Dear team,
It would be much appreciated if I could receive some advice/ an assessment of my upcoming B-School application:
Nationality: Chinese male/ Spent past 8 years in US Age: 31 Degree: Undergrad in China (top 10 school), major in bio-chemistry GPA 3.6/4.0 M.S in Stanford, major in Materials Engineering GPA 3.8/4.0 GMAT: 710 (Q: 51 / V: 33 / IR: 6) - weak Verbal; retake worth it? Plan to apply for R1 so not much time left Work Experience: Spent past 6 years in the healthcare/biotech industry as product design engineer. 2 years in a hot start-up company in Silicon valley, title:** Product Engineer** 3 years in Thermofisher Scientific, title: Senior Product Engineer 1 year in Siemens Healthineers, title: Staff Product Engineer Do not have people manager experience. Do have managed programs and led product from concept to market launch Post-MBA goal: Consulting (with focus in Healthcare/biotech industry), Product Management Advantage: Relatively high GPA, great school (Stanford), named companys Disadvantage: Age, lack of management experience, not traditional background (no finance or consulting)
Schools: Columbia NYU Stern Yale MIT
It would be great to get some advice on chances at these schools and the necessity of a GMAT retake.
Best Regards, Derek
You should submit yourself for an evaluation from Sandy Kreisberg at Poets and Quants: https://poetsandquants.com/2018/03/25/mock-mba-admissions-interview-hbs…
I was contemplating an MBA earlier this year, and from what I gathered, you should aim for a GMAT score of at least a 730 to feel comfortably competitive. Management experience doesn't really matter for pre-MBA, because that's usually the reason why you're getting an MBA in the first place. And I think schools will like that you have a non-traditional background to diversify the class profile.
Make sure you tell a good story in your essays, too.
Good luck!
Hi There, thanks for the quick feedback. I agree that I should retake GMAT and aim for 740+. The only concern is that I might have to apply for R2 since R1 deadline is approaching...
In your case I think its wise to retake the GMAT and apply round 2.
I'm sure its annoying because I doubt you want to retake the GMAT and wait to find out where you're going to school, but verbal can move your overall score a lot. A 51 Quant is really good, so congrats there.
Even if you might get into the same schools either way, a 760+ instead of a 710 could result in material scholarship money at some of the schools you mentioned. Think about that if you need some motivation to study.
If I went to Stanford for undergrad I would absolutely apply there for grad school -- I don't see why you wouldn't. The age may not help as Stanford skews younger, but you're not really a "risk" to them; the undergrad let you in for a reason.
Hi There, I did my undergrad in China and got a Master of Science at Stanford. The only reason I a m not applying for Stanford (besides its younger age trend) is that I live on the east coast now with my family and relocation will be very challenging.
My bad, thought your post said undergrad for Stanford. Your personal situation makes sense on why you'd want to stay on the East Coast, however.
A higher verbal score would help you, but I'm not sure it's absolutely necessary. If you want to be on the safe side, retake and apply R2, hopefully with a higher verbal and total.
Also consider Tuck and maybe Darden.
Hi Linda, Thanks for the reply and suggestions! Tuck is certainly under my radar.
For better or worse, Admission Committees are going to expect a higher GMAT score from a Chinese male. Hate to say it.
Agreed; especially a high quant score like yours. OP, if you want to stand out, you should try to increase your verbal score and be competitive for R2.
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