GMAT Strategy

Hello experts.. i have worked hard for the last 1 year. I am an Indian. Done my engineering. I have not done anything in IT. worked as marketing manager for 4 years and now an Entrepreneur for last 4 years. My company is in UK. I have a total experience of 9 years. My GMAT score is 680 (Quant 49, Verbal 35) this was my third attempt (last time i got 610 and 600 respectively). Due to work commitments i won't be able to give another attempt. Can some one tell me where do i stand? I am feeling very disappointed because i guess i am about 20-30 marks short. I don't want to go for any e-MBA's or part times (for some very important reasons) and want to pursue either 1 year or 2 year full time MBA. Please suggest if there is anything for me or its all over.

I would really really appreciate a suggestion.

thanks

Hey bigbubble - all is not lost!!

If you're hoping to stay in Europe for your MBA, you could be in perfectly fine shape. Most schools in the UK, Switzerland, France, etc., fit the bill exactly:

* Typically one-year programs, some slightly longer (e.g., INSEAD January intake)
* Most prefer students with significant work experience, such as you have
* All have less-crazy average GMAT scores

You should be good to go with this type of school! The best part? Your quant GMAT is quite good, and that's often considered more carefully than the verbal, due to the difficulty of the MBA curriculum. And, it's helpful that you're in marketing, not IT, as a way to differentiate your profile, as you've already figured out. You should not at all be despondent. A 680 is a very good score! You could even have a chance at one of the top US programs with that score, though you're quite a bit older than the norm for American schools (that's actually a bigger issue against you, potentially, in the States, than the GMAT).

You should be proud of this score! Go forth and conquer your dreams with it!!

EssaySnark

Essaysnark i so longed to find some one like you, you definitely brought a smile on my sad face. I have been so disappointed with my performance. Yes actually don't want to go to Wharton's and Stanford's. I know my experience is a little too much and it won't be a good match (even they would not like someone like me in their class). Just to highlight one thing that i am an Entrepreneur, Running my business since 4 years (i have expanded in UK, Europe, Middle east, Srilanka, Nepal, Some parts of USA etc). its still a start up about 20 employees. Still haven't been that successful. This is been my greatest fear. Do you think being a less successful entrepreneur would reduce my chance. That's not all i think now i have three problems Low GMAT Score, being an Entrepreneur and my experience. I want to do an MBA can you suggest me some colleges that i can even think about?
i really thank you for all your advice.

Hi bigbubble--

It's funny, it seems like your biggest issue might simply be lack of confidence!! You say that you have a startup that's not been too successful, yet you have 20 employees!! That's sort of a big deal if you ask us - maybe you haven't broken into the big time yet, but you gotta be doing OK!

The bschools will be evaluating your experience much more than the outcomes. They'll be interested in the fact that you've launched this business and grown it to this particular point. There's lots of people who never even make it that far! You'll be able to pull from this great foundation of relevant and practical experience in everything that you do going forward. Plus, you'll probably be able to add value to classroom discussions and to even possibly help other students who are interested in entrepreneurship but have never done their own thing before. So, your profile could be quite appealing to a bschool adcom, if it's positioned the right way.

In fact, you might be able to easily show the adcom why you want to get an MBA, if you feel that you are being held back from greater success because of the lack of formal training. That sounds like a perfect recipe for why an MBA makes sense for you! Many people struggle to articulate why they need an MBA, but for you, it looks kinda obvious!

Anyway, you should feel confident that you've got the right elements in your profile that will be appealing to certain adcoms, and now it's just a matter of identifying which schools are the right match. If you want to stay in Europe, then we'd recommend the schools we named before: INSEAD, IMD, maybe LBS. There are plenty of other good schools too like Oxford Said and Cambridge Judge, or HEC Paris. Based just on what you've shared so far, INSEAD would be the first recommendation, since it's an awesome program and they have good support for entrepreneurs based on the "roots" of the school and their founder.

If you want to research American schools, then some of the ones named by the other poster *might* be appropriate, though NYU and UCLA both would be a tough nut to crack - Stern is most definitely a Top 10 school and they are *very* competitive, as is Anderson. (Schools like Olin, Babson, and Kelley cannot touch Stern and Anderson, they're in a different category, it doesn't make sense to even group them together.) As already mentioned, you're quite a bit older than the average American bschool student so it's gonna be tough for you if you want to come across the pond. It didn't sound like you were that interested in the U.S. programs anyway so EssaySnark isn't gonna waste a bunch more time on them, but we can explore further if you are interested.

Bottom line: You have elements in your that can absolutely work in your favor, you should push forward with your research and try for some applications this year!!!

Best of luck,
EssaySnark