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30 May 2014, 09:58
Kudos
Bookmarks
I recently discovered the GMAT Club and am very excited to be here and take advantage of the wealth of resources available throughout the site. I've been interested in pursuing an MBA for a while now, but haven't started preparing for the GMAT or putting together any application material.
I'm familiar with general average ages for admitted students, but I'm wondering about the general advantages and disadvantages of applying early. Obviously, an MBA is a career accelerator and the earlier I do it, the earlier I can improve and advance my career. However, I'm not sure exactly how admission prospects change for the same applicant with each additional year of work experience.
For context, I'm a white male who graduated in 2011 from one of the top undergraduate business programs in the country with a GPA just under 3.6. I worked as a financial analyst for a large IT Outsourcing company for one year and have been doing sales strategy at a best practices consulting firm for almost two. What are the advantages of waiting until 2015 to apply rather than applying this year? What GMAT score do I need to get into one of the top programs? What are other things I can do to improve my application (don't have a ton of extracurriculars at the moment)?
Thanks in advanced for your help and advice!
I'm familiar with general average ages for admitted students, but I'm wondering about the general advantages and disadvantages of applying early. Obviously, an MBA is a career accelerator and the earlier I do it, the earlier I can improve and advance my career. However, I'm not sure exactly how admission prospects change for the same applicant with each additional year of work experience.
For context, I'm a white male who graduated in 2011 from one of the top undergraduate business programs in the country with a GPA just under 3.6. I worked as a financial analyst for a large IT Outsourcing company for one year and have been doing sales strategy at a best practices consulting firm for almost two. What are the advantages of waiting until 2015 to apply rather than applying this year? What GMAT score do I need to get into one of the top programs? What are other things I can do to improve my application (don't have a ton of extracurriculars at the moment)?
Thanks in advanced for your help and advice!
30 May 2014, 10:18
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey there,
Welcome to the forum! You're asking some great questions and let's answer them separately:
1) GMAT: if you're targeting the top programs, your score should start, at the very least, with a 7. It'd be great if the second digit was a 2, 3, or 4. Scoring right at the median for the top programs puts you in good stead, anything higher helps. The average at the top 5 (using US News) is 724. 6-10 boast an average of 716. The 11 - 20 schools have a lower average at 696. You have a pretty strong GPA so that'll help but at the end of the day, the GMAT is becoming an arms race and it significantly impacts rankings. So a 700+ is pretty much table stakes at this point.
2) Now versus 2015: What we advise clients is assess your growth for the next year. Is it going to be linear or exponential? By linear I mean are you going to have job responsibilities and achievements that would be expected of someone in your position and of your age? Or will you be able to do bigger and better things that are usually reserved for more senior staff or older employees? Are you going to rock this next year?
3) Extracurriculars: BUT - you said you didn't have a lot in the way of involvement. So if that's the case, you should wait. Even if you have linear professional growth, meaningful improvement in your involvement will make you a much better applicant. Find opportunities that you are passionate about. Organizations you might have worked with previously or causes you have a history of supporting. Within those opportunities, look for ways to make an impact. Don't just volunteer every weekend at a soup kitchen (although that's great!). But maybe you can help the soup kitchen improve operations or drum up additional donors / support? Find ways to capture scope and then drive impact.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Bhavik
Welcome to the forum! You're asking some great questions and let's answer them separately:
1) GMAT: if you're targeting the top programs, your score should start, at the very least, with a 7. It'd be great if the second digit was a 2, 3, or 4. Scoring right at the median for the top programs puts you in good stead, anything higher helps. The average at the top 5 (using US News) is 724. 6-10 boast an average of 716. The 11 - 20 schools have a lower average at 696. You have a pretty strong GPA so that'll help but at the end of the day, the GMAT is becoming an arms race and it significantly impacts rankings. So a 700+ is pretty much table stakes at this point.
2) Now versus 2015: What we advise clients is assess your growth for the next year. Is it going to be linear or exponential? By linear I mean are you going to have job responsibilities and achievements that would be expected of someone in your position and of your age? Or will you be able to do bigger and better things that are usually reserved for more senior staff or older employees? Are you going to rock this next year?
3) Extracurriculars: BUT - you said you didn't have a lot in the way of involvement. So if that's the case, you should wait. Even if you have linear professional growth, meaningful improvement in your involvement will make you a much better applicant. Find opportunities that you are passionate about. Organizations you might have worked with previously or causes you have a history of supporting. Within those opportunities, look for ways to make an impact. Don't just volunteer every weekend at a soup kitchen (although that's great!). But maybe you can help the soup kitchen improve operations or drum up additional donors / support? Find ways to capture scope and then drive impact.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Bhavik
30 May 2014, 14:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Bhavik,
Thank you for the thorough response! You bring up some excellent points. With the extra time to think about it, I'll definitely look for ways to make my professional growth exponential rather than linear and I am already trying to get matched for pro bono consulting work and looking to get involved with a local start-up.
Your exponential versus linear point brings up another question that is more in line with the topic of this post. While the goal is to improve exponentially, most people improve at a linear rate (otherwise exponential growth would turn into linear!). How much is linear career growth rewarded in the eyes of Admissions offices? For example, how would someone with four years of linear (expected) professional growth compare to someone with six years of linear (expected) growth?
Thanks again!
Thank you for the thorough response! You bring up some excellent points. With the extra time to think about it, I'll definitely look for ways to make my professional growth exponential rather than linear and I am already trying to get matched for pro bono consulting work and looking to get involved with a local start-up.
Your exponential versus linear point brings up another question that is more in line with the topic of this post. While the goal is to improve exponentially, most people improve at a linear rate (otherwise exponential growth would turn into linear!). How much is linear career growth rewarded in the eyes of Admissions offices? For example, how would someone with four years of linear (expected) professional growth compare to someone with six years of linear (expected) growth?
Thanks again!
