stay at home mom preparing for b-school

Question

Hello everyone,

I am a stay at home mom and currently planning to get back into the industry after a gap of around 10 years. Yes i took the break to take care of kids ,reconciled to become the trailing spouse and give my ambitions a break out of compassion, responsibility and pride. Now everyone is independent and successful in their lives and i have decided to step up and pursue my dreams. The first step was higher education as that was my last thoughts when i quit my job 10 years ago. So i am currently preparing for gmat -target it to get a 700+ score.I didnt come across anyone similar to my situation and have been researching to know more about people who have travelled in the same boat. What are my chances to get into a decent mba program? A little about my background- i am an engineer and have also around 5 years of work experience in risk consulting with the big 4 consulting firms.

Thanks
D

NathalieMathalie · Answer

Hi there, 
So refreshing to see someone in a similar situation! I am finishing up my second maternity leave, and am about half way through applying to my dream school. I too put my ambitions on hold to support my husband through medical school and start a family. 
The business school that I am applying to has been extremely supportive so far. In fact, they view being a mother as an asset. (Lets face it, we have to be organized, resilient, juggle a million tasks, be patient and empathetic, and these are all qualities that they want in their applicants.)
I found the hardest part of this process so far has been studying for the GMAT with a baby and toddler at home. You are an engineer so I don't think you will have a much trouble as I did (I'm in Sales and Marketing). 
I actually reached out to the admissions department, introduced myself and explained my unique situation and asked what score I should target for the GMAT. They emailed back within 20 minutes and arranged a phone call. I have been very pleasantly surprised with the process so far. Being a mother is also a great way to market yourself as different from your peers. A lot of schools seem to be looking for diversity in their applicants.

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bb · Answer

Great point! I have found in my experience, AdCom to be a very helpful group of people. Many are mothers who understand your situation and have been there and will do what’s within their power to help and make the transition possible.

Reaching out is also a great way to build a connection that will help through the application process.

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Reaching out is also a great way to build a connection that will help through the application process.

Posted from my mobile device

divyag9 · Answer

Thank you Nathalie and BB. This has been the most inspiring posts ever. I have been preparing for the gmat with my materials and i have had no one to connect to or understand how to go about the process. Since i am coming back after a gap of 10 years preparing for the exam has been a challenge for me honestly. I will connect with the colleges in my areas to understand what my chances are and how i should align my study goals accordingly. Yes, i agree studying for the gmat has been the toughest part.

NathalieMathalie · Answer

I think you are actually in a really good position to do well on the GMAT. I've heard that engineers with English as their first language have a huge advantage. 
I bought all of the Manhattan prep Quant books and have been studying the math concepts for the past 6 months. The best resources for actual questions and mock tests are the Official Guides and the GMAT tests because they most closely resemble the real thing. I tried Veritas Prep mock tests but found the verbal component to be "off". I've always scored in the 90th percentile for the verbal section, and knew that something wasn't right.

Most importantly, whatever you do, don't give up. I've had so many moments where I thought it would be easier to just continue with the same old routine, but I don't want to look back and regret not giving this my all. We are used to putting ourselves last and compromising, but this is when we get to put ourselves first, and you will be pleasantly surprised with how many people want to help (adcoms, friends, family).

It's also a great example for our kids. The other day my son was trying to explain the difference between an Egyptian mummy and his mommy (he is 3) and he got really frustrated and yelled: "Not the kind of mommy that studies, the other kind!". What a great definition of a mommy!

I'm rewriting my GMAT on Monday, so I'm also in the trenches here. Feel free to reach out any time.

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bb · Answer

Good luck! Kids can be hard and I feel if you can handle kids all day long, you have the stamina to handle BSchool Application no problem. 
P.S. I have given 6-month subscriptions to the GMAT Club tests for both of you (Nathalie, you also got a refund on your original purchase).

Good Luck!

AkshdeepS · Answer

Great gesture BB.

NathalieMathalie · Answer

Wow thank you bb! Another example of the amazing support offered to us. Moms will start taking over business schools if you keep this up.

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AweG · Answer

Wow first congrats for both of your decisions its a tough decision to make! making it to 700+ with your experience in math and big 4 work experience i believe you will ace the gmat for sure. Gmatclub is the most full and comprehensive resource you will need are you searching for mbas in europe asia or usa ?

Gnpth · Answer

@bb- Great gesture!!

All the best for both of you.  divyag9  and  NathalieMathalie  .

divyag9 · Answer

Thank you everyone for the inspiration and tremendous support. Messages like these just keep me going and feel connected to the community. Nathalie as you said we always tend to keep ourselves at the end because we are so used to it. I wont quit and for sure- i have been a decent student at school during my undergrad and a contributing employee at work. The 10 years of isolation from the work community and being domesticated has taken a hit on my confidence and i have to do this successfully tp prove to myself i can and i will.... Thank you for the inspiration.

NathalieMathalie · Answer

I hear you about the lack of confidence. I have been struggling with that as well. If you need a study break, check out the TIME magazine special feature on "Women Changing the World". You should be able to access it online. I found it to be SO inspirational and exactly what I needed to motivate myself right now. A lot of the women who are featured are mothers too and talk about the confidence gap.

Madeline Albright has a great article about getting back in the workforce and building a successful career after staying home with her premature daughters.

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Madeline Albright has a great article about getting back in the workforce and building a successful career after staying home with her premature daughters.

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divyag9 · Answer

Nathalie- Thanks a lot. I will look into that.

NathalieMathalie · Answer

Hi! I have been thinking about you this week. Were you able to contact the admissions committee? If so, were they helpful? 
I rewrote my GMAT on Monday and finished submitting my application on Thursday. (Fingers crossed for both of us!!)

