And would offer a good scholarship?
For someone: age 27, poor work experience, 3.2 GPA, but 780 GMAT?
Really good sob story.
I think, NYU really wants to increase its ranking, so does Columbia--it has been falling for sometime.
Cornell also wants to increase its ranking. So would those schools have the highest chances?
Thank you to everyone.
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Woah that GMAT.
All of them would value a 780. Jesus christ.
If you can really spin that sob story well, I think you could definitely pull off a MBA business schools ">M7, maybe with 25-50% tuition at best. Full ride at MBA business schools ">M7 is doubtful. However, with T10-T15, I think you could POSSIBLY get a full ride to Duke, McCombs, Cornell, etc. if you nail the story.
Thanks a lot. The trouble is my lack of formal work experience.
Define poor work experience. Ultra high GMAT helps at MBA business schools ">M7 for 'turnaround' candidates but if you don't have solid progression in your resume they don't really care. Look at Poet's and Quants and check out the individual schools - they ding a ton of top 1% GMAT every year.
Basically, the lower ranked the school the more they'll value the GMAT. 10-15 range is probably your reach territory if your work experience is below par, especially with that GPA. Outside of the top 15 (rankings are all different, look at McKinsey's list of target MBA's on their webpage, there are 16 schools, so pretty much anything outside of that) it will probably bring a lot of value to your app. I was around your score level and was offered a full ride to a few schools in the 20-50 range that I didn't even apply to (got my info from GMAC).
GMAT isn't the be all and end all. School's care about metrics for publications but they care more about whether your employment goals after school are obtainable. Those salary reports are juicier for them than an extra 1 point on their average GMAT. If you've got a shitty resume, you're not going to be a viable candidate for a lot of roles. You need a solid story not just to explain your pitfalls but how the MBA will help you meet your goals, and those goals better be obtainable with your background (i.e. if you've spent 4 years as an assistant manager at a Staples storefront and tell NYU you think you're going to work for Amazon as a product manager, you might want to reevaluate your application).
Thanks for that info, it was extremely helpful.
I'd like columbia ED, if its possible.
I have a master's in biology.
I have volunteered a lot in labs, and have 5 publications now. Getting your name on a publication usually requires quite a bit of work.
I've worked at retail, as a customer service manager--really a shitty job basically a glorified cashier. I've also worked in a lab.
Trouble was, its hard to find a job for me, because I had cancer, and could not really get 9-5 employment.
I'll say as part of my story, I'd like to work in a Pharma company R&D, management position. My knowledge of biolgoy will help, I'll say. I can protray myself has having a lot of passion to contribute something to the world.
But I'll have to convince them I can execute on that.
Thank you once again
I think if you spin your cancer story in there (sorry if I sound too blunt), and sell your experience in a positive way, you are a shoe in at all the schools you mentioned. I would even through some more apps into MBA business schools ">M7.
Here's the thing.
With your profile right now as it is, you're looking at entry level jobs - competing against those folks coming straight out of college. Whether it's in consulting, finance, healthcare/pharma/biotech, etc.
Adding an MBA on your resume with minimal experience at this point doesn't fundamentally change your employability. An MBA is NOT like a medical or law degree where coming out of grad school you're on even footing. The MBA doesn't replace, but complements your pre-MBA experience and profile - that's how employers evaluate you for jobs.
In other words, the MBA alone isn't going to magically make you more employable without much prior work epxereince- and, more importantly, you're competing against your fellow MBA classmates (and MBAs from other schools) for jobs. You're facing an uphill battle.
Get 2-3 years of solid work experience. You're better off going to b-school at 30 (or even 31, 32) with a few years of solid full-time experience than trying rush in right now, because even if you get into say a top 16, you're handicapping your odds of getting a decent job (on top of having to shell out a ton of money for tuition) compared to your more experienced classmates.
Thanks for that info. I was thinking of that--working for a few years more. Thanks again
I couldn't agree more. Getting into a top school is only half the battle. Even if your sob story fits well into the job you think you want, what if you don't like your internship?
Clearly, you're a good test taker. Why not give law school a shot? Or try and get more work experience. Super risky, but another option could be to get a dual degree. This would give you two internships worth of experience to prepare you for your full time job.
Thanks for that info. I was thinking of law school, but that would be a lot harder. I think, the best thing is to work for maybe another year and apply next cycle. Or I might just apply this cycle to NYU and Cornell. Dual would be too expensive, thank you to everyone.
weren't you planning to go into Harvard law though?
Well I was thinking between law and MBA, to break into IB.
Are you a girl?
Agree with the below suggestions, to best maximize your chances (you probably don't want to go through this MBA process twice) best you get a solid HC role which you can get 2yrs in (1 by time of application + 2 by the time you ar enrolling).
Btw, how did you study to get such a high gmat score like that? - quite impressive to say the least
I'd love to know how you studied as well!
Thanks a lot to you and everyone else. I always did well on standardized tests. I would say, do LSAT practice tests for the verbal, and practice GMAT questions.
Cornell and NYU are very good targets for you. I would add Yale to that list, though they are QUICKLY becoming more selective, which means strike while the iron is hot. I would not be particularly hopeful for a scholarship, but you would have some chance in the 10-15 range for a partial one. Part of it depends on how sympathetic adcoms are to your story, which will be an idiosyncratic outcome (hinges based upon who is reading it and what sort of mood they are in that day). If you are targeting IB, a scholarship is nice but I wouldn't worry too much about the financing component as you'll be able to get loans for for school that also cover your cost of living. Your NPV would still be extremely high based on where I presume your current earnings lie.
Thanks a lot for that info. I was thinking about both those schools. I'll apply to those schools this cycle, and then if rejected, apply next cycle to higher up schools. Both Cornell and NYU are good for IB, thanks a lot to everyone.
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