Beat The GMAT

captainmolecule · Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:30 pm

Hi,

Can you please evaluate my profile and let me know if I need to write GMAT again?

-Background: Asian Female
-Undergrad: 3.4 GPA
-Bachelor in Information Technology
-Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
-Work Experience in a Fortune 1000 IT company: 3 years 2 months. Have been among the top performers in the organization.
-GMAT score: 640 (45Q, 39V, AWA 5.0)
-Decent Extracurricular in undergrad school and in current organization.

I am interested in the following schools -:
1) Tepper School of Business
2) Marshall School of Business
3) Johnson School at Cornell University
4) McCombs School of Business

Please suggest if my current GMAT score is okay for the above schools and how good are my chances.

Thanks in advance.

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Paxton Helms - Kaplan · Sun Jun 28, 2009 4:46 am

Hi and thanks for your question. Sorry for the delay in responding but I typed in a response and then it somehow disappeared (browser crash or something).

At any rate...

I think the schools you mention (esp. Cornell) may be shooting a bit high. Here is my reasoning:

- Your background seems to be mainly in IT though on a more technical side rather than IT strategy or IT consulting. It's a great credential (and it's great that you have performed as well as you have) but you need to make sure that you have some kind of interesting element to the job to show for your time. I don't mean to say that IT is "bad" --it's just that it's kind of an unusual track and I don't see many IT majors among my consulting clients.

- The 640 GMAT is definitely on the low side for top schools. I would suggest really getting prepped and then taking it again, if you can. If you were an IT major then you probably have some good quant skills so you should be able to nudge that score up some.

- Speaking candidly, the fact that you are Asian is a possible hindrance; the fact that you are female is a possible help. Such are the times we live in...

If you can give me a bit more information about your background I could probably give you a more detailed response.

Keep me in the loop--

Paxton

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captainmolecule · Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:41 am

Thanks for the response Smile

I am on the IT technical side but working as an IT consultant.
I have also worked 1.5 years in India and 2 years in US.
Will this make any difference to my profile?

I understand that Cornell won't be a great idea to apply.
But are my chances bad for Tepper, McCombs,Marshalls?
Should I include Georgia Tech in my list?
Can you please suggest some good universities where I have realistic chances?

Thank you very much for your help. Keep up the good work!!

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Paxton Helms - Kaplan · Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:58 am

IT consulting (with a big firm like Accenture or similar) is not a bad place to be coming from. As long as your experience is not "thin" in the sense of being tech support (fixing hard drives on lap tops, etc.) then --if you get your GMAT scores up-- Cornell might come back into the possible range.

In terms of other schools to apply to, I really can't help you. As I have explained in other posts, there are numerous MBA programs out there and there are some eight or ten major factors to consider when choosing which programs you want to apply to. So...I suggest that you run a series of filters and end up with some eight or ten schools that appeal to you for various reasons (and they can certainly be different combinations of reasons) and then apply to five or six of them.

Does this help? I don't mean to ignore your question: I just want to stress that there are (or should be) many factors in the evaluation of programs to which to apply.

Good Luck and keep me in the loop--

Paxton

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captainmolecule · Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:35 am

Thanks for your prompt response!
Yes I am in IT consulting primarily into Business Systems Analysis.

Here are some questions:

1) Can you please suggest if Tepper, McCombs,Marshalls will be good for my profile?
Should I include Georgia Tech in my list?

2) As I have just kickstarted my schools selection process, it would be great if you provide some pointers what are the primary factors that one should consider while selecting a school?

Thank you!

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Paxton Helms - Kaplan · Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:11 am

Hi--

This is a good place to start:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/profile-evaluation-please-t34715.html

You can also look into my previous posts to see other thoughts on the topic.

Good Luck!

Paxton

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