How bad is taking time off for two years?

Question

I used to work at bank for three years in my counrty, but I had to quit the job and move to the U.S. because of my husband's work.

It's been two years since I came to the U.S. In other words, I haven't worked for two years.

I heard that MBA doesn't like discontined work experience, so I am worried that I might not be accepted.

In the two years, I went to community college to learn English, took CFA (passed level 2 so far), GMAT, TOEFL.

My GMAT score is 710, TOEFL is 105.

As I said above, I used to work at bank for three years. While working, I achieved many things such as winning the mentorship contest held by my company.

My GPA is 3.9/4.5

Do you think I still have a chance if my sop is great? I don't expect to be accepted by top b-school.

I really want to get into b-school so that I can go back to work.

I 'd like to hear other people's opinions.

polyaris · Answer

It depends on how you sell your story. You can say that you couldn't find the job because of your poor English, so you had to invest your time stydying it and show smth useful you did for this time. Even more, you probably were disadvantaged (b-schools like them!!!) because you had to follow your husband breaking your career. However, you realized that today .... Of course, if this is your case :-)

CUHKMBA · Answer

think the most important thing is how you present your story and yourself to admission officers. seeing from what you've achieved, you have quite good learning ability and aim oriented(?). In addition, a clear career/life goal is also quite important and could be impressive to admission officers.

truk0530 · Answer

I absolutely think this is a case of how you 'frame your story'. The strength of a business school lies in the diversity of its students - if in those 2 years you exposed yourself to new situations, learned something about yourself, or otherwise provided experiences that others can learn from, this can be a huge plus. In fact it could be a differentiator! If you nail your story and articulate why you need to go to business school I think you have a great shot.

MBAAdmissionsCoach · Answer

Hi eybrj2,

I saw this scenario frequently when I was the Director of MBA Admissions.

Are you legally able to work in the US? Sometimes spouses are not able to be legally employed in the US, and admissions committees understand this (and have seen it many times).

If you have been able to legally work in the US, why have you not pursued employment?

The most successful way I've seen managing this situation is an applicant who, while she did work in the US, became very involved in volunteer activities, assuming leadership roles and making significant impact in her community. She gained great experience, had wonderful references and very successfully managed her gap in employment.

I hope this is helpful to you. If I can provide further assistance, contact me. I'll be happy to visit with you.

Wendy

Wendy Flynn
MBA Admissions Coach
[email protected]

How bad is taking time off for two years?

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