Ross or Duke or Darden...?

On the plus side, being a woman from the Middle East had a positive impact on your ability to even get wait-listed I'm sure. I helped a woman your age from Saudi Arabia, with a non-business background get into Duke with a 650, fairly recently, and while I feel her essays were strong, I'm sure that her gender and citizenship brought diversity to the program and had a positive impact on her acceptance chances.

Those are the factors I feel are at play here. Interested in hearing your responses.

Farrell Dyan Hehn, MBA
Admissions Consultant & Verbal Strategist MBAPrepCoach.com

MariamCFA · Answer

Hi Farrell,

Thanks for your reply. I'll do as you suggested and try to get in touch with asset management recruiters. 
Regarding your questions, I think I can improve my GMAT score by doing more practice but I'd say that I can get 660-680 max. My score was 620. I didn't work with someone one-on-one, it was all my single effort. Also, I did all my applications on my own. Between Haas/Kellogg I applied only to Stern but in round 3, I wasn't accepted without even being wait-listed. 
Do you think there is a big difference between Tepper and Duke?

Mo2men · Answer

Hi Mariam,

Congrats for Tapper. However, it seems you have low GMAT score which needs to improve. Also, I do not think that Tepper is a feeder to asset management. please review the link below:

https://tepper.cmu.edu/recruiters-and-co ... cs/finance

I have a question about your school choices . Why did you choose Haas and Kellogg, Tapper? what were your criteria??

I totally agree with Farrell about the chances for reasons mentioned above.

MBAPrepCoach · Answer

Thanks  Mo2men  for pulling the employment stats -  MariamCFA  it doesn't appear the odds are good for Asset Mgmt at Tepper and it might not even make sense to reach out to them, given this information.

MBAPrepCoach · Answer

MariamCFA - I would really recommend that you strive to break the 700 mark, which is general the threshold for IB, and I imagine often the same for AM. I do think you could improve a lot by working with a coach who can 1) Observe your patterns, what you might be doing that is limiting you and 2) Guide you in applying a specific strategy for each question type, that you can take into the testing room. I would love to help you with that on the verbal side. Also, 50% of candidates work with and admissions consultant and if you don't, I think it's difficult to get the perspective and coaching needed to put together a well-branded narrative. It's a distinct advantage. I think you should go for next year, if you are committed to AM, and give it your ALL in terms of the GMAT and the applications. Because after this year, you might be perceived as a bit too old. My recommendation, given your age, would be to apply to some European like INSEAD, LBS, Cambridge maybe HEC where slightly older applicants are more welcomed. https://news.efinancialcareers.com/us-en ... t-banking/ Also, apply to Duke, Yale, Cornell and maybe reapply to Stern. To answer your question, yes, I do think there is a big difference between Duke and Tepper. There is a bit of a halo effect from their #1 ranking from Business Week a couple years ago. But I think Duke is regarded as a top business school and Tepper seen as somewhat below. That being said, Tepper is not defecto easier to get in. One of my clients 2 years ago got an interview at Haas, and admitted to Ross & Stern but was WL at Tepper. When you applied to Stern, was it round 3 or round 4? They are very sensitive to being the backup school so if you don't REALLY show a focused interest in their program that show you will say YES if asked - it's difficult to get in there with a low GMAT score, despite the citizenship and gender diversity you would bring. I agree it's odd that Stern rejected you without interview but you were WL at Kellogg & Haas. I know that Kellogg and Haas WL candidates as a strong hint saying we want you but you gotta pull up your GMAT score, OK? Alternatively, it could be that someone with your profile applied to Stern, but did not at Haas and Kellogg One of my Stern admitted past clients is doing an IB internship right now and he did not have a great profile (no extracurriculars, no hobbies, 3.0 GPA, massively overrepresented as Indian IT male) but we did develop his interest in NYC, where he has previously lived. Here's one of the essays we submitted, he's allowed me to share them, kindly. He switched his interests from AI/entrepreneurship to IB once he got to NYU.. https://www.mbaessaycoaching.com/wp-cont ... -Stern.pdf It probably also helped that the interviews at Stern are NOT blind, he comes across well and is very likeable. He did have a 730 GMAT, not out of this world for an Indian, but solid and making him recruitable by IB. Hope this helps. I would be interested in working with you to accomplish this. My email is farrell@mbaprepcoach.com if you would like to set up a time to Skype. Farrell

Mo2men · Answer

Hi MariamCFA

Farrell gave you an example of Saudi student. Here is another example of Egyptian one who did not gave up applying for Harvard.

https://poetsandquants.com/2014/11/21/wh ... ship-game/

My advice is to consider applying to schools that focus on assets management. You need to search inside each school employment report. As a start, you can focus on 10-15 schools. Most importantly to search about your fit. Do you like small or big classes? Do you prefer a school in big city or remote locations?..etc

Then think about crafting strong essays and submitting powerful rec. letters. The interview is another component you need to practice.

Good luck

Tepper now or wait another year

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards