NuancedNoob wrote:
Hello Everyone,
Long time lurker on the forum here.
I started studying for the GMAT in April and took the exam in August, scoring a 740.
This was stronger than anticipated and I am now considering applying this cycle as opposed to next year.
I am about to be 24 years old and graduated from a top 30 undergrad in May 2019, double majoring in Economics and Public Policy with minor in History. GPA 3.2. During my undergrad experience, I served in leadership roles in a diverse set of extracurricular clubs such as Special Olympics, Accounting club, Honors Fraternity, etc.
During college, I gained about 2 years of internship and part-time work experience in automotive, investment banking, marketing, and government contracting. Upon graduating, I began a full-time position with a major automotive manufacturer that I interned with the summer before. I work in the sales operations department as an area manager, a job I probably wouldn't have gotten if it weren't for the internship. I received a promotion rapidly in November 2019 and regularly post exceptional performance numbers, edging out more experienced colleagues regularly. I also interact with directors in my company regularly and have received recognition multiple times from VP's. I am anticipating another promotion within 6 months. Cars are my personal passion and I love being able to work this into my career.
I wish to stay in the automotive/transportation industry upon completion of my MBA but hope to be working on much bigger picture concepts. I foresee many changes taking place in the automotive industry such as the transition to electric vehicles, autonomous driving, digitization of retailing, and more. All of the major consulting firms have departments focusing on the future of mobility for our society. I would love to work for one of these firms as a consultant and help shape the future of how our society moves and how companies adapt to the incoming industry shifts. However, I lack many hard and soft skills needed to get into these roles. A top tier MBA would give me the skills, experience, and networking needed to get into these roles.
I will be at a little over 1.5 years of experience at application and 2.25 at matriculation.
I have received mixed feedback on whether I am qualified for an MBA and if it is too early in my career. I am very certain on my career path and have been for a long time.
I would appreciate any feedback from the community.
Target Schools: Northwestern Kellogg, Berkley Haas, UVA Darden, UMich Ross, Duke Fuqua
Thank you!
Hey NuancedNoob,
Thanks for posting! Nice work on the GMAT, that will keep a lot of doors open for you as you navigate the process in the next year or two.
Based on what you have posted, I would personally wait at least one year, perhaps two, before applying. 1.5 at application is not quite enough, as the average age at many of the top schools is going to be around 27-29. Not to say being young is a disadvantage, but schools prefer you have at least 3 years of experience before applying. Again, each application and each decision is unique.
My advice would be to keep moving up quickly within your company and continue to build strong relationships with your senior managers. Applying with an extra promotion (or two!) is going to be crucial in this process. Waiting another 1-2 years also allows you to accomplish more, build your knowledge base, and actually put you in better shape to recruit once you get into school. MBB will want to see you've had tangible accomplishments in your work experience and it's simply hard to be impactful so soon out of undergrad.
Let me know if these make sense, happy to chat if you have any follow-up questions -
scott@personalmbacoach.com Regards,
close
01 Oct 2020, 15:08
