Profile Evaluation Please

Question

Hi,

Here is my profile. Male/29

Education: BS in Industrial Engineering GPA 3.0/4.0 Purdue University

GMAT: 660

Work Experience:

Currently working in Energy Solutions Sales, which is a new branch of my business that I was hired to start 1 year ago. I work with building owners to audit their buildings for energy savings, perform engineering calculations on what I believe that I can save them, and sell them projects to implement these savings.

I have 6 years of experience in sales engineering roles in the HVAC/Mechanical contracting world.

Professional Accreditation: CEM (Certified Energy Manager)

Extra curricular activities:

1. 3 year volunteer at an organization which provides scholarships to low income students to attend the private high school of their choice. I have helped with tutoring and fundraising efforts for this organization.

School of interest: Kellogg (Part Time)

I just took my GMAT yesterday and am concerned about my score being that it is 30 points below the average score (690) as well as my GPA not being extremely high in college.

I feel that I have very solid interviewing skills and that I can probably write a good essay as well.

What would be your advice? Retake the GMAT to get closer to or above the school average?

bakfed · Answer

You should have a shot, though the combination of your GMAT score and your GPA may be a handicap for you. As long as you can articulate well enough why you need this, you should have a shot. I'm sure you've already looked into this and gave it a hard thought, but since you didn't mention it on the post, I'd also suggest you look into a traditional full-time mba path.

puboiler23 · Answer

Thanks for the response. I have considered this. The reason I chose part time is due to a generous tuition reimbursement program available from my company that will subsidize a large part of the cost. Would you recommend that I retake the GMAT?

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

bakfed · Answer

As always, if your practice tests have indicated that you can achieve a score much higher than your current one, go for it. Otherwise, don't waste the time and effort and instead, focus on your application.

One thing I want to caution you about this MBA is really know that the MBA is what you want. Should you get in Kellogg part-time MBA and successfully finish it, you won't be able to attend another business school later on in your life (there are exceptions but for the sake of argument here, let's ignore the exceptions). As a part-time student, you will not have the same connection as you will get from being a full-time student. As a part-time student, you're most likely looking to advance within the same industry/function as you already are in right now. You're not looking to shift your career outside of what you know. This is all fine if these scenarios are for you. However, if you're not completely sure about what the future holds and you're simply getting this part-time MBA for the sake of getting an MBA, I would recommend you readjust your priority. I'm not a life coach, but I just hope that everyone is very informed about the decision about getting an MBA. I know a friend of mine who's getting her part-time MBA right now but regrets going through it because of the exact reasons I named - lack of connection, lack of job opportunity, and lack of that "oomph" to branch out of her existing career. In retrospect, she tells me, she would've been way better off with a full-time degree (she's finishing her degree because she's only got one more year left). So anyway, just know that people use the MBA as a stepping stone to get to where they want to be immediately after MBA. But if you're looking to stick to the same career path and know that this Kellogg part-time MBA will help you, you should most definitely do it. Sorry that this post has gotten longer than it should be...

puboiler23 · Answer

That is good advice that I had not really thought about or considered. I noticed from your profile that you are in the management consulting world. This is an area that I have considered looking at pursuing in the future. I have been told by a few people that it would be possible to move into the management consulting world after obtaining my MBA part time. Was I given bad information?

bakfed · Answer

Part-time MBA isn't the end of the world, nor is it as bad as I described; however, I put it a bit worse than it probably should be because I've seen several examples where part-time mba goes regret the decision, and for exact the same reason that I explained. Part-time MBA can still help you, but the extent is much less than a full-time MBA. I am interested in management consulting and is a field that I will be actively exploring while attending Darden. Full-time MBA people utilize the connection they will get while in school to get that job post-MBA. I'm not saying that Kellogg part-time MBA can't get you into the management consulting world, but if I were you, I'd really ask the career office for Kellogg's part-time MBA program and see what are the type of fields and recruiters that the part-time MBAs attract. If the main consulting firms that you want to get into don't actively go for the part-time MBAs, this MBA won't help you as much as a full-time MBA will then. And consider this - once you obtained your MBA but didn't get into consulting immediately, your chances become slimmer and slimmer as years go by (this fact goes true for full-time MBA as well, but with full-time I know Kellogg attracts all top consulting firms). Say four years down the road after you get your MBA and you try to get into management consulting, it'll be a lot harder if you're targeting the big ones (M/B/B).

I'm not trying to deter you in getting a part-time MBA, so please don't feel offended if some of the things aren't what you expected. I really am just trying to make sure that you know what you're getting into.And also one additional factor that I considered was the fact that you only have 6 years of work experience, which is a good # for full-time MBA students (anything higher might just make it a bit harder, but definitely doable).

FutureWorks · Answer

Hello,

We would encourage you to take GMAT again, particularly since you said you have the capability to score higher. A high score will definitely boost your chances of in getting in the schools of your choice.

Thanks

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