Should I Target Lower Ranked MBA Programs?

Question

Hello,

Two years ago I applied to four top schools (Booth, HBS, Ross, Kellogg) and was waitlisted by two schools, but then rejected eventually. I used an MBA consulting service and was very disappointed. I'm thinking about reapplying again and am wondering was I shooting too high the first time? Is this a trap a lot of people are falling into?

I've read so many articles that say an MBA is only worth it if you go to a top school. I think this makes people go for schools out of their range. My thoughts were that if I didn't get in I would just save $100,000 and it would be a win-win... WRONG! After spending around 300 hours on GMAT study, applications, events, etc. I was really ready to go back to school and was crushed when it didn't happen.

So here are my stats: 
- 710 GMAT (44Q 44V)
- 3.5 GPA from large, top 10 state school
- 5 years experience in IT for large printing company (was 3 years)
- 2 volunteer organizations - no leadership roles - active in alumni network
- Double majored: BBA in Management and Insurance
- Looking to move into consulting focused in technology

The schools I'm thinking about targeting now are: Booth, Haas, Johnson, Darden, Tepper, and U of Wash- Foster.

What does this community think? Swap out some schools for lower choices (to help me and not just up your odds... hahaha)?Specifically, I was thinking of applying just to Booth, Tepper, Foster, and another safety. Maybe even as low a rank as DePaul.

Also, what does everyone think my chances are at Haas, Johnson, Darden, and Tepper?

Thanks in advance,

An optimist quickly turning pessimistic

fudgeme · Answer

Why isn't Sloan, McCombs, and Stanford on your list? Why is Booth on your list?

I think there are several reasons why they turned you down:
1. You only had 3 years of experience at the time.
2. You somehow ended up in IT when your undergrad is in... insurance? How come? What happened? What exactly do you do in your job?
3. Your GMAT Quant is 44 for a guy with an undergrad in insurance and who has professional experience in IT. I would expect 47+.
4. Can't see anything outstanding extracurricularly

My guess is you are 27 years old? If so, just wait two more years and apply when you are 29. But make sure that during that time you do something outstanding in your extracurricular activities or at your job.

Right now, from looking at your profile I'm asking myself: why would a top 10 program accept this person? What's outstanding about him? How will he contribute to the class?

So it seems to me you just failed to tell a compelling story. Give us more details and perhaps we can help you out. From the few information you provided I'd shoot for McCombs.

An MBA is worth it if your career aligns with the school. The myth that "an MBA is only worth it if it comes from a top school" is only true for MBB and IB. But you are looking for consulting in technology which is more inclined towards the types of Accenture, IBM, and Deloitte.

Do your own research and find out which schools graduate people that end up in those three companies and in technology consulting roles and you will have your top 10 schools.

nelsonpitter · Answer

Targeting lower rank MBA programs is really a bad idea as lower rank MBA programs always lower the opportunities level of an individual. In my opinion, one must go for higher rank MBA programs for better future.

Admissionado · Answer

Well, I think the first thing to do is figure out what went wrong. It's hard to say without reading your actual applications, and getting more detail about your work experience (what were you doing in IT? Coding?) You do come from a tough and overrepresented industry, so it could be that you insufficiently emphasized the business side of things in your application, focusing too much on your actual work experience. But again, without seeing your essays, I'd be just conjecturing upon hypotheticals. In general, I think it's a good idea to reconsider your schools. Roughly, with your background I think you can limit yourself to Top 25 schools, and there's no need for you to go lower. I don't really agree with the poster who wrote not to compromise. Because often not compromising is unrealistic and there are plenty of fantastic schools that turn out fantastic graduates who get fantastic jobs in the top 30 (we're not talking about no-name schools here). In general the strategy I would suggest for this year is: Apply to some of the tougher, dream schools in R1 (say 4-5 schools), and then in R2 apply to your safe school(s) plus some of the more mid-ranked ones. It may be a lot of work and applications, but as you wrote you already put in hundreds of hours. It's worth it! Plus it's one of the best ways to increase your chances. But all of this only works if you figure out what went wrong in the first place. For reapplicants: https://admissionado.com/mba/mba-reapplicant/ Ding Analysis service: https://admissionado.com/mba/services-prices/a-la-carte-services/ding-analysis/ Hope this helps, JF

sahilkakkar · Answer

I think the work exp would make a big difference as that time you only had 3 years exp and now you have 5 years of work exp. But as others pointed out that it would not be possible to tell what was the exact reason you got dinged without having a look at your application.

My two cents : Aim for the top schools(3-4) in R1. You are the best judge of your application, if you felt you could get in 3 years ago I am sure you have better chances now as not only your work exp has increased but so must have your accomplishment which will help you to improve your application overall. And in the R2, you should try 3-4 average schools(Rank 10-30). I know it would be hard work to apply to these many schools but if you get in, then it will all be worth it.

Best of Luck

Badger · Answer

Thanks for the advice everyone!

@fudgeme- tackling your questions in order: 
1- I thought Sloan and Stanford would be too competitive for me. Only wanted to put one top 5 reach in there and chose Booth because Chicago would be my first choice for city, I visited the campus and really liked the program, and it seemed they had some interest in me since I was on their waitlist all summer. I will consider McCombs.

2- I had an internship in college where I implemented a new intranet site for a company. After college I joined a rotational management trainee program and after contributing to a few other departments, requested to work in IT since I enjoy it and have a small amount of background in it. Right now I am a IT project coordinator and Variable Print Programmer (small amount of coding involved). I'm moving into SQL database management soon though.

3. I wish I had a 47+ in quant. I feel like that is the largest weakness in my application.

4. I will be 27 when I start school.

Sounds like from the comments I should stick to my original school targets and not dip into the unknown schools. Putting in about 6 applications seems reasonable.

What have people heard about Yale - SOM? I've been considering them, but they seem like the kind of place where my application would be significantly hurt by going to non-Ivy undergrad. Or is that an unfair assumption?

Also, should I stress that the printing industry experience is unique in my application?

Where is everyone in this thread applying?

Thanks,

MBALongShot

futurectdoc · Answer

I'd add Fuqua to the list if you want consulting. I think that you should aim for about 8 schools so in R1 it's Kellogg (strong in consulting), Dartmouth (same reason), Haas (tech) and Sloan and in R2 Fuqua (strong in consulting), Anderson (consulting/tech), Tepper (might be a good fit) and Darden.

nosoupforyou · Answer

I like this list -- particularly like the addition of Anderson (I'm obviously biased

) but it sounds like it could be a good fit - I think Anderson is extremely diverse and willing to take a 'risk' on people (plus the 1 essay makes it an easy add-on). Personally, I don't think I could do 8 schools, if it were me I wouldn't do Haas (extremely low acceptance rate, for not much increase in prestige vs. Darden, Fuqua, and Anderson). Then I'd start cutting based on geographic preference (e.g. suburban vs. urban).

Should I Target Lower Ranked MBA Programs?

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