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MrsB · Answer

Hello Moms!

It's definitely very refreshing to see these posts. I recently became a stay-at-home Mum. I quit my job and decided to stay at home and raise my daughter after facing terrible issues with care for my 2 year old. A little bit about me, I come from a country in Africa. Before quitting my job I worked as a Product Manager in a Global top 2 Consumer Electronics Company. I joined the company right after my MSc and worked there for 6 years. I also started a fashion business 9 months ago, which I concurrently managed with full time work. ECs: I was quite an accomplished pianist and won a National talent hunt piano competition, was the accompanist of my university classical music choir, and I teach summer piano classes to neighbourhood kids. Also won gold medal for Chess in the national Inter-varsity Games.

I am currently struggling with the GMAT especially the Quant section. Math has always been an enemy. I will be applying in the third round to my dream school, INSEAD, which is not ideal as I was going to take the GMAT this week and try to submit in the 2nd round (since my essays are almost ready), but I haven't scored beyond 590 in any GMAT practice test, even after getting a tutor and spending more time studying (after I quit my job in March). My target score is 700, which I hope gives me the best chance of getting in and only European 1 year MBA Schools (INSEAD, HEC, IESE).

I am worried, what if I can't/don't score more than 650 at best. or even 600. Will I be able to get into a top ten European MBA program? Anyone with any similar experiences? tips, advice? Please share, I would be so grateful.

NathalieMathalie · Answer

Hello and welcome!

It sounds like you have a very interesting story and are quite accomplished. I would definitely recommend that you reach out to the admissions department at your target schools and introduce yourself. Most schools seem to be looking for diversity in their candidates and I found that my target school sees being a mom as an asset because it shows resilience.

I'm from an arts background too so I get the quant struggle. (I'm an oil painter, turned graphic designer, turned marketer). I studied all of the Manhattan prep books for the foundations and then did OG problems.

I took my first GMAT at the beginning of March and got a 600. I realized that I needed to learn test taking strategies and did a kind of "math immersion". I used Empower GMAT (but you might prefer a different program) and also did all of the questions that popped up from Bunuel on this app. 3 weeks later I took the GMAT again and managed to bring my score up to my school's average. I have an interview tomorrow so I'm glad I put in the extra effort.
I'm sure that you've heard this before, but the GMAT is just one part of your application. You have some accomplishments that could really set you apart and intrigue the admissions committee if you market yourself well.

Give the GMAT a go and get the first one out of the way (I hear people usually do better on subsequent attempts), and really focus on making the rest of your application spectacular. Also, I know said it before, but I was amazed at the level of help and support I got from the admissions committee when I reached out. I feel like I've had people on my side through this whole process and it has given me a huge confidence boost.

Good luck!

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MrsB · Answer

Thank you so much for your kind words and advice  Nathalie  and Congratulations on securing an interview! I hope it went well?

I checked out EMPOWER GMAT and I am seriously considering it. I plan to take the GMAT within a month.

I am amazed at how supportive the admissions team has being to you. I wanted to ask how you approached them? Did you just introduce yourself and maybe mentioned some concerns you may have with how your application will be assessed maybe not working full time as a mom?

Thank you for sharing your experience once again!

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NathalieMathalie · Answer

So sorry for the delayed response! I am back at work after maternity leave and things are crazy to say the least

Did you end up writing the GMAT? How did it go? I just heard on Tuesday that I got accepted into the full time MBA program at Queen's (Canada) starting January 2019. I'm so excited! When I reached out to the applications committee I was more concerned about my unconventional background in Fine Art to be honest. There was an option to "introduce yourself" and I figured that I might as well give it a shot! I briefly outlined my education and work experience, explained that I was currently on maternity leave and that I had delayed pursuing an MBA to start a family, but that I was now in a good position to apply. If I can offer any key piece of advice, it would be to try to be as genuine as possible and ask the questions you are really concerned about. I think that if MBA programs are truly committed to enrolling more women, they will realize that the reality for a lot of us at this age is that we have children and responsibilities outside of work. I also think that as mothers we tend to downplay our accomplishments because we are used to putting ourselves last. You are very accomplished and should present that to the applications committee with confidence (but don't forget to stay genuine

I hope that your program is as encouraging as Queen's has been to me! Please feel to ask any more questions that come to mind! Sent from my SM-G920W8 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

mbamm19 · Answer

This post is spectacular as it well relates with me. Though I am a Software engineer and mothe rof 1.5 yr old kid, currently I am also a stay at home mom as after maternity I joined and things didnt work out. To be honest, I have separated from my spouse after facing lot of domestic abuses. Now to bring my life on track, I have decided to pursue dreams of higher education and decided to appear for GMAT. Targeting Indian MBA colleges as low on funds and also toddler to take care of but now only bread winner for my kid.

I have total of 7+ years of experience in quality analysis, banking and finance domain across multiple MNCs , trained and experience on various automation and tools. Total of 4 years of managerial skills . Had scored 90+percent in HSC , SSC , university rank holder in my engineering.

Please let me know your views on my profiles

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Also, planning to appear in June but my verbal is not upto mark being a Non native. V30 Q49 640 in last mock. awaiting your views

Gnpth · Answer

Hi  mbamm19 ,

You experience seems to be pretty good. But most schools don't give weight to the HSC and SSC scores. And since you are Indian, unless you are from IITs and NIT's there isn't a lot of weight to your undergrad.

I would suggest you focus on GMAT and score around 720+. This should be a safer score for you. Since you are only one working, you can look into ISB or other 1 year programs so that you can get back to workforce soon.

All the best!

stay at home mom preparing for b-school

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