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I intend on applying to B-School for Fall 2009 admission, at which point I will have close to 5 years, or 56 months, of progressive experience in the healthcare sector, having worked in the areas of Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences for companies of varying size ($250M to $40B). Additionally, I was an undergraduate business major with a 3.02 GPA at The College of New Jersey, which is consistently ranked among the top colleges in the Northeast and among the Barron's most competitive colleges in the country. Furthermore, I currently have a 670 GMAT score, which took me 6 attempts to achieve.

I would like to continue my career in the healthcare sector post B-School, as such I would like to focus on application process on schools that either have a healthcare sector program or have a recruiting program with ties to the healthcare sector, preferably on the East Coast. As such, I have a preliminary list comprised of the schools currently on my radar for evaluation: Duke, UNC, NYU, U of MD, Emory, Cornell and Yale. Also for consideration are the One-Year programs at Emory and Northwestern. I am aware of, and have fully researched, Duke's Health Sector Management Program; my fiancee is currently at Fuqua, and a number of her close friends there are part of the program.

Given my undergraduate GPA and GMAT score and history, in addition to strong essays and references, what are my chances of acceptance for the programs listed? I am aware that some of them are stretches. Additionally, given my future career goal, what programs are best suited? Furthermore, my fiancee is currently attending Fuqua, what, if any, advantage does that give me?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
Paul

Hi Paul,
Thanks for your post. Overall, your GPA and GMAT scores are slightly low for many of the schools listed below. And since you took the GMAT more than 3 times, AdCom might be concerned with your overall ability to handle the academic rigor of the program.

I hate to say this, but in my opinion I think some of the higher ranked schools will be a significant stretch. I do believe having a fiancee at Duke will help you in the admissions process at Fuqua, however in this competitive admissions year, you will be below other candidates with similar backgrounds. Other schools such as MD and UNC might be a better fit.

Regards,

NP

Thank you for your insight.

I know Duke and Cornell are definite stretches, and although Yale isn't ranked high, I know it's competitive due in part to being an Ivy. Would you suggest to focus my research and application efforts to schools ranked in the Top 16-25 range, with less brand equity in comparison to their counterparts? Aside from MD and UNC, are there any other programs that you would suggested looking into?

How about in regards to NYU's part-time program?

Hi Paul,
NYU's part-time program is very strong. You might also consider GTown (it appears you want to stay on the east coast).

Regards,

NP