13yrs hi-tech US experience, lower GPA, good story

reag

Dear Stacy,

I have been sharing my GMAT blog over on http://www.beatthegmat.com/disappointed-with-my-620-so-here-s-my-gmat-retake-strategy-t8450-15.html and finally posted a brief description of my profile as well, excerpted below.

I would welcome an opinion on my profile relative to a target program I describe below.

-- My GMAT taken today 660 (Q42 V39)
-- 13 years continuous employment since university. Certified Project Mgmt project contractor currently working with Accenture on telco data conversion project in Canada. Previously a software dev and QA leader with unusual international specialty and experiences at big name companies like Apple (4 yrs) and Ebay (2 yrs) and elsewhere. Overall, many work experiences in Japan, China, Korea.
-- glowing recommendations
-- undergrad BA Japanese from top-ranked Japanese language program at a public U.S. university. GPA 3.2 (low the first two years because I was focused on athletics and other things, but much higher achievement over the last two years which included a stellar year of study abroad in Japan). That was my 2nd year in Japan as I was also a Rotary scholar to Japan in high school.
-- have wife and two small children, will travel, am 35 years of age, believe I would be an asset at any fine MBA program.

While I have dual status in US and Canada I am interested in a competitive Europe MBA to build on my extensive intl experience already. One UK school I am interested in lists 680 as their "average GMAT" and middle 80% range GMAT scores from 630 to 740.

Am interested in opinions on whether my GMAT 660 is good enough for such a school or whether I should plow my energies into other aspects of my apps. Would like to submit R1 this fall for Sept 2009.

Cheers.

Lisa Anderson · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:00 pm Post subject:

Dear reag:

I think it is worth applying with your 660 as you are not that far below the average. Of course, you will want to distinguish yourself through a strong application, meeting admissions staff and alumni at any opportunity, and visiting the campus if possible. I would also encourage you to look at some other EU programs that might have an average GMAT closer to yours as a backup. There are several programs climbing the rankings in Spain, Italy and France that could be a great choice for you. I think your background would be interesting to many of these programs.

Best of luck!
Lisa

reag · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject:

Lisa Anderson · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:26 pm Post subject:

Dear reag:

Sounds like a great plan. No more feeling blue--just focus and do what you need to present the best application possible.

Good luck!
Lisa