Emory MBA with full scholarship or Apple for more work experience?

Question

A little bit of background/stats -

I've got a terrible GPA - 2.4 and a decent GMAT score - 710. For work experience I work in strategy at a mid-size supply chain technology provider. Initially I was skeptical that any MBA program would accept me due to my horrible GPA. Got rejected at Booth and Columbia but recently got accepted at Emory's full time MBA with almost a full scholarship! Awesome right? Right in my backyard of Atlanta so my personal dynamics won't be affected.

However, last week I was also contacted by Apple about an awesome role which I received an awesome offer from. I'm wondering how much this will impact my future chances of getting into a better MBA program. Should I take the role at Apple and re-apply to better schools in a couple of years? I am 25 right now and worried that if I postpone my MBA for too long that I'll never go back to school. Or should I just forego the opportunity at Apple and attend Emory with the scholarship?

Any input would be appreciated!

abhimahna · Answer

Hey MBAshark77 , I am happy to help.

Congratulations for getting into Emory at full scholarship and for an Apple offer.

Ask yourself - Why do you need an MBA? And Why now? Can you hold for a couple of years, get an experience from Apple and then reapply? Maybe you can improve your profile alot in the next few years that you end up making it to Top 10 B Schools? The average age of MBA students is 27 years. This means you are still on the lower side. I would prefer to wait for 2-4 years. Gather some great experience and then reapply to top b schools. Also, I don't think odds will be against you if you reapply to Emory after a few years. Good luck

Mo2men · Answer

Hi  MBAshark77

Congrats for Emory.

I agree with  abhimahna  about asking yourself about MBA and why MBA. You can postponed you MBA to get more experience and I usually advice so to people in your situation .However, I find myself in contradicting situation as I wonder if this opportunity comes again with GPA 2.4 and full scholarship. In my view, this is really odd and rarely happens, especially from top 20 like Emory.

Do you see recruiters in Emory in same level of Apply? or recruit for same dream job?

bb · Answer

There are many ways to get to the eventual goal of career progression and life long learning. I feel many MBA grads would dream about working for Apple and it could be a great addition to the resume to help with MBA admission and recruiting.

As long as you don’t feel your apple job offer is taking you the wrong way or slowing you down, I feel it is a solid choice. Your BSCHOOL chances will only increase in 2 years and will put more of your GPA trouble behind you.

PS. You can always get an EMBA or a FEMBA while working at Apple. Not the ultimate MBA experience but as I said - there are many roads.

Posted from my mobile device

AndyDufresne · Answer

I presume with your background, this role is in supply/demand planning team of ww operations of apple. 
Quite surprisingly, you'll see a lot of top tier bschool graduates working in the same profile post MBA, maybe at a job grade 1-2 notches higher than yours. 
I'll strongly advice to take up this position as it'll help you with multiple goals:
1. Greater brand recognition- if you happen to apply post 2-3 years down the line
2. You can push your GMAT further in case you plan to reattempt. 710 is still a solid score and remains valid for 5 years so hope there's nothing to worry
3. Apple brand will open doors post MBA also. Employers these days are increasingly valuing pre mba experience and students with more prestigious brands on the resume do stand a better chance to land up higher paying roles in the corporate later on

Emory is a great school but since your stars are aligned in your favor, I would recommend to still reconsider it and might give it another shot in a year or two.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Emory MBA with full scholarship or Apple for more work experience?

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