admission inquiry

Question

Dear All,
I gave gmat last week and ended up getting 650.my gpa is 3.regarding my work ex- worked for 1.5 years while studying and 6 months thereafter.i am an indian by ethnicity, i completed my bachelors in engineering from mumbai university in june 2010.
i am currently on an L2 visa(dependent for an L1A visa holder,MY Husband) residing in florida.i've not been working since jan 2011,as i got married and moved to different countries adjusting to my husband's job transfers.

could gmatclub mentors,members,guests please brief me how to go further from this point. i have a few questions
1.which is the earliest semester i can apply for?
2.do all schools have fall and spring semesters?
3. will i be considered as an international student or out of state student?
4.which are the universities i can apply with my score?
5.should i consider retaking the gmat to better my score?(as 650 is the lowest i've got in my mock tests.range-640-740 in some 25 tests)
6.how helpful is having a green-card ,as we are expecting to get it in a few months( 6-8 months)?

eagerly awaiting for your reply.I'll be obliged.
thanks in advance.

scorpionz · Answer

1.which is the earliest semester i can apply for?
Technically you could still apply in R3 for Fall 2012. A much safer & better bet would be R1 for Fall 2013.

2.do all schools have fall and spring semesters?
As far as I know, none of the top schools have spring starts. Schools typically begin only in Fall of each year. An exception to this rule at the top of my head is Columbia which has something called as a J-term since they start a batch in January.

3. will i be considered as an international student or out of state student?
International

4.which are the universities i can apply with my score?
The admission process is very holistic in nature. Your work experience, post-MBA career goals, GPA, GMAT, extracurriculars, school research and other aspects such as your leadership skills, team work experiences etc. will all be evaluated to ensure that 1) you have what it takes to be successful post MBA and 2) you will be a good fit with the school. Hence it is impossible to indicate which schools you can apply to with that score. There are folks who have gotten into the best schools of the world with that score and also hundreds of applicants who have been dinged with far better scores...

5.should i consider retaking the gmat to better my score?(as 650 is the lowest i've got in my mock tests.range-640-740 in some 25 tests)
Yes, in my opinion.

6.how helpful is having a green-card ,as we are expecting to get it in a few months( 6-8 months)?
Not helpful from an admissions perspective. Might be helpful post-admission if you're looking to take up a loan..Am not entirely sure about this loan part though.

I would recommend that you create an account on any school's online application portal even if you're not planning to submit an application this year. Have a look at the kind of information that is asked for and that will be a good starting point for your introspection regarding an MBA and beyond.

rrnambiar02 · Answer

thank u so much..

Maverick33 · Answer

I agree with all of scorpionz responses. I just wanted to add two things. For (2), Columbia has a January start date, but is the only school I know of that does... and I don't think it's as easy to be accepted into as the regular cycle. For (6), although it won't directly affect your ability to be admitted, it will make you easier to place in a US job after graduation which is something most schools are concerned with.

novanative · Answer

You can apply anytime you want, but you may be in a good position to apply for Fall 2013 when you have 3 years of work exp.

Yes for a FT program, for a flex part time MBA, you get to create your own schedule.

My assumption is international, but if you have US residency you may be able to be classified as in state for Florida if you go to a public university in Florida.

Again, in theory, you can apply anywhere you want, but you didn't really say which type of program you wanted, or what you wanted to do after school.

Since I would go for Fall 2013 if I were you, I'd take the test one more time and hope for a better score. Most Top 25 full time programs have median GMAT's near or above 700.

I don't think it's going to help or hurt your chances that much.

rrnambiar02 · Answer

thanks for replying

another question: because i dont have a work permit here, i am planning to volunteer for some organization..will working in such organizations as a volunteer be accounted in my work ex. please provide me with some inputs. best wishes,rachana.

novanative · Answer

No, volunteer work is not work experience. You can list it in another area though.

scorpionz · Answer

Rachana,

It's going to be a tough sell..As the poster above mentioned, generally volunteer work is not considered as full time work ex. HOWEVER, in your case, since you are not going to work in any other job full time, you MIGHT be able to pass it off as full time work experience.

It all depends on how you project it to the ad com. If the volunteer work you are planning to do has a direct bearing on your post MBA goals, you can definitely make a case out of it. One of the key requisites for this of course will have to be that you are spending a significant amount of time on a daily basis in this work and not just a few hours a week..You will have to demonstrate that you are seriously pursuing it as a career option and not just to spend your time constructively while you wait for other things to fall in place..

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