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smokesing
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Better for B-School: Marketing or tech? 21 Jan 2013, 00:59
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Hi all:

I was wondering if anyone had some insights/advice for a person with a marketing background to get into a top B-School.

I just graduated from undergrad with a 3.79 GPA (magna cum laude) with two degrees in Marketing and Media Management, and am currently weighing some different job offers/opportunities. Marketing has always been my passion--I have already completed several internships and work experiences with top companies--but I also have a current opportunity to move into the computer science/IT industry, away from my former work in marketing.

I would love nothing more than to get my MBA with a concentration in marketing in a few years to advance my career, but it seems that the vast, vast majority of potential MBAers, based on the profiles on here and on other sites, are in finance, accounting, or tech. My concern is that I will be at a disadvantage when applying to the better B-Schools because my background is not a "typical" one, and I should look to make a move into tech. Will a background in marketing hurt my chances, or might it even help that my background is slightly different?

(A few other stats on me relevant to the discussion: GRE 168q/162v, GMAT practices in the 670-720 range, lots of volunteer and extracurricular experience. While my applications are likely a few years away, Northwestern would be my dream school, but I'm mainly looking at the Indiana-Minnesota-UNC-GT range.)
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Better for B-School: Marketing or tech? 21 Jan 2013, 08:28
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modestautomatic


I just graduated from undergrad with a 3.79 GPA (magna cum laude) with two degrees in Marketing and Media Management, and am currently weighing some different job offers/opportunities. Marketing has always been my passion--I have already completed several internships and work experiences with top companies--but I also have a current opportunity to move into the computer science/IT industry, away from my former work in marketing.


(A few other stats on me relevant to the discussion: GRE 168q/162v, GMAT practices in the 670-720 range, lots of volunteer and extracurricular experience. While my applications are likely a few years away, Northwestern would be my dream school, but I'm mainly looking at the Indiana-Minnesota-UNC-GT range.)
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I think you answered your own question. If you're passionate about marketing, do it. You'll excel and thus build a strong profile despite it being "traditional". My view is that it doesn't matter what you do as long as you do it well - don't go into a field because you think that's what B-schools want to see. It's quite possible the tech guys are going to B-school because they didn't enjoy it as much as they thought they would and now want to make a career change.

Also - don't sell yourself short in school selection. If you get a 700+ GMAT and have a strong track record after 3-4 years of work, no reason you can't aim higher.