Unusual Background and B-School Questions
I graduated from a HYPSM school a handful of years ago with a pure math major and significant research experience. I have been playing professional tennis since then and am in the process of rehabbing a serious injury I suffered a few months ago. My prospects for a complete recovery and return to form are not looking great. If I am forced to walk away, I am considering applying to MBA programs this fall. I have two main questions:
1) Assuming a relatively high GMAT score, what are my prospects for the top schools? My background will be fairly unusual, so I'm not sure how to gauge this, especially considering I have no relevant finance/business experience.
2) Since I have not had a "boss" during my career, I'm not sure who to ask to recommendations. I could ask a peer that I have competed against regularly that knows me well, but I'm not sure how this would be perceived. Certainly I could ask a professor that advised my research, but I have heard academic references are frowned upon in b-school applications. Any thoughts on this?
How were your grades as an undergrad?
What do you want to do after you earn your MBA?
In connection with #2, did you have a coach or manager? Do you have a professional advisor, like an attorney or accountant who could serve as a recommender?
We have occasionally worked successfully with applicants in similar situations.
Linda
Grades were decent- 3.6-3.7ish.
I haven't fully fleshed that out yet, but I think there's a good chance I would try to go into consulting.
I did have a coach that I was planning to use for one of the recommendations. Almost everyone has an agent, but I chose to represent myself in all endorsement-related negotiations. If I use my coach for one recommendation, would it be better to have the second one come from a peer or a past professor (I realize neither of these is ideal)?
Thanks for your help, Linda.
G0ogle
If you do well on the GMAT, I think you have a lot of evidence of business skills in terms of running your own business (your career), negotiations, Success as an athlete also requires a lot of self-discipline, resilience, focus, and time management. Don't sell your experience short.
Do informational interviews and learn as much as you can about the consulting industry so that any bschool can see your decision is thoughtful, purposeful, and not a default because you don't know what else to do now that you can't play tennis. You may find interesting my recent interview with Keith Bevans of Bain & Company
Regarding the 2nd recommender, I'd like to know more about the peer and the prof and what they've seen you do before making a recommending one over the other.
You're most welcome.
Linda
Out of curiosity what makes you want to go to business school? With significant amount of research experience, a masters or PhD in a quantitative field seems to be the more natural path.
I would like to use business school as a bridge to a consulting career. I certainly enjoy quantitative work, but I know I don't want a career that is strictly quantitative. I'm also somewhat disenchanted with academia, in general, at this point.
Hey @g0ogle
Thanks for posting! So many questions for you!! Sounds like you went to a great school...I hope your GPA is just as great? Think of GPA as the marathon, GMAT as the sprint. Top b-schools want to know you've got the academic chops to succeed. So the GPA is an important input here.
Now, GMAT...please nail it?! You are non-traditional and to make this process easier, I'd like to see 730+. Sounds like you may have some time on your hands. One suggestion might be to take the GMAT now and just see how you do. You get to experience the environment and will know what you are up against (if anything). Then, assuming you left some points on the table, take that score to a private tutor and work on increasing it. (I hate to see people study for the GMAT for months only to get a 650. It's good to know where you're at upfront.)
For the recommendations, I bet with a bit of brainstorming, we could come up with some options. I'm not too keen on the professor but agents, coaches, sponsors, and competitors could all be options to consider. People who have seen you manage your career and compete...
I hope that helps a bit! Once you have that GMAT score, I recommend setting up a free consultation. Link in signature.
Thanks! Krista
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