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Hi,

US colleges often claim that they evaluate work experience not in terms of years but the depth and breadth of an individual's position.
I am a renowned proffesional muscian with a solid undergraduate business degree seeking an MBA from Top-tier US college. Since high school, i have managed and played in a band that is signed with UNIVERSAL music India. I have successfully launched 2 music albums and 6 music vidoes across the sub-continent in the span of 6 years. Also, I Graduated from IBA, top business school of Pakistan, with a 3.2 GPA in june 2011. This promises to make an interesting application in my opinion.

After graduating, i did an internship at JWT followed by a tour of concerts for two months. My dream is to open the first legitimate music label in Pakistan so i can share my experience with other talented but under-priveldged mates in my country. I am currently working in MINDSHARE, a world renowned media planning company since 2 months which is helping me build a stong foundation and network to fufill that dream. The job involves in-depth analysis and use of media for promotional goals.

By the time i apply for MBA class entering fall 2013, I will have one and a half years mundane work experience with this company to go with my experience as the band member+manager for 7 years. I plan to sit for GMAT in june and hopefully get ready before the early deadline.

Do you think it would be wise to apply at this point(US colleges will recognize my unique application) or i should be realistic and wait till i fall into the dreaded 4-5 years work experience category? Thanks a lot

Hi, and thanks so much for your post on BTGMAT.

Overall, I think that you should absolutely consider your experience with your band as a big part of your work experience. You will want to consider your leadership and decision making skills when you review your time with the band, but I do think that there are strengths here for you to mine for your business school applications. Did you negotiate contracts on behalf of your band, did you make business decisions as to where and when you should all perform? What about creative decisions that you had to negotiate or coordinate? You absolutely will need to show that you have the academic strengths, and the business experience you need to do well at business school and beyond, but you don't need to have ONLY traditional work experience in order to succeed in your applications.

Best of luck to you!

Deena Maerowitz

Deena Maerowitz
Clear Admit, LLC


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Hi,

US colleges often claim that they evaluate work experience not in terms of years but the depth and breadth of an individual's position.
I am a renowned proffesional muscian with a solid undergraduate business degree seeking an MBA from Top-tier US college. Since high school, i have managed and played in a band that is signed with UNIVERSAL music India. I have successfully launched 2 music albums and 6 music vidoes across the sub-continent in the span of 6 years. Also, I Graduated from IBA, top business school of Pakistan, with a 3.2 GPA in june 2011. This promises to make an interesting application in my opinion.

After graduating, i did an internship at JWT followed by a tour of concerts for two months. My dream is to open the first legitimate music label in Pakistan so i can share my experience with other talented but under-priveldged mates in my country. I am currently working in MINDSHARE, a world renowned media planning company since 2 months which is helping me build a stong foundation and network to fufill that dream. The job involves in-depth analysis and use of media for promotional goals